Durban • Agroecology to fight against food inequalities

Since 1975, global obesity has almost tripled: 1.9 billion adults were overweight in 2015, and of these, 650 million were obese. In the same year, 340 million children and adolescents from five to 19 years of age became overweight or obese. Yet, the “Zero Hunger” SDG 2 solely focusses on the food deficit component, and does not mention in its targets the quality of nutrition or overconsumption. Globally, there are now more deaths from excess weight and obesity than from insufficient weight: this is called the double nutritional load. In this respect, South Africa is in a paradoxical situation, with half of the country’s population suffering from malnutrition while there is an increase in problems related to being overweight. The eThekwini Municipality (Kwazulu-Natal Province), one of the eight metropolitan municipalities that make up South Africa, is spearheading the AgriHubs project to address the challenge of the double nutritional burden and reduce food inequalities, while achieving the SDGs.