Development Studies Working Paper, no. 3

This working paper covers a survey conducted between 16 and 30 January 1980 of 3 171 black Sub A and Sub B pupils 8 years old or younger, at schools in both the rural and urban areas of the Albany Magisterial District, Eastern Cape. The survey, under the auspices of the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), Rhodes University, was carried out as a result of a request from Dr J. D. Krynauw, Regional Director of Health Services in the Eastern Cape, to assess levels of nutrition of black children. Newspaper reports (see Appendix 1) of low levels of nutrition and high infant mortality rates among young black children in the Eastern Cape appeared to suggest a chronic nutritional situation, a situation not perceived as such by the Department of Health. A comprehensive pilot study was instituted on written request from Dr Krynauw in late October 1979. A report of the pilot study findings was presented in May 1980 to the Department of Health (Fincham, 1980). The present paper elaborates on that report and also includes analyses of data not presented before.Digitised by Rhodes University Library on behalf of the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER

How Effective Are Hay Conditioners?

Tests here at Iowa State and elsewhere show that, with proper management, hay conditioning can result in better quality hay and decrease exposure risks. In good weather, conditioning can cut curing time almost in half

Development Studies Working Paper, no. 6

This paper reports on an extended research project undertaken during the last two years. Mr R.J. Fincham, the project leader and author of the paper, published a Working Paper during 1981 which presented preliminary results of survey data collected in the Albany Magisterial District of the Eastern Cape. Subsequently, the scope of the project was broadened to include the whole Dias Divisional Council area of jurisdiction, and research methods were refined as a result of the first survey. The project was undertaken under the auspices of the Institute of Social and Economic Research of Rhodes University. Close cooperation with the Port Elizabeth Regional Office of the Department of Health was maintained throughout, and the involvement of the Regional Director, Dr J.D. Krynauw, as well as nurses on his staff, were available.Digitised by Rhodes University Library on behalf of the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER

A geographical analysis of nutrition in the Eastern Cape and Ciskei

From preface: The primary aim of the thesis is to make an anthropometric assessment of levels of nutrition of black pre-school children in selected communities of the Eastern Cape and Ciskei. The communities are those of black labourers and their families on white-owned commercial farms in the Dias Divisional Council area of the Eastern Cape; a rural community of an area of Ciskei known as the Amatola Basin; and Tsweletsl'lele, a 'closer settlement' or resettlement area in Ciskei. A pilot survey of school entrants in the Albany magisterial district also sheds light on the nutrition of children in the small towns, such as Grahamstown, of the Eastern Cape. Through an analysis of nutritional conditions in these disparate communities, it should be possible to begin to establish the geographical variation of nutrition in the region. Black communities in the metropolitan area of Port Elizabeth are not considered in the thesis, but on-going surveillance in the city, by the author, will elucidate nutritional conditions there. In achieving the primary aim of the thesis, attention will be focussed on inter-community rather than intra-community variation in nutrition. Nutrition may vary within communities (intra-community variation), for example, within different parts of the Dias Divisional Council area. While such variation is 1 ikely to be minimal, as will be discussed in the presentation of results in chapter 6, section A(l), it is in itself important, and present research endeavours within the surveillance programme are being geared to explore this dimension of nutritional variation more fully. Inter-community variation in nutrition provides, however, a more than sufficient focus for the thesis. A secondary aim of the thesis is to explore the relationship between nutritional status and socio-economic conditions prevailing in the surveyed communities. The secondary aim makes it possible to obtain a better understanding of the processes whi ch infl uence the geographical pattern of nutrition. A consideration of socio-economic conditions, both within the communities and within the Eastern Cape and Ciskei as a whole, also provides a context in which the nutrition results can be assessed. The third aim of the thesis is to assess possible applications of the survey results to policy formulation, thereby providing an applied dimension to the work

No. 02: The State of Urban Food Insecurity in Southern Africa

The number of people living in urban areas is rising rapidly in Southern Africa. By mid-century, the region is expected to be 60% urban. Rapid urbanization is leading to growing food insecurity in the region’s towns and cities. This paper presents the results of the first ever regional study of the prevalence of food insecurity in Southern Africa. The AFSUN food security household survey was conducted simultaneously in 2008-9 in 11 cities in 8 SADC countries. The results confirm high levels of food insecurity amongst the urban poor in terms of food availability, accessibility, reliability and dietary diversity. The survey provides important insights into the causes of food insecurity and the kinds of households that are most vulnerable to food insecurity. It also shows the heavy reliance of the urban poor on informal food sources and the growing importance of supermarket chains