Food security, rural development and health equity in Southern Africa

The recent widespread food crisis in southern Africa has pushed more than sixteen million people into severe food shortage. Agriculture and food security still play a fundamental role in determining the development and health of the poorest in the region.

This paper discusses the current food security and nutrition situation in the region, as well as the health and equity issues and policy concerns arising.

The author argues that there are five valid reasons why food security and nutrition should be given high priority in actions to improve health equity and socio-economic development across the region:

• poverty, hunger and under-nutrition are getting worse in eastern southern Africa, even though they are improving in almost every other region. This undermines the achievement of UN Millennium Development Goals in this region
• instead of the potential virtuous cycle that could be created between improved nutrition and improved economic wellbeing, southern Africa is currently caught in a vicious cycle of worsening poverty, hunger and under-nutrition accentuating income and health inequalities
• proven effective interventions indicate that public policy can make a difference, that nutritional improvements can be effected, even under conditions of poverty
• implementing public policies that address food security provides an opportunity to deal with the demands of AIDS
• confronting hunger and nutrition provides one further area where alternatives can bebuilt that promote policy objectives of justice and equity.

The author suggests that a minimum equity programme should focus on:

• building civil and state alliances around a programme of action that links a food sovereignty perspective with the equitable public policy
• promoting further assessment of the links between trade and health in the region to feed into advocacy for trade policies and agreements that strengthen public health
• supporting, informing and evaluating policies and initiatives that provide safety nets to those most affected by negative effects of trade and agricultural policies and of HIV andAIDS.

[adapted from author]