Widespread hunger demands our attention

Winter is hard on the homeless and hungry, whose numbers grow daily amid government incompetence.

Take a break from worrying about cigarettes, booze, exercise times, schools reopening and whether your domestic worker may return, or you will be allowed into public parks during Level 3 lockdown. Another issue is gathering momentum.

Yes, it is important to debate the real or imaginary power of Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (NDZol) over President Cyril Ramaphosa. Or the wisdom of having a mad hatter in charge of police. There are well-founded fears that freedoms taken away during lockdown may never return.

Let’s remain vigilant.

But hunger and homelessness cry out for urgent attention. It is a disgrace that political parties and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) must go to court for the right to feed the hungry. Especially since government is failing to do so.

Hunger is at the heart of the ruckus over SA Medical Research Council president Dr Glenda Gray. Her initial comments on severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in children at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital may not have been accurate. And she did amend them.

The spat should not obscure the underlying issue. As Wits paediatrics Professor Haroon Saloojee told Daily Maverick: “We know that there will be an increase in food insecurity and hunger will impact on children’s nutritional status. Higher rates of SAM can be expected across the country.

“Hospitals such as Bara are a poor proxy of the real situation. There is a real possibility that malnourished children and others with other conditions are dying at home during the lockdown. We will only know the truth when we examine mortality statistics much later.”

There is reason to doubt we’ll ever know the true statistics on malnutrition, Covid-19, HIV or tuberculosis. Lockdown is partly to blame.

“Thousands of South Africans are avoiding health facilities, shunning life-saving treatment out of fear of being infected by Covid-19 and being harassed by police,” reports Kerry Cullinan in Maverick Citizen.

“Even mobile clinics that provide HIV, TB and contraceptive services have reported a huge drop in clients – possibly because all health services are being associated with Covid-19.”

As a ward councillor, I notice feeding schemes run by well-intentioned residents are collapsing, shelters are closing. There are increasing numbers of displaced people begging on the streets and sleeping rough. City and provincial food handouts are not effective. Even the well-resourced Solidarity Fund’s food parcel distribution programme is proving unsustainable.

“We cannot perpetuate a society where we are always benefactors of handouts. We need to activate communities to do things for themselves,” the fund’s interim CEO, Nomkhita Nqweni, told the Sunday Times.

Generally, funding for food is drying up.

And with the collapse of so many businesses, between one million and seven million more people are expected to lose their jobs.

SA Revenue Service predicts a R285 billion revenue loss, in addition to the previously budgeted R370 billion deficit.

In this winter of discontent, the least the government can do is stop trying to prevent food distribution. And the rest of us witnessing the unfolding deprivation, be kind.

You can.

Martin Williams, DA councillor and former editor of The Citizen.

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