Hidden Hunger in South Africa: The faces of hunger and malnutrition in a food-secure nation

Overview

South Africa is supposedly a food-secure nation, producing enough calories to feed every one of its 53 million citizens. But despite some progress, one in four people currently suffers hunger on a regular basis and more than half of the population live in such precarious circumstances that they are at risk of going hungry. These figures should be a national scandal, but hunger and malnutrition rarely make the headlines in South Africa and are not at the top of decision makers’ agendas. 

This report is based on the testimonies of women and men, urban and rural, and attempts to show what it feels like to face hunger on a regular basis or to be constantly afraid of this threat. Eradicating hunger in South Africa will require an integrated legislative response based on the state’s constitutional mandate to ensure that no one goes hungry.