The outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) is severely affecting the livelihoods of informal meat vendors, particularly in Windhoek’s informal settlements.

As red meat sales decline, many vendors have turned to selling chicken and fish to sustain their businesses. However, rising prices and fewer customers are making survival increasingly difficult.

Magano Nelumbu, who has been selling meat in the Oshintenda informal settlement for more than 10 years, said her business has worsened over the past month because she can no longer sell red meat, while the prices of alternative products continue to rise.

“I used to sell meat, but there is no meat available anymore. I would sell meat to earn money, and then sell chicken and fish, which added to my income. Now, with the absence of meat, the price of chicken has skyrocketed and fish prices have increased as well,” she said.

Nelumbu said a box of chicken that previously cost N$290 now costs N$430, while another type that cost N$300 now sells for N$470.

She said she can no longer sell meat, sausages and meatballs because they are made from red meat, leaving her with only chicken and fish to sell.

About 100 women in Oshintenda used to set up stalls along the road to sell small packets of meat and tripe to earn an income.

Emilia Helu, who has been in the business for more than 30 years, fears the situation could continue into next year, worsening financial pressure on already struggling households.

She said the loss of customers has made it difficult to afford basic necessities and prepare for the upcoming school year.

“We are really in a difficult situation because meat used to bring us customers. When customers came to buy meat, they also supported what we were selling at our stands. Now we have lost those customers as well,” Helu said.

She added that without meat, the vendors have few customers and little income.

“It is almost the end of the year, and we have no money to travel to the north. If they could assist by vaccinating the cattle that are available so that we can access that meat and sell it, it would help, because we have children going to school next year,” she said.

Helu appealed to the government to consider measures that would help informal traders access meat and resume their businesses, warning that without assistance many families may struggle to send their children to school.

The vendors said that although they have opted to sell fish and chicken in the absence of meat, increased prices have left them with little or no profit.