On World Food Day the UAH Calls for an Emergency Food Plan to counter growing hunger due to rising prices and threat of El Niño

In coming months, the hunger and malnutrition crisis is going to get worse because of a combination of a ferocious El Niño weather phenomenon that will bring very high temperatures and low rainfall, as well as rising oil prices, fertilizer costs due to Donald Trump’s violent and illegal disruption of the Middle East.

Sadly, there is still little sign of any political or corporate will to address rising hunger and malnutrition in our country.

The issue of infant deaths and malnutrition due to hunger should be of concern to everyone. Research by the NGO Grow Great has revealed that 83% of deaths due to malnutrition in children under five take place between the ages of 0 and one.

South Africa should have a plan to protect this age cohort, with concrete measures to enable mothers to breastfeed and a dynamic public education campaign encouraging breast feeding. But for those who can’t, it must include affordable access to formula milk, clean water and counselling and support on optimal feeding.

Government action must replace paralysis

Exactly a year ago, on World Food Day, President Ramaphosa made a strong speech on hunger, calling out retailers for high pricing of food. But there has been no tangible life-saving action since then. In fact, prices have risen. So have profits and executive salaries.

We welcome the fact that the process around the draft National Food and Nutrition Security Plan (NFNSP) has started again, after protests from the UAH and others. But the public consultation is disorganised. The draft plan itself is badly structured, unbudgeted and incapable of implementation in its current form.

This process must be speeded up and sorted out, and to help this happen a National Access to Nutritious Food Council should be set up immediately.

To end the hunger and malnutrition crisis on World Food Day, October 16th, we call for:

1. An Emergency 12-month Plan to tackle hunger and malnutrition.
2. The promises of Zero Stunting by 2030 to be reflected in new budgetary allocations to address child hunger in the October 24^th Medium Term Budget Policy Statement.
3. Political parties to address practical measures that can be taken to improve access to food at the local government level, and to unite around best practices rather than turn food into a political point-scoring football. In New York Mayor Mamdani is creating a subsidized grocery stores in every borough where essential foods are 30% cheaper. Why can’t we do the same?
4. In Soweto we will organise a Town Hall meeting on 13th October of Johannesburg’s Mayoral candidates on the subject of food and local government.
5. In Cape Town we will be a partner in the Climate Justice Charter Movement and South African Food Sovereignty Campaign march to Parliament, calling on government to put South Africa on a Climate Emergency footing, including ensuring access to sufficient nutritious food for everyone now and in the years to come. 

#PricesMustFallonEssentialFoods

#HungerMongersMustAccount

In the context of this emergency, the UAH believes that focusing on reducing food prices is critical. Lowering food prices is the quickest and widest way to address hunger. Whilst we agree there are many factors involved in hunger, which must all be addressed, excessive pricing is a major one – and one capable of the quickest solutions.

1. We are demanding lower prices on: eggs, fortified maize meal, milk, bread, and other nutritious food stuffs. Everywhere else we are calling for small, peaceful community-led pickets of Shoprite supermarkets.
2. The profits and excessive executive salaries of Shoprite, whose CEO’s package now tops R118 million per annum, underlies our demand that in a food emergency big business should make sacrifices, not the poor.  
3. If Shoprite and other Big Retailers do not respond and act voluntarily, we say the government must intervene immediately in the food market to regulate prices. UAH is exploring a legal case with SECTION27 to force the government to use its power to intervene in the food market and reduce prices.
4. Finally, we extend our calls for action to Parliament, who are the people’s elected representatives. There are many international examples of governments taking steps to protect the poor from hunger, including middle-income countries such as Mexico and Brazil. It is time for MPs to join the fight against avoidable and unconstitutional hunger in South Africa.