Justicia Shipena
More than 1.6 million Namibians cannot afford a healthy diet.
This is according to the 2025 State of Food Security and Nutrition (SOFI 2025) report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).
With Namibia’s population at approximately 3 million, this means just 46.7% of citizens can afford the minimum nutritional requirements for a healthy lifestyle.
The figures in the SOFI 2025 indicated an increase from last year’s estimated figures of 1.5 million people.
Between 2021 and 2023, the cost of a healthy diet in Namibia rose by over 19%. In 2023 alone, food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation hit 10.2%, with staples such as bread, cereals, meat, and vegetables recording double-digit price hikes.
A healthy daily diet was estimated to cost US$3.65 (about N$76.88) per person, according to previous reports from 2023.
This comes as the FAO and World Food Programme (WFP) recently removed Namibia from their hunger hotspot list. The June to October 2025 Hunger Hotspots report lists 13 countries facing the worst levels of food insecurity, down from 16 in 2024.
Namibia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe exited the list. Namibia was first declared a hunger hotspot in November 2024.
Ben Schernick, director of the Nutrition and Food Security Alliance of Namibia (Nafsan), said over 20% of Africa’s population now goes hungry.
“That’s 120 times Namibia’s population. The main issue is access and affordability of food,” he said.
He noted that more Namibians are engaging in gardening and small-scale fruit and vegetable production. Still, he said the cost of a nutritious diet remains high at about N$80 per person daily, or N$2,600 monthly.
The National Planning Commission (NPC) recently worked on the “Fill the Nutrient Gap Report” in 2022.
Schernick hopes Cabinet will approve an updated version soon. He said poverty and inequality likely affect more than the estimated 1.8 million Namibians cited in the 2025 SOFI report.
“There is a need to promote more diversified diets and healthy eating habits,” he said. Nafsan has introduced a Nutrition-for-Health training programme and promotes breastfeeding and good nutrition for young children.
Namibia recently concluded its 2024/25 national drought relief programme following one of the most severe droughts in the country’s history.
The El Niño-driven dry spell caused significantly below-average rainfall during the 2023/24 agricultural season.
About 384,935 households were declared food insecure, and over 1,100 Namibians, mostly children, died due to malnutrition.
The Omaheke region was the most affected.
On 22 May 2024, former president Nangolo Mbumba declared a state of emergency on hunger. The cabinet approved a N$1.3 billion drought relief plan, implemented from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025.
Rinaani Musutua from the Basic Income Grant Coalition said hunger is widespread.
“You see people scavenging rubbish dumps and bins. I saw a child eating bones from a skip in Wanaheda. How is that possible in a country with so many resources?” she asked.
Musutua criticised the government for not doing enough to address hunger. “Namibia is expensive. Seventy percent of people earn N$1,500 or less. Food prices are shockingly high. Shopping for food is painful.”
She called for increased social grants.
“We have been advising the government to implement a universal basic income grant of N$500 per month for all Namibians aged 0–59. It would help people afford food and stop them from scavenging,” she said.
Musutua added that the Harambee cash grant, wrongly labelled a conditional basic income grant, has not eased the hunger crisis.
“Government must expand it to cover more people. Now that we have a new administration under Nandi-Ndaitwah, we hope she will act.”
Meanwhile, economist Omu Kakujah-Matundu said the statictics from this year’s report was expected.
“Last year’s drought hurt people without livestock or land. They still need food handouts.”
He said long-term solutions must address land access and historical marginalisation.
“NDP6 should have supported these communities to become self-reliant.”
Global hunger picture
Across the SADC region, SOFI 2025 shows that food insecurity is widespread. In Zambia, 93% of the population cannot afford a healthy diet.
In Mozambique, the figure is over 80%, while in South Africa it stands above 40%. Inflation, climate shocks, and poverty remain key drivers.
According to the report, globally, hunger affected 8.2% of the population, about 673 million people, in 2024, down from 8.5% in 2023.
However, hunger rose in many parts of Africa and western Asia. In Africa, more than 307 million people faced hunger in 2024, surpassing 20% of the population.
The SOFI 2025 report, released at the UN Food Systems Summit in Addis Ababa, projects that by 2030, 512 million people could be chronically undernourished, 60% of them in Africa.
From 2023 to 2024, global moderate or severe food insecurity declined slightly from 28.4% to 28%, affecting 2.3 billion people.
That’s 335 million more than in 2019 and 683 million more than in 2015.
Child stunting dropped from 26.4% in 2012 to 23.2% in 2024.
The rate of exclusive breastfeeding for infants under six months rose from 37% in 2012 to 47.8% in 2023. However, child overweight and wasting rates remain unchanged, and anaemia among women aged 15 to 49 rose from 27.6% in 2012 to 30.7% in 2023.
The report also found that one-third of children aged 6 to 23 months and two-thirds of women aged 15 to 49 met minimum dietary diversity standards.
FAO director general QU Dongyu said progress remains uneven.
“We must ensure everyone has access to nutritious food.”
UNICEF’s Catherine Russell called for stronger social protection and nutrition education for families.
WFP executive director Cindy McCain warned of funding cuts.
“Last year, WFP reached 124 million people. This year, cuts of up to 40% threaten those gains.”
WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said progress has been made in reducing stunting and promoting breastfeeding, but millions still face food insecurity.
The SOFI report recommends that governments invest in climate-resilient agriculture, transform food systems, improve access to nutritious food, and expand targeted social protection.
