Abstract

Larry Williams and Kelvin Smith

Food security is at the forefront of the global agenda as seen in the newly developed Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). For much too long the urban crisis of food security has remained in the shadow of rural food insecurity. In southern Africa the majority of food security interventions are focused on the rural poor, but it’s been recognized that the urban poor are facing serious challenges with regards to reaching a food secure state. In light of market prices increasing at an alarming rate, the state of the urban poor’s ability to access these markets need to be investigated, in order to facilitate problem specific interventions. Household Food Insecurity Access surveys were conducted to assess the state of food security in informal settlements of Windhoek; furthermore dietary diversity and month of adequate food in households were also investigated. It was found that food insecurity is high (>80%) amongst households, dietary diversity low (maize and sugar being the most dominant foods) and coping strategies severe (e.g. fewer meals per day). Furthermore, market access appears to be hindered mainly by lack of finance. Urban interventions were reviewed which showed that context specific interventions are few and mostly unsustainable. This confirms the limited attention the urban poor receive with regards to food security and that much more should be done to improve the situation in order to reduce food insecurity and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.