Namibia grapples with worsening food security amid drought, economic challenges

Windhoek [Namibia], February 3: Namibia is grappling with a deepening household food security crisis, as revealed by the latest Agricultural Inputs and Household Food Security Monitoring Report for December 2023.
The report underscored the alarming situation in crop-producing regions, where households are increasingly reliant on the market and the government's Drought Relief Food Program to secure access to food.
According to the report obtained by Xinhua on Friday, for most households interviewed, last season's harvest, which was being supplemented with market purchases, depleted between September and November 2023.
The report noted that southern, eastern and central Namibia, dominated by livestock farmers, are also experiencing a poor household food security situation due to the lingering effects of last season's drought. "This has presented a significant risk to those who depend on livestock rearing since the pasture in these parts of the country is depleted and inadequate to sustain their livestock," the report said.
According to the Namibia 2023 Vulnerability Assessment and Analysis report, about 579,000 people (22 percent of the population) are faced with high levels of acute food insecurity and require urgent action to reduce food gaps and protect livelihoods. The report projects that by March 2024, this number could rise to 26 percent of the population, affecting around 695,000 people.
The report said the root causes of Namibia's deteriorating food security include drought, erratic rainfall, flash floods, price shocks, economic decline and unemployment. Responding to the crisis, the Namibian government has initiated a comprehensive nationwide drought humanitarian relief assistance food program spanning from October 2023 to June 2024. Targeting households in both rural and urban areas affected by the drought, the program includes criteria disqualifying certain vulnerable groups, like old-age pensioners, from receiving benefits.
Meanwhile, the report suggested that the government should continue providing drought relief measures to households facing food insecurity in all 14 regions until the situation normalizes, and should also review the eligibility criteria for providing drought relief food for more than one pensioner living in the same house.
Source: Xinhua