​​Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security was celebrated on 30 October. In an opinion piece for Cape Times, Dr Matsepo Ramaboli from the African Microbiome Institute writes that Africans in urban areas need better food and nutrition to prevent non-communicable diseases.

• Read the article below or click here for the piece as published.

Matsepo Ramaboli*

Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security is celebrated annually on 30 October to draw attention to the pressing challenges of hunger and malnutrition in the continent and how they can be addressed. No doubt, it will take quite some effort and collaboration to find lasting solutions to these problems, especially if we consider that Africa's population is expected to reach nearly 2.5 billion in 2050.

Unfortunately, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) paints a rather bleak picture for the continent in its recent report Africa – regional overview of food security and nutrition: Transforming food systems for affordable healthy diets. It states that “Africa is not on track to meeting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 targets to end hunger and ensure access by all people to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round and to end all forms of malnutrition." To substantiate its argument, the FAO points out that the number of hungry people in the continent increased “by 47.9 million since 2014 and now stands at 250.3 million, or nearly one-fifth of the population. Of these, 15.6 million people are in Northern Africa and 234.7 million in sub-Saharan Africa."

The road ahead is indeed a challenging one.

The fact that the mentioned observance day focuses on food and nutrition security, highlights the importance of not only having access to enough food, but also consuming food that is healthy. Just as a lack of food can make you sick, so can eating unhealthy food. Research has shown that the movement of Africans from rural villages to cities in search of jobs, schools and a “better life" has led to changes in their diets and lifestyles – from traditional African to a Westernised style. Take South Africa, for example. Nowadays, it's not uncommon to find people consuming a lot of refined carbohydrates, processed meat and other unhealthy food that's high in sugar, fat and salt. And while healthy food is available, many poor South Africans who live in urban areas don't have the money to buy these products. They have no other choice than to buy cheap food that isn't always healthy and nutritious.

Unsurprisingly, poor and unhealthy diets have led to an increase in obesity, putting people at high risk of food-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, stroke, hypertension (high blood pressure), cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases. Also referred to as “chronic diseases of lifestyle" or “westernised diseases", NCDs have been the leading causes of deaths worldwide and became the main risk factors for COVID-19-related deaths.  In 2016 the South African Health Review (SAHR) reported that more than 45% of South Africans above 35 years of age were overweight and obese. Moreover, the NCDs accounted for 43% of the recorded deaths for which the SAHR alluded to the rates of overweight and obesity that had risen sharply since 2000 and were coupled with ongoing high levels of underweight and nutritional deficiencies.  

However, the fact that NCDs are caused by modifiable risk factors – such as an unhealthy diet, obesity, tobacco use and a lack of physical activity – gives us hope that they can also be prevented.

So, what can we do as individuals, communities, businesses and government to prevent and control NCDs?

The South African Department of Health (DoH) has already started to show us the way. Its Strategic Plan for Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases 2013-17 provides a framework that includes governmental targets and strategies as well as recommendations for a healthy diet. The plan also emphasizes the role for researchers in this regard. As far as healthy eating is concerned, the following cost-effective ways for changing one's diet are suggested: consume less salt, less fast and fried foods and snacks; eat lean meat and low-fat dairy products; avoid hard margarine and commercially baked products; add several fish dishes per week; eat whole grains, fruit, vegetables and legumes and other traditional foods; and reduce the use and intake of sweetened (sugary) foods and drinks.

For researchers, the DoH has outlined priority research goals for NCDs aimed at developing innovative low-cost screening and intervention approaches that can be implemented effectively in areas with limited resources. Heeding this call from the DoH, our team at the African Microbiome Institute at Stellenbosch University, under the leadership of Professor Stephen O'Keefe, are looking into foods that enhance the friendly bugs of the human body (i.e. the gut microbiome) as these bugs help the body to function well and fight diseases. As part of this research, we recently surveyed the diet of urbanised Africans in Cape Town and found that it is not adequate to enhance the friendly bugs. This diet is also high in fat and caloric energy that put these urbanites at risk of developing NCDs. Therefore, we hope to collaborate with other local researchers and nutrition specialists, and engage local communities to design acceptable and affordable diets that will enhance the friendly bugs while fighting NCDs.

Everyone has a role to play in the battle against NCDs. If we want to stay ahead of the curve, we must ensure that food and nutrition security becomes a reality for all.

*Dr Matsepo Ramaboli is a postdoctoral fellow at the African Microbiome Institute in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Stellenbosch University.​