POOR FOOD INSECURE URBANITES NEED COVID-19 RELIEF

BUUMBA CHIMBULU writes THE Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) has called on Government to consider the vulnerable, poor and food insecure urbanites as it comes up with interventions aimed at protecting the affected populations from Covid-19. CTPD Senior Researcher, Simon Manda, observed that the scaling down of economic activities and restrictions on social […]

POOR FOOD INSECURE URBANITES NEED COVID-19 RELIEF
BUUMBA CHIMBULU writes THE Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) has called on Government to consider the vulnerable, poor and food insecure urbanites as it comes up with interventions aimed at protecting the affected populations from Covid-19. CTPD Senior Researcher, Simon Manda, observed that the scaling down of economic activities and restrictions on social movements could create a new stream of urban poor as they faced financial constraints due to reductions in or loss of jobs in the wake of Covid-19. Dr Manda explained that this called for the identification of needy urban households especially in high density areas and consider introducing support such as through food banks. “Such food centers can act as fall back strategies for struggling urbanites,’’ he said in a statement yesterday. Dr Manda said food banks for Lusaka alone could play a pivotal role in closing gaps in food access to the majority of who did not have reliable access to food. This, he explained, raised the need for not only Government support but also food charities and ordinary individuals. He said food banks could play a vital role in supporting and sustaining vibrant local food systems and could leverage their purchasing volumes to support urban food security and regional economies. Dr Manda said recent records indicated that close to one million people (between 23 – 30 percent) were characterised as poor, the majority of whom lived in high-density areas. “These face unique livelihood challenges due to their close connections to markets on the one hand and generating incomes from informal opportunities. These dynamics make food access through markets and most importantly capacity to switch food preferences difficult, ’he said. Dr Manda stressed that this could help address not only food insecurity but also food waste by distributing food which otherwise would had lost. He, however, urged Government to consider working with different charities, churches and other key actors to find actual modalities and pathways for delivering food to needy households. The Sun