A healthy diet of fresh vegetables, proteins and fruit is a key ingredient for eliminating hunger and all forms of malnutrition and achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2, Zero Hunger by 2030. Unfortunately, a healthy diet has become an unaffordable luxury for close to 1 billion Africans, according to The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020 report. Globally, the cost of a healthy diet is above the international poverty line, meaning that people earning less than US$1.90 per day cannot afford to eat adequate calories and nutrients from diverse food groups. Compared to other regions, this affordability crisis poses the greatest challenge in Africa. COVID-19 has compounded the problem by disrupting food supply chains and livelihoods, to different extents across the continent. Ultimately, it has meant some households are facing increased difficulties in accessing nutritious foods. That’s not all. At the height of the pandemic, movement restrictions meant fewer customers at fruit and vegetable markets in some urban centres, causing fresh produce to go to waste. Fishmongers faced similar problems.
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