Oxfam calls for action against hunger

This followed the launch of the Oxfam report, Hidden Hunger in South Africa: the face of hunger and malnutrition in a food secure nation, which documented why a food secure country such as South Africa had so many people going hungry.

The economic justice campaign manager of Oxfam in South Africa, Rashmi Mistry said the conversation of how to end hunger had to start, and called on government officials to take the matter seriously.

“South Africa is supposedly a food secure country but one in four people go hungry everyday and hunger strips away at people’s dignity,” she added.

Pregs Govender, deputy chair of the Human Rights Commission gave the keynote address at the event on hunger and the right to food.

Govender expressed her concerns on the inequalities that still existed in South Africa. “Those who were wealthy before 1994 have just become wealthier and it is not possible to confront hunger without acknowledging how wealth is distributed in our country,” she said.

She called for government to take action through policies and to also co-ordinate these policies on the ground.

Her talk was followed by short presentations and a panel discussion on hunger in the context of the right to food in South Africa.

Participants included representatives of the City of Johannesburg, Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, Studies for Poverty and Inequality, the Rural Women’s Assembly and the community.

The event is one of a number taking place around the country to raise awareness of hunger in communities.

Details: on rmistry@oxfam.org.uk