Browsing: healthy diets

• The United Nations declared the years 2021 to 2030 as the “Decade of Healthy Ageing”.
• With increased longevity in Africa, it is imperative to focus on research, policy and infrastructure development to properly support ageing population.
• A greater effort is required to implement the AU Policy on Ageing and the Protocol on Human Rights for Older Persons in the contexts of (South) Africa.

While Africa is a continent with a rapidly growing population of young people, it is crucial for the region to pay attention to the global agenda on ageing.

The United Nations declared the years 2021 to 2030 as the “Decade of Healthy Ageing”. This global collaboration, aligned with the last 10 years of the Sustainable Development Goals, seeks to improve the lives of older people, their families and the communities in which they live.

“With increased longevity in Africa, it is imperative to focus on research, policy …

• Eastern Africa and Western Africa account for 70 per cent of Africa’s population unable to afford a healthy diet.
• About 30 per cent of Africa’s children bear the indelible mark of stunted growth, a cruel consequence of malnutrition.
• Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger emerged with the highest prevalence rates of child wasting above 10 per cent.

Food crisis in Africa is deepening with a new report showing that an estimated one billion people in the continent are unable to afford a healthy diet. Painting a grim picture for the continent, the Africa Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition – Statistics and Trends 2023 report adds that a total of 282 million people in Africa, roughly 20 percent of the population, including millions of children, are undernourished. This distressing statistic sadly reflects an increase of 57 million people since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“After a long …