Figures released during Child Protection Month in May revealed that there were more than 26 000 cases of child abuse and neglect last year.
Crimes against children, including abuse, neglect and abandonment, are “worryingly high” and affect the future of the country, says President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Figures released during Child Protection Month in May revealed that there were more than 26 000 cases of child abuse and neglect reported in South Africa during the 2024-25 financial year.
The majority of cases involved sexual abuse.
SA’s future
Writing in his weekly newsletter on Monday, Ramaphosa said the best way to secure the country’s future is to invest in the health and wellbeing of its children.
Ramaphosa said many children are disadvantaged before they are even born, with maternal undernutrition contributing to low-birth weights.
“Because it is difficult for malnourished mothers to breastfeed, babies are being weaned onto low-protein diets, which lower their immunity and make them susceptible to infections.
“As they grow up, their health suffers and they fall further behind. As children’s advocates keep reminding us, this domino effect must be broken,” Ramaphosa said.
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Protecting children
He said the experience of children today will determine the nation’s social and economic wellbeing over the next 20 years.
“If we protect and nurture them right from the time of conception until they leave school, they will be brighter, get better jobs and contribute more to their communities and the economy.
“One of the initiatives emerging from the strategy is the national Hold My Hand campaign. It calls on each of us to imagine what would happen if every child born today, tomorrow, the next day and the next, had enough love, enough food, safety and brainpower. It would change the future,” Ramaphosa said.
Business
Ramaphosa said business has a critical role to play.
The private sector has considerable resources and logistics infrastructure that could be used to distribute food, toys, information to parents and books to children in thousands of under-resourced early learning programmes across the country.
“Trade unions also play an important role because most workers are parents and need time and support to nurture their children,” the president said.
Action for children
Ramaphosa added that for the sake of “our shared future, we must work together to ensure that our nation’s children and young people grow, thrive and are happy”.
Earlier this month, the Cabinet approved the National Strategy to Accelerate Action for Children (NSAAC), which focuses on a range of interventions to improve the conditions and the development of children and adolescents in the country.
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