Food Security status in the area.

Motherwell is a township in the Eastern Cape province with about 140000 inhabitants (2011) about 25 km north of Gqeberhas city centre and is situated on the northern outskirts of the city’s metropolitan area. It is the largest settlement in terms of population and land area in Port Elizabeth that is part of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality which is the metropolitan area comprising Gqeberha, Despatch, Kariega and other surrounding towns. It was planned to accommodate the black squatters who were relocated from Zwide (and Veeplaas), and construction began in 1984. 

Low birth weight and child malnutrition.

The triple burden of malnutrition is clearly seen in Motherwell. Its impact on maternal health continued to play a key role in preventing low birth weight and malnutrition in children. Operation Hunger’s integrated approach to addressing hunger in the community plays in key role in improving the nutritional education of women of childbearing age. With over 52,4% of people living in the Eastern Cape having been recorded as being unemployed post COVID19 pandemic,  the continued increase in food prices is likely to increase the levels of vulnerability among households in the Metro. This is likely to worsen samong the 49% of the households that reported lack of money to purchase food and non-food items. Over-reliance on purchased foods with rising food prices is likely to diminish household purchasing power.