EDITORIAL: Namibia’s malnutrition battle

The increasing number of malnutrition-related deaths across the country should serve as a warning that our socioeconomic mechanisms and safety nets are not yielding the desired results.

It is clear that government programmes aimed at addressing hunger are not working due to various reasons.

With over 2 000 malnutrition cases reported this year, interventions such as the green scheme projects - which for years have been hailed as the panacea to food insecurity - continue to deteriorate into worrying states due to poor funding and mismanagement.

Our vast tracts of land and water sources are not being utilised fully to ensure food security. Government constantly has to rely on local private farmers and imports to ensure that there is enough food in the country.

All this while there are thousands of green scheme employees being paid millions in taxpayer money while doing nothing to fulfill their mandates.

Earlier this year, health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula said malnutrition haunts several communities in Namibia, but he hastened to add that it should be dissected from the lack of food entirely and instead be understood as the intake of improper nutrition.

Downplaying the existence and impact of malnutrition to save the government from embarrassment will not solve the problem. Also, this is not a situation that can simply be wished away - it is one that requires political will and long-term solutions coupled with attainable targets.

Good policies and programmes are meaningless if they are not followed by adequate implementation and monitoring mechanisms where accountability takes centre stage.