Food security stats vital for mitigation against n...

Food security stats vital for mitigation against noncommunicable diseases - ZIMSTAT

Zim Now Writer

Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) Director-general, Mr Taguma Mahonde, has said food security statistics are essential for use by policy makers to improve peoples’ diet and to mitigate against noncommunicable diseases.

This comes after Zimbabwe was selected -together with Zambia and Malawi -as the first group to benefit from food security capacity building.

Officiating in a virtual workshop on the dissemination of the 2023 Food Security Fact Sheet based on the 2017 Poverty, Income, Consumption and Expenditure Survey (PICES) data, he said the objectives of the food security capacity building in Zimbabwe are to achieve an improved food security situation in the country and train ZIMSTAT staff on food security data analysis.

“I would like to express my profound gratitude to the Government of Zimbabwe, COMESA and Statistics Norway for the support rendered throughout the food security project in Zimbabwe. It is my fervent hope that adequate capacity has been imparted to the ZIMSTAT staff members so that a similar project can be repeated after the 2023-24 Household Budget Survey,” he said.

Since 2020, the COMESA Secretariat, in partnership with Statistics Norway, were implementing a project to build capacity on food security statistics in the COMESA region.

Mahonde said food security occurs when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life (World Summit 1996).

Highlights of Zimbabwe Food Security Fact Sheet indicate that percentage of households with improved drinking water source at national level was 84.4%.

Households with improved sanitation facility at national level was 71.7% and the average calories per person per day was 1,791.

In 2017 people in Zimbabwe consumed more than recommended cereals, sugar, fats and oils and less than recommended dairy products, fruits, vegetables, animal products, pulses and nuts and median cost per 1000 calories of a diet in Zimbabwe was US9 cents.