The recent General Household Survey for 2024 released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) shows that nationally, 22.2% of households rated their access to food inadequate or severely inadequate.
According to the report, KwaZulu-Natal, Northen Cape, Eastern Cape, and Mpumalanga have the poorest access to food.
It added that the number of people reliant to government grants increased from 12.8% in 2003 to 30.9% in 2019 and went up to 40.1% in 2024.
Director for Service Delivery Statistics, Niel Roux shared other highlights from the Survey.
“Forty-five point-five percent of children lived with mothers only while less than a third of 31.4% of children lived both parents.
The percentage of orphaned children was the highest in Free State (15.2%) and North West (14.9%) and lowest in Western Cape (8.1%).
More than one-quarter (26.9%) of households consisted of a single person, while 39.2% of households were double generation households comprised of parents and children.
More than two-fifths (42.4%) of all households were headed by females,” Roux explained.
The survey further indicates that water supply disruptions continue to be persistent and mostly plague rural areas which struggle to receive what it termed ‘safely managed water.’
Ending poverty and hunger is among one of government’s 2030 goals.
Key priorities estimated to contribute towards this are Agriculture, Infrastructure Development, Health, and Education.
The release of this data coincides with World Hunger Day, commemorated on 28 May.
It is observed annually to highlight the crisis of hunger and food security, while calling for sustainable solutions towards growth and development.
