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Showing posts from September, 2013

The reality of hunger in South Africa today - Mpho Putu

Mpho Putu   South Africa has enough food to feed its entire population, and yet many people, especially the poor in the rural areas, remain vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition.   Hunger is a reality today, it kills and is a scandal in a democratic South Africa, a country of plenty.     Hunger has become so deeply entrenched and prevalent, not only in the rural communities as it was thought, but also the major cities have been found to be struggling with food. A five-year study by the University of Cape Town's African Food Security Unit Network has exposed a food crisis that constitutes a "death sentence" for many and which the government has labelled as "serious". The survey found the hungriest people in South Africa are found in   Cape Town (80%) and Msunduzi, in KwaZulu-Natal (87%), that, in Johannesburg, 43% of the poor faced starvation and malnutrition. Researchers believe the figure could be higher. The plight of the hungry was highlighted in 2011