Climate Variability Accelerates Food and Nutrition Insecurity in Southern Africa Food Insecure Population on the Increase

09 July 2018, Gaborone, Botswana - The number of food insecure people in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region in the 2018/19 consumption year is 29 million people, representing 14 percent of the population, according to the “State of Food and Nutrition Insecurity and Vulnerability in Southern Africa” report. The report was compiled from results of the 2018 vulnerability assessments and analysis of 11 SADC Member States. The number of the food insecure population is 13 percent higher, compared to last year, 2017/8.

The increasing food insecure population reverses the improvement in 2017/18 when the number fell to 27 million from 38 million in 2016/2017.

Over the past ten years, the food insecure population in the region has remained above 22.7 million.