Food Security status in the area.

Home of the forgotten children 

 Sweetwaters is a community located in uMgungundlovu District Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal. A combination of past and present inequalities and injustices mean they have several challenges. One of the biggest problems facing people in Sweetwaters is unemployment.  With opportunities for employment being limited, the low level of education in the community results in many residents no having the required skills or education for the few available jobs. Most of the homes are either single-parent homes or child headed homes. Alcoholism and drug abuse creates unhealthy home environments. HIV/AIDS is a concerns as many are not educated on safe sex. For this reason, teen pregnancy is common in Sweetwaters. 

Food Security Status in the area

The Amajuba District has a total population of 556 580 people and is home to 0.9% of the total population in South Africa. Between 2009 and 2019 the population growth averaged at 1.10% per annum, which is almost half the growth rate of South Africa (1.61%) and is comparable to the provincial growth rate of 1.15%. 

The District has a total number 127 000 households equating to an average annual growth rate of 1.27% in the number of households from 2009 to 2019, which is lower than that of the province (1.44%) and the country (2.09%). There are 788 child headed households in the district, which is less than 10% of the provincial total and less than 10% of the total number of child headed households in the country. About 12.3% of these households in the district live in informal dwellings (shacks). In terms of women headed households, about 48% the households are headed by women as compared to 52% of male headed households. 

According to the Department of Health, the three highest causes of death for children under the age of 5 in Amajuba are: lower respiratory infections (20.0%), diarrhoea (18.8%) and pre-term birth complications (17.4%). The top two causes of death for young women and men between the ages 15-24 are tuberculosis 14.7% and HIV/Aids 12.6%. In the age group 25 to 64, the top causes of death for males and females are TB, HIV/AIDS and lower respiratory infections. 

With regard to levels of poverty, there were 416 000 people living in poverty in the Amajuba District – this is 11.31% higher than the 374 000 in 2009. 

The number of formally employed people in district counted 92 200 in 2019, which is about 79.99% of total employment, while the number of people employed in the informal sector counted 23 000 or 20.01% of the total employment. Informal employment in Amajuba increased marginally from 22 400 in 2009 to an estimated 23 000 in 2019. 

Regarding unemployment, there are 60 100 people unemployed in Amajuba, which is an increase of 20 200 from 39 900 in 2009. The total number of unemployed people within Amajuba constitutes 6.67% of the total number of unemployed people in province. 

In relation to levels of literacy, the number of people without any schooling decreased from 2009 to 2019 with an average annual rate of -3.28%, while the number of people within the ‘matric only’ category, increased from 75,200 to 101,000. The number of people with ‘matric and a certificate/diploma’ increased with an average annual rate of 1.29%, with the number of people with a ‘matric and a Bachelor’s’ degree increasing with an average annual rate of 7.01%. Overall improvement in the level of education is visible with an increase in the number of people with ‘matric’ or higher education 

With a GDP of R 22.2 billion in 2019 (up from R 12.5 billion in 2009), the Amajuba District contributed 2.76% to the KwaZulu-Natal Province GDP of R 805 billion in 2019. The District contributed 0.44% to the GDP of South Africa which had a total GDP of R 5.08 trillion in 2019. 

In terms of economic sector performance in the district, community services sector is the largest accounting for R 4.9 billion or 24.3% of the total GVA of the district economy. The sector that contributes the second most to the GVA is the manufacturing sector at 17.7%, followed by the finance sector with 15.0%. The sector that contributes the least to the economy is the construction sector with a contribution of R 633 million or 3.14% of the total GVA. 

Regarding access to basic services, the District has a total number of 47 700 (or 39.04%) households with piped water inside the dwelling, while a total of 53 700 (43.96%) households are without piped water inside the yard. The Amajuba District has a total number of 65 400 households with flush toilets (53.49% of total households), 21 400 households with Ventilation Improved Pit (VIP) (17.55% of total households) and 31 300 (25.60%) households with pit toilets. The Amajuba District has a total number of 112 820 (92.27%) households with access to electricity for lighting and other purposes, while 8 950 (7.32%) households are without electricity. 

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CURRENT STATS INCASE YOU NEED THEM:

There is no data on Sweetwaters’s IPC Acute Food Insecurity Analysis available. For this reason, data for eThekweni, which it falls under,  will be used.