30 children die of hunger every day in South Africa

Nearly 11,000 children die from hunger and malnutrition every year, which comes down to an average of 30 per day, according to activist Mark Heywood, who is the Union Against Hunger’s Secretariat.

During the Daily Maverick’s The Gathering event in Cape Town at the end of August, Heywood told the audience that South Africa’s constitution is failing these children.

He argued that the Constitution says that everyone in South Africa has the right to sufficient food and water, and that every child has the right to basic nutrition.

However, Heywood has pointed out in previous interviews that this is not the case.

Speaking to the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) on World Hunger Day, he said that roughly 20 million people in the country—about a third of the population—face hunger.

“When it comes to children, this is even more serious. By the age of five, 29% of children in South Africa have experienced malnutrition and are stunted as a result of not having sufficient food,” Heywood said.

“We know that there are several causes of hunger and that it is complex, but one of the most significant contributors is food prices and the profiteering of essential foodstuffs.”

He argues that this is a claim based on research and that if food were made more affordable to poor people, hunger and malnutrition would be reduced.

Heywood said that malnutrition stunting by the age of five means that the child is cognitively and physically underdeveloped and below the average.

“They carry that lack of development throughout life because their bodies have not had sufficient nutrition to develop in the critical phase of life,” he said.

“The hunger we are witnessing in young people is something they will live with throughout their lives, and add to the profound inequalities that already exist in our country.”

Heywood added that the Union Against Hunger is lobbying the government to pass legislation that prohibits food waste. A third of all food, 20 million tonnes, goes to waste yearly.

Push for cheaper nutritional foodstuffs

In 2024, the Mail and Guardian reported that food prices jumped by 50% between September 2020 and September 2024.

This was revealed by the Competition Commission’s Essential Food Pricing Monitoring report, which uses data from the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group (PEJD) Household Affordability Index.

The report found that the average cost of the household food basket was R3,923.72 in October 2020, increasing to R5,330.62 in May 2024.

The PEJD’s latest data has found that the basket’s price has increased by just under R100 to R5,420.30.

On World Hunger Day, the Union Against Hunger launched a petition asking Shoprite CEO Piter Engelbrecht to lower the prices of essential foodstuffs, such as those vital for children’s development in the early stages of life.

Heywood said the petition was addressed explicitly to Shoprite, a market leader in the retail space, and that it would also be taken to other retailers.

“Those companies make huge amounts of money. Shoprite itself makes R20 million a day. So there’s no question that they can afford to help us address this national crisis,” he said.

Shoprite and one of South Africa’s other retail giants, Pick n Pay, have made efforts to tend to the hunger crisis in South Africa. However, not to the extent demanded by the Union Against Hunger’s petition.

Since 2016, Shoprite, Africa’s largest retailer, has been selling loaves of bread at R5 each.

Similarly, Pick n Pay has been selling loaves for 99c each. However, customers need to be FNB customers and registered for a specific bank account to qualify.