60% of Namibians cannot afford healthy diet

About 60% of Namibians are unable to afford a healthy diet, which costs around US$3.67 (N$67.92 at today’s exchange rate) per person per day, experts have calculated.Statistics provided in the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report show that in 2021, at least 1.5 million Namibians could not afford a healthy diet.Moreover, roughly 800 000 Namibians faced severe food insecurity in 2022, while 400 000 were undernourished.Recurrent global shocks The latest data indicates that since 2019, over 122 million more people worldwide have experienced hunger as a result of the pandemic, recurrent weather shocks, and conflicts, including the Ukraine war.The report, published last week, was a joint effort by five specialised agencies of the United Nations: the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children&#039;s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the World Food Programme (WFP).The organisations warned that if trends persist, the Sustainable Development Goal of eradicating hunger by 2030 will not be achieved.Worsening crisisAccording to the report, between 691 million and 783 million people faced hunger in 2022, with a mid-range of 735 million. The FAO said while global hunger numbers stalled between 2021 and 2022, there are many places in the world facing deepening food crises.Africa remains the worst-affected region, with one in five people facing hunger on the continent, more than twice the global average."There are rays of hope – some regions are on track to achieve some 2030 nutrition targets. But overall, we need an intense and immediate global effort to rescue the Sustainable Development Goals. We must build resilience against the crises and shocks that drive food insecurity – from conflict to climate," said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.Lack of accessThe report revealed that approximately 29.6% of the world&#039;s population, equivalent to 2.4 billion people, lacked consistent access to food, as indicated by the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity. Within this group, around 900 million individuals experienced severe food insecurity.Meanwhile, the capacity of people to access healthy diets has deteriorated across the world: more than 3.1 billion people (42%) were unable to afford a healthy diet in 2021. This represents an overall increase of 134 million people compared to 2019.New concernsThe report also looked at increased urbanisation as a "megatrend" affecting how and what people eat.With almost seven in ten people projected to live in cities by 2050, governments and others must seek to understand these trends and account for them in their policymaking.The report noted that urbanisation and changing agrifood systems have given rise to two new types of food environments: food deserts and food swamps.Food deserts are geographic areas where residents’ access to diverse, fresh or nutritious foods is limited or even non-existent due to the absence or low density of "food entry points" within a practical travel distance.Food swamps are areas where there is an overabundance of foods of high energy density and minimal nutritional value. They offer few options for affordable, nutritious foods."For example, the rapid growth of Windhoek has gone hand in hand with the rapid growth of informal peri-urban and urban settlements. These settlements can be defined as food deserts due to the lack of nutritious foods for most inhabitants."

60% of Namibians cannot afford healthy diet

Comments

Namibian Sun 2026-08-24

Please login to leave a comment

60% of Namibians cannot afford healthy diet

Comments

Namibian Sun 2026-08-24

Please login to leave a comment

Subscription Required to Access Content ×

Login

Subscription Required to Access Content