Assessment of the realisation of the right to adequate food in the Blue Crane Route (Eastern Cape, South Africa)
Objectives: To assess whether the right to adequate food (RtF) is realised by children and primary caregivers and what actions are required to fully realise this right. Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was undertaken using a mixed-methods approach. Setting and subjects: Rural and urban p...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2022-09-01
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| Series: | The South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16070658.2021.1996754 |
| _version_ | 1797678771734577152 |
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| author | ML Marais E Lessing T Frank |
| author_facet | ML Marais E Lessing T Frank |
| author_sort | ML Marais |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives: To assess whether the right to adequate food (RtF) is realised by children and primary caregivers and what actions are required to fully realise this right. Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was undertaken using a mixed-methods approach. Setting and subjects: Rural and urban primary caregivers of children (one to five years old) were recruited if they had resided in the Blue Crane Route (Eastern Cape) for at least six months. Purposefully selected key informants (KIs) involved in nutrition and food security, health or governance participated in in-depth interviews. Outcome measures: Primary caregivers responded to interviewer-administered questionnaires (IAQ) (N = 161), which investigated various indicators supporting the realisation of the RtF. Statistical analysis of quantitative data examined relationships between urban and rural participants. Significance was considered at p < 0.05. In-depth interviews with key informants (KIs) examined the perceptions of 11 prominent community leaders. Qualitative data were coded deductively and common themes identified. Results: Based on the IAQ, half (51%) of the caregivers had experienced risk of, or food insecurity in the past month. Common themes indicative of suboptimal realisation of the RtF included insufficient employment opportunities, inadequate policies and programme implementation, and inadequate agrarian practices, while the child support grant partially supported the realisation of the RtF. Caregivers felt disempowered by a sense of inability to realise the right themselves without government assistance but KIs suggested that caregivers needed to take responsibility. Conclusion: The RtF of children and their caregivers is not fully realised in the Blue Crane Route. Concerted, multidisciplinary approaches using a rights-based approach to implement policies and programmes are needed, together with the empowerment of the community with necessary skills and resources to further the realisation of the RtF. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:04:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a975a42e449542a1bc4e600f71aca8a3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1607-0658 2221-1268 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:04:37Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition |
| spelling | doaj.art-a975a42e449542a1bc4e600f71aca8a32023-09-21T13:38:27ZengTaylor & Francis GroupThe South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition1607-06582221-12682022-09-0135312213210.1080/16070658.2021.19967541996754Assessment of the realisation of the right to adequate food in the Blue Crane Route (Eastern Cape, South Africa)ML Marais0E Lessing1T Frank2Stellenbosch UniversityWilhelm Stahl HospitalStellenbosch UniversityObjectives: To assess whether the right to adequate food (RtF) is realised by children and primary caregivers and what actions are required to fully realise this right. Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was undertaken using a mixed-methods approach. Setting and subjects: Rural and urban primary caregivers of children (one to five years old) were recruited if they had resided in the Blue Crane Route (Eastern Cape) for at least six months. Purposefully selected key informants (KIs) involved in nutrition and food security, health or governance participated in in-depth interviews. Outcome measures: Primary caregivers responded to interviewer-administered questionnaires (IAQ) (N = 161), which investigated various indicators supporting the realisation of the RtF. Statistical analysis of quantitative data examined relationships between urban and rural participants. Significance was considered at p < 0.05. In-depth interviews with key informants (KIs) examined the perceptions of 11 prominent community leaders. Qualitative data were coded deductively and common themes identified. Results: Based on the IAQ, half (51%) of the caregivers had experienced risk of, or food insecurity in the past month. Common themes indicative of suboptimal realisation of the RtF included insufficient employment opportunities, inadequate policies and programme implementation, and inadequate agrarian practices, while the child support grant partially supported the realisation of the RtF. Caregivers felt disempowered by a sense of inability to realise the right themselves without government assistance but KIs suggested that caregivers needed to take responsibility. Conclusion: The RtF of children and their caregivers is not fully realised in the Blue Crane Route. Concerted, multidisciplinary approaches using a rights-based approach to implement policies and programmes are needed, together with the empowerment of the community with necessary skills and resources to further the realisation of the RtF.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16070658.2021.1996754right to foodfood securitychildreneastern cape |
| spellingShingle | ML Marais E Lessing T Frank Assessment of the realisation of the right to adequate food in the Blue Crane Route (Eastern Cape, South Africa) The South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition right to food food security children eastern cape |
| title | Assessment of the realisation of the right to adequate food in the Blue Crane Route (Eastern Cape, South Africa) |
| title_full | Assessment of the realisation of the right to adequate food in the Blue Crane Route (Eastern Cape, South Africa) |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of the realisation of the right to adequate food in the Blue Crane Route (Eastern Cape, South Africa) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of the realisation of the right to adequate food in the Blue Crane Route (Eastern Cape, South Africa) |
| title_short | Assessment of the realisation of the right to adequate food in the Blue Crane Route (Eastern Cape, South Africa) |
| title_sort | assessment of the realisation of the right to adequate food in the blue crane route eastern cape south africa |
| topic | right to food food security children eastern cape |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16070658.2021.1996754 |
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