Addressing the Food Crisis in Namibia
– with the expansion and construction of soup kitchens
This year, Namibia has been hit particularly hard by drought – but there have also been repeated crises in recent years, such as the global corona pandemic that has lasted almost two years, the global increase in energy and food prices, long periods of drought and irregular rainfall, which have had a significant impact on the food security, health and food supply of the Namibian population.
Due to inadequate food production due to water shortages and resulting food imports, low-income households are particularly vulnerable to crises and price increases.
- In the Global Hunger Index 2024, Namibia ranks 86th out of 127 countries: 22,2% of the population suffers from hunger and 6,2% of children under five suffer from wasting and 14,5% are stunted
- According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase (IPC) analysis, approximately 1,4 million Namibians are affected by acute food insecurity, representing almost half of the population.
- Compared to the previous year, this number has doubled and affects not only densely populated cities such as Windhoek, but all 14 regions of the country.
- Grain production has fallen by 53%, while water levels in reservoirs have fallen by 70%.
What we do to strengthen the food security of the communities at our locations
Expanding existing soup kitchens and building new soup kitchens
To combat hunger, we are continuing to expand our soup kitchens for external children. Another soup kitchen is being built in our Otto Xamseb facility in Rehoboth. Construction is expected to start in the first quarter of 2025. Here, too, up to 250 children from the surrounding slums who do not come to our facility can then be fed. A new steps soup kitchen will also be built in Gobabis.
In the future, at locations where our soup kitchens are present, we will focus primarily on alleviating malnutrition, stunting and children and young people affected by HIV infection.
Healthy vegetables from organic farming in Ongombombonde
Our steps children in Ongombombonde and Okakarara are provided with healthy fruit and vegetables from our organic farm. We are working on an organic certification for 2025. This is how steps is setting a good example. The aim is to sell future surpluses better and generate higher income.
Holistic Nutrition Offensive
For 2025, we want to launch a holistic nutrition initiative to provide more children and young people with food and also improve nutrition qualitatively To achieve this, existing eating patterns that have shaped poverty and food imports of cheap, highly processed foods would have to be changed sustainably.
Baking your own bread
In order to be able to offer healthy bread with nutritious ingredients, we plan to bake it ourselves in the future. This way, ingredients can be controlled and the home-baked bread can be served with a clear conscience at meals.
dental health
An important aspect of dental health is a varied and wholesome diet with plenty of fruit, vegetables and whole grain products. This is important for general health as well as dental and oral health. Above all, fresh and unprocessed foods should be consumed, as they contain valuable vitamins and minerals that strengthen tooth enamel.
This is where we will start – and additionally, through visits from a dentist who has already worked for “Dentists Without Borders”, we will introduce steps children and young people as well as employees to dental health through regular dental examinations.
Training
In order to enable a sustainable anchoring of healthy nutrition in society and thus improve living conditions overall, training courses are offered in our own training center in Ongombombonde, which is still in the planning stage. These courses provide cooks, parents, neighbors and interested parties with knowledge about the connection between nutrition and health and at the same time show ways in which you can expand your menu inexpensively and healthily by growing your own produce, even on the smallest of areas.
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Support our soup kitchens now and help
to pave the way to more stable food security!