South Africa’s slow progress in addressing food insecurity was one of the causes of high rates of child malnutrition and stunting, Child Gauge reported back in 2017.
The Child Gauge report said stunting was “a manifestation of chronic under-nutrition”. South Africa’s stunting rate of 27.4% of children under the age of five was “discrepantly high” for an upper middle-income country. There was little evidence that it had changed significantly over 20 years.
While the percentage of South African households with inadequate access to food decreased marginally from 24% in 2010 to 22% in 2016, “it remains a source of concern that almost a quarter of all households remain food insecure in a country that normally produces a surplus of food.
“This indicates slow progress in addressing household food insecurity.”
Child Gauge detailed the impact on children.
“Stunting in the first five years is more damaging than later in life, resulting in both an increased risk of severe infection as well as intellectual impairment – compromising children’s school performance and employment prospects, and increasing the risk of obesity, heart disease and diabetes in adolescence and adulthood.
“Stunting during the first two years of life is particularly damaging, and may be irreversible,” it said.
“Stunting hampers the development of human capital, and of society, and results in substantial long-term health costs.”
Child Gauge said a child’s first 1000 days (from conception to the age of two years) was the critical period that set the foundation and the trajectory of a child’s development.
“It is therefore vital to intervene early to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities. The underlying determinants of nutrition include poverty; food insecurity; inadequate child care; and poor access to health, water, and sanitation services.”
