Since January this year, 155 children under the age of five have died in South African public health facilities, with moderate to severe malnutrition as an underlying condition.
This information was given by health minister Aaron Motsoaledi in answer to a parliamentary question.
The opposition Democratic Alliance, which asked the question, said the country needed a “cross-cutting intervention” with the departments of health and of social development working together.
The DG Murray Trust, which has done extensive work to advocate for and help create food security for children, told Daily Maverick that South Africa has to increase national accountability for child nutrition.
“Countries that have successfully reduced stunting have one thing in common: they track child growth rigorously. South Africa needs to shift from crisis response to prevention. That means measuring, reporting and acting on early signs of child growth falling behind the curve at community level,” the nonprofit’s chief executive, David Harrison, said.
Severe acute malnutrition in children younger than five has risen by 26% over the past five years, despite a number of programmes in the Health and Social Development departments.
Explaining why so many South African children are still dying from moderate to severe acute malnutrition, Harrison said: “In the main, children who get moderate or severe malnutrition have no access to social safety nets.”
Safety nets such as the Child Support Grant did not reach children owing to administrative failures or problems with documentation. “There are about 2.2 million children who are eligible for the grant but don’t get it.”
