Child malnutrition in the Eastern Cape should be declared a disaster warranting an emergency response, the South African Human Rights Commission has declared.
This call by the HSRC followed an investigation into food security in the province, where it found that a substantial percentage of children are suffering from various forms of malnutrition.
The Eastern Cape head of the SAHRC, Dr Eileen Carter, said the data provided to them in August 2022 showed that, from 2021 to 2022, more than 1,000 children were diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition in the province and almost 120 of them had died.
The Daily Maverick said the data also showed that 25% of the province’s children are stunted – that’s one in four children. Stunting, caused by malnutrition, affects children physically and mentally for the rest of their lives.
“But this condition is underreported,” Dr Carter said. “It is a much bigger issue than what the data is showing,” Carter said.
The SAHRC has advised of remedial steps to be taken by both the national government and the provincial government and has set reporting deadlines for this between three and six months.
It said communities afflicted by acute malnutrition lacked the capacity to cope through their own resources. Existing programmes and initiatives had resulted in a fragmented and less effective approach to tackling the issue.
“Therefore, there is a compelling basis to argue that the child malnutrition crisis qualifies as a disaster, warranting urgent and comprehensive intervention,” the SAHRC stated.
