By Naseerah Nanabhai

Malnutrition is a result of a person’s body not obtaining sufficient nutrients from food and can cause digestive issues and or disease. In most cases, malnutrition causes stunted growth which means a child is underdeveloped for their age. While these are terms usually associated with war-torn regions and poverty-stricken areas it is not uncommon in the developing world.

A report published last week revealed that an estimated 27% of the children in South Africa under the age of five are stunted and that during May and June last year, 47% of households struggled to buy basic food items. The pandemic had also impacted nearly 50% of South Africa’s mothers’ and babies’ access to food.

South Africa’s First Lady, Dr Tshepo Motsepe has called on the country’s ministers to prioritise bringing an end to child hunger. At the launch of the report, Motsepe gave the opening address and suggested that the country strengthen existing food security nets to support the growth of children; these include the National School Nutrition Programme, the Early Child Development subsidy, the implementation of campaigns for exclusive breastfeeding, programmes of food supplementation, and the improvement of social protection policies.

Motsepe highlighted that malnutrition has an impact on children’s futures and robs them of good health and well-being. “It is slow violence against our children, and we cannot thrive as a country when our children are shackled to a life of hunger and malnutrition. We cannot turn our eyes away from images that mirror the gravity of hunger in our society ”, she said.

Heightened malnutrition in the country is attributed to increasing food prices, regressive household incomes, unemployment and inequality and more. The pandemic revealed the reality of the plain divide between those who have access to adequate nutrition and affordable diets and those who do not.  The report published is to be presented to the government for further discussion and recommendations ahead of its mid-term review of the national food security plan.