Tracking the extent and drivers of food insecurity and their effects on malnutrition syndemic in South Africa

This chapter draws on secondary data to explore the drivers and the consequences of food and nutrition insecurity in South Africa. The General Household Surveys, Quarterly Employment Surveys, Labour Force Surveys, COVID-19 National Income and Dynamic Study and the Old Mutual Survey are employed to determine current South African trends in food security, access to food, employment, financial freedom and food affordability. The findings indicate that the majority of South Africans became food insecure 3 to 5 months within the COVID-19 pandemic. Many South African workers lost their jobs and some reported earning less than usual. Consequently, a large proportion were unable to purchase groceries that would afford them nutritionally balanced diets. This might have contributed to the already entrenched occurrence of two or more nutritional disorders (double burden of malnutrition or malnutrition syndemic) that are often visible among the poorer and some middle-income South African households. It is against this background that practical interventions to address drivers of food insecurity must be examined, so as to draw lessons for improving current and future interventions to mitigate future similar pandemics.