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.