While much of the rest of the world is now less food-insecure and better-nourished than in 2022, Africa is trending the opposite. This is especially the case for various countries in the Southern African Development Community.
By Lloyd Phillips, Senior Journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad
In 2024, approximately 307 million Africans – over 20% of Africa’s estimated 1,5 billion people – were undernourished. Also last year approximately one billion of the continent’s entire human population could not afford a healthy diet.
“Despite comprising only about 17% of the global population (8,1 billion in 2024), Africa now hosts nearly 40% of the world’s population unable to afford a healthy diet,” says a statement by the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA).
This statement is in response to the report ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025 – Addressing high food price inflation for food security and nutrition’ compiled by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation and other international bodies.
The CCARDESA is concerned that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) that comprises 16 member states, including South Africa, “is home to some of the most food-insecure population on the continent”.
It points out that the hardest hit, and some reasons therefore, are:
- Zambia – Significant price volatility in staple foods such as maize. Inflationary pressure has contributed to a sharp rise in the cost of a healthy diet. Over 60% of the rural population was moderately or severely food-insecure in 2024.
- Zimbabwe – Hyperinflation (350% increase between 2021 and 2023) results in increased food prices and devalues real wages. Affordability of healthy diets “is far out of reach for most households”.
- Mozambique – A combination of climate shocks (most notably cyclone-induced floods) and a high reliance on increasingly expensive food imports.
- Malawi – Sharp increases in prices of basic food items, especially maize and vegetable oils. Rural households, especially smallholder farmers, remain net buyers of food while their purchasing power steadily erodes.
South Africa Struggles Too
The full report states: “The prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in Southern Africa increased from 24,4% in 2021 to 26,5% in 2024. The prevalence of undernourishment rose from 11,1% in 2023 to 11,4% in 2024 (global: 8,2%).
“The prevalence of stunting in children under five years was 24,1% in 2024 (global: 22,3%) and has showed little improvement from previous years.”
South Africa’s situation is mixed. Its food insecurity level is 25,8% (Africa: 58,9%) and its average daily cost per person for a healthy diet is approximately $3,89 (R68,80) compared to Africa’s average of $4,41 (R80,00). Nevertheless, nearly 40 million South Africans, or approximately 61% of the national population, cannot afford healthy diets and this number is reportedly increasing.
The report’s many recommendations to address Africa’s nutrition challenges include countries reducing taxes on essential food items, maintaining strategic food reserves to stabilise prices, aligning fiscal and monetary policies to anchor inflation, building climate-resilient agricultural practices, reducing trade barriers and export restrictions carefully, and developing robust agricultural market information systems.
