Hunger and disease draws protesters to parliament on World Food Day

Dozens of poor residents held up placards that read: “We are hungry”, “Healthy food for all” and “Children are dying” as they sang struggle songs to mark World Food Day outside parliament in Cape Town today.

World Food Day is celebrated in more than 150 countries, according to the United Nations. The idea behind it is to promote healthy diets and eradicate hunger by 2030. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FOA) was founded on the 16th of October in 1945.

Tinashe Njanji, national co-ordinator for People’s Health Movement (PHM) decried the fact that the country produces enough food but the majority of people do not have access to it. “We are a country that produces an abundance of food. What causes hunger is that most people can’t afford buying food in South Africa. We have 20-million people who go to bed hungry every day. The food is there, but it’s not affordable,” Njanji said.

Njanji and the demonstrators want the government to address non-communicable diseases that kill people. The food that is affordable to the poor is “ultra-processed and causes them non-communicable diseases such as cancer and diabetes”, he said.

A media statement by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group (PMBEJD), which conducts surveys on food prices, says that lack of access to nutritious food presents a burden to the country’s healthcare system. The organisation says that healthy food has become more unaffordable in 2024. The cost of the average household food basket increased by R99.91 (1.9%) from R5,155.77 in September 2023 to R5,255.68 in September 2024 according to the latest data from their September 2024 Household Affordability Index. The food items that saw a big increase are tomatoes, sugar beans and eggs.

“Communities must be equipped with knowledge and tools so that they can produce food on their own,” Njanji said.

Food parcels being distributed at Sassa offices in Khayelitsha for South Africans during lockdown in 2020. Archive photo by Lilita Gcwabe.

Noluthando Nazo, a member of Gugulethu Health Forum, said: “We are here to complain about the rising food prices. We use our monies to buy only starchy foods because we can’t afford to buy healthy foods,” she said.

Nazo said lack of access to nutritious foods causes kids malnutrition in the townships. “Women give birth to malnourished babies because they were eating unhealthy food while they were pregnant. Malnutrition causes them big heads and big stomachs,” she said. As a community health worker in Gugulethu, Nazo said poverty causes residents with chronic diseases such as HIV and TB to default on their medication.

Sindiswa Zibaya, a retired nurse, said she wants the government to feed kids who rely on the old-age grants of their grandparents. She also believes that the amount poor people receive as a social relief of distress grant is a pittance. Zibaya said: “The R350 grant is not enough to buy food. The government must feed the poor and give them skills so that they can be independent.”

The protesters believe that government support for food gardens is one of the ways to deal with lack of access to nutrition. Archive photo by Thembisani Dube.

Phumza Booi said escalating transport fares and electricity tariffs have reduced the impact of soup kitchens in Delft and other areas. “Soup kitchens make no difference to the hunger that the residents experience because they feed them only sometimes,” she said. “The government must give us jobs so that we can feed our grandparents.”

The memorandum, submitted to the Speaker of the National Assembly, reads: “It is unacceptable that, in a country where the right to food is enshrined in our Constitution, access to healthy meals is becoming the privilege of the wealthy.” It demands that the government “guarantees access to nutritious meals for all citizens, regardless of income.

“We call for higher taxes on companies that produce and market unhealthy, ultra-processed foods that contribute to the rise in non-communicable diseases,” the memorandum continues. “Decent wages and permanent, adequate social grants are necessary so that all citizens can afford to buy healthy food for themselves and their families.”

Advocate Nombongo Mongo, procedural officer in the parliamentary speakers office, said they will respond to the memorandum or ask the relevant department to do so.