iAfrica

Be Smart About South Africa

Africans are Gaining Weight at an Alarming Rate

Every Wednesday women in villages around Monze, Zambia, meet to swap recipes. Tables are lined up in a shady spot, covered in fluorescent mats and piled with tupperware. Each dish is introduced alongside its health benefits: porridge with moringa powder is perfect for babies, groundnut butter is for “bodybuilding”. When three types of soyabean sausages are presented there is a pause and much laughter. These are to “build the family”. The meetings aim to prevent undernourishment. Seemingly paradoxically, they also aim to prevent obesity by showing farmers a variety of goods they can cook without venturing to shops stocked with processed food. Allan Mulando, from the UN’s World Food Programme, which helps organise the meet-ups, points to a small tray of local produce. “Everything required is here,” he says.

SOURCE: THE ECONOMIST

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