Namibians priced out of healthy eating
More than 57% of Namibians were unable to afford a healthy diet last year, which cost about N$84 per person per day at the 2024 exchange rate.According to this year’s State of Food Security and Nutrition report, 900 000 people in Namibia experienced severe food insecurity last year, while an estimated 8.2% of the global population experienced hunger in 2024, down from 8.5% in 2023 and 8.7% in 2022.
The report indicates that between 638 million and 720 million people faced hunger last year.
Based on the point estimate of 673 million, this represents a decrease of 15 million people from 2023 and of 22 million from 2022.
Pricey food
The report noted that while the decline is welcome, the latest estimates remain above pre-pandemic levels, with the high food inflation of recent years contributing to the slow recovery in food security.
However, progress was not consistent across the globe, as hunger continued to rise in most subregions of Africa and western Asia. It is projected that 512 million people could be chronically undernourished by 2030. Almost 60% of those will be in Africa.
According to the report, the proportion of the population facing hunger in Africa surpassed 20% in 2024, affecting 307 million people, while in Western Asia, an estimated 12.7% of the population, or more than 39 million people, may have faced hunger in 2024.
Meanwhile, the global prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity – an assessment registering the experience of constraints on access to adequate food during part of the year – decreased slightly between 2023 and 2024, the report stated.