AFSUN Policy Brief: SADC Region

The rate of urbanization in the SADC region is twice that of the global average. Whereas food poverty has historically been associated with rural communities, this is no longer the case. With sustained urbanisation, the locus of poverty is now shifting from rural to urban areas in the region. The recent sharp rise in food prices, coupled with an economic downturn, all suggest that poor urban households are experiencing a widening food gap. However, there has been little empirical evidence that quantifies the prevalence of food insecurity in the towns and cities of Southern Africa. In response to this paucity of data, the Urban Food Security Baseline Survey was undertaken by the African Food Security Urban Network (AFSUN) in late 2008 which collected data from approximately 6,500 households and 28,700 individuals in eleven cities in nine SADC countries. The data supports the assumption that urban poverty is associated with high levels of food insecurity at the household level, with 77 percent of poor urban households surveyed reporting conditions of food insecurity’. Moreover, the median household dietary diversity score is five (out of 12), and 81% of households had experienced months of inadequate food provisioning during year preceding the survey. Chronic food insecurity is therefore pervasive in urban centres in Southern Africa.