Food Security in Impoverished Urban Settlements in South Africa

Abstract

ISEE-0212 Background and Objective: Food security is a basic human right. However, approximately one sixth of the developing world do not have sufficient food, impacting on the overall quality of their lives. In this paper we investigate the prevalence and trends in household food insecurity in three impoverished communities in Johannesburg, South Africa. Methods: Annual cross sectional surveys, commencing in 2006, were conducted in three impoverished settlements; Riverlea and Braamfischerville (low-cost housing developments constructed in the early 1960s and early 1990's, respectively), and Hospital Hill (an informal settlement on the outskirts of Johannesburg). A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on demographic profiles, socio-economic status, and food security. The sample size in 2006, 2007 and 2008 was 327, 354 and 292 households respectively. All statistical analyses were conducted using STATA, version 9. Results: The overall prevalence of food insecurity was 83.5%, 84.2% and 84.9% in 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively. In Riverlea and Hospital Hill, the poorest sites, the level of food insecurity deteriorated by approximately 8% over the 3 years. Overall food consumption dropped except for the intake of dairy products. Poverty was significantly related to food insecurity (P = 0.002). There was no significant difference in food insecurity between male and female headed households. Residing in an area for 10 years or more had a significant protective effect in 2006 (38.2% of the food insecure; P = 0.01). However by 2008 this positive effect decreased and 53.3% of the food insecure had resided in their dwellings for 10 years or longer. Conclusion: Findings from this study indicate that food insecurity is unacceptably high and rising. The urban poor communities appear to be at particular risk in South Africa. Hunger relief and poverty alleviation needs to be more aggressively implemented in order to improve the quality of life in these poor communities.