Over 1 000 children die in 18 months as leaders stall on maternal support.
The scourge of malnutrition continues to devastate South Africa, with preventable deaths starkly undermining the nation’s standing as one of Africa’s largest economies.
Concerned about rising levels of stunting among children due to malnourishment, child welfare organisations are calling for fast-tracking of the envisaged maternal support grant (MSG) or “pregnancy grant”, to curb its prevalence.
This would cost the state an estimated R2 billion annually to implement, but advocates argue it could save nearly R13.8 billion in public health expenditures by averting the long-term costs due to complications associated with babies born malnourished each year.
Maternal support grant proposal
A policy on the proposed grant, currently in draft, was designed to extend the child support grant to cover pregnant women.
This is one of the suggestions raised by DG Murray Trust (DGMT), a foundation built on endowments from Douglas and Eleanor Murray that also serves as a public innovator through strategic investment with its stated commitment to developing South Africa’s potential.
National health department director-general Dr Sandile Buthelezi recently revealed at least 1 000 children have died from severe acute malnutrition in hospitals over the past 18 months in SA.
Studies showing that stunting due to chronic malnutrition affects more than a quarter of children under the age of five in South Africa, costing the country billions in economic growth.
Between 15 000 and 20 000 children experience severe episodes of acute malnutrition that lead to recurrent illness, hospitalisation and deaths, in which for over a thousand die a year.
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Malnutrition across South Africa
Other reports indicate Nelson Mandela Bay is among the hardest hit by malnutrition, with more than two dozen children having starved to death in the past year.
DGMT identified malnutrition, along with its twin, stunting, as an issue that needs to be tackled and urged parliamentarians to prioritise the issue.
David Harrison, CEO of DGMT, said: “Stunting is the result of cumulative setbacks from conception through the first years of life, when babies are born too small (under 2.5kg) and children lack protein and micronutrients needed for brains and bodies to grow.”
While stunting is preventable, SA has neither a defined target nor a plan to eliminate it.
DGMT said a quarter of SA’s children fail to get out of the starting blocks to life, damaged by chronic malnutrition.
Following research done in northern Nigeria, Doctors Without Borders (MFS) said children affected by malnutrition are becoming withdrawn and missing key milestones, while mothers battle crushing stress and guilt.
Integrated nutrition and mental health support
To break this cycle, MSF has integrated mental health support into nutrition care, combining psycho-stimulation, counselling, and emotional healing for both children and caregivers.
“This crisis is no longer just about food; it’s about hope, trauma and recovery,” said Kauna Hope Bako, MSF’s mental health supervisor in Bauchi.
MSF is calling for urgent attention to the hidden emotional cost of Nigeria’s worsening malnutrition crisis, as communities struggle to heal both body and mind. DGMT urged politicians to confront long-term insufficiency of nutritious foods and the urgent crisis of acute malnutrition.
“When MPs discuss this issue, they must recognise that one of the biggest obstacles to reducing stunting is the lack of a clear national goal, leadership and implementing mechanisms,” he said.
On different platforms, President Cyril Ramaphosa has stressed the need to address food security and affordability, but the food industry must come on board.
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Food security measures and proposed interventions
The government is planning to appoint a National Food and Nutrition Council as part of its food security plan. Harrison said DGMT and Grow Great, a non-governmental organisation, have proposed to government and business the “double-discounting” of a basket of protein-rich staple foods.
In terms of the plan, the manufacturers and retailers would forgo their profit on one product label and government would match that discount so as to lower prices of these items by 20-25%.
This intervention is estimated to cost the fiscus about R4.5 billion a year. Grow Great executive director Dr Edzani Mphaphuli said the idea is to pick food that offered the most nutrition for the least money and has a long shelf life, “which matters for families living in food poverty”.
The organisations said the envisaged pregnancy grant is necessary because food insecurity during pregnancy increases the likelihood of giving birth “to a too small baby of under 2.5kg”.
Such babies faced a three times higher risk of becoming stunted.
Evidence shows, however, that providing income support to pregnant women can significantly reduce low birth weight and stunting.
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