By Ebi Kesiena
As part of activities in commemorating the Nelson Mandela day initiative for 2023, Nelson Mandela Foundation has noted that it aims to focus on dealing with poverty and inequality as the country marks Nelson Mandela Day on Tuesday this week.
The non-profit organisation said it will initiate a global commemoration of International Nelson Mandela Day along with a network of global partners who will be planting trees and resourcing home-based community food gardens across the world.
This year’s Mandela Day will be commemorated under the ‘Climate, Food and Solidarity’ theme.
Mandela Day is an annual global celebration that takes place on the 18th of July to honour the life and legacy of the late statesman.
Head of Mandela Day and Public Outreach at the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Gushwell Brooks, noted that global climate change has worsened the issue of food insecurity.
‘’What we find is that global climate change has definitely accelerated food insecurity. Inflation is very serious, and it’s hitting people’s pockets extremely hard. But food is double the average inflation rate of everything else.
‘‘So, already we’re seeing that food is a rare commodity, it’s an expensive commodity, and this is, of course, exacerbated by global climate change. So, on that very basis, we feel that we need to work with communities to enable them to be able to plant their own food while simultaneously taking action against climate change.” Brooks said.
