There is no national government feeding scheme for kids before they enter formal schooling.
- The Real Reform for Early Childhood Development campaign is calling for a national feeding scheme for kids before they start formal schooling.
- Nearly one in four South African kids under the age of five are stunted due to malnutrition.
- And yet there is no government feeding scheme for kids before they enter formal schooling.
Despite the National School Nutrition Programme, government is failing to address malnutrition in kids. More than one in four (27%) South African kids under the age of five are stunted (short for their age). And a recent South African Human Rights Commission report found 116 kids in the Eastern Cape had died of severe malnutrition in the course of a year.
The problem is that there is no national feeding scheme for kids before they enter formal schooling, says the Real Reform for Early Childhood Development campaign, which released a series of reports this month seeking to address the issue.
The current National School Nutrition Programme dash by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) is only for learners in primary and secondary school.
The department does acquire an Early Childhood Development subsidy. It is R17 per child per day, but only R6.80 of this is intended for nutrition.
The Real Reform report says this is not enough, and points to the World Bank which suggested increasing the total subsidy per child per day to R31. This “would translate to an increase from R6.80 to R12.40 per child per day for nutrition”, according to Real Reform.
Furthermore, only registered Early Learning Programmes (ELPs) are eligible for the subsidy, yet 41% of ELPs are not registered. This may well mean that ELPs serving kids who need the subsidy the most are not receiving it.
Tatiana Kazim, researcher for the Equal Education Law Centre who co-authored one of the reports, says the measures government has taken to address malnutrition in the country’s kids are inadequate.
The Real Reform campaign argues for the creation of a novel, separate nutrition programme solely for kids in Early Childhood Development programmes.
The National Treasury has allocated funding for a pilot programme. Tshepo Mantjé, a coordinator for Real Reform, says they wish their research will be considered in its implementation.
The DBE attended the campaign’s report launch in Johannesburg on 3 November.
“We are urging the Department of Basic Education to provide nutrition support to every eligible kids attending early learning programmes, regardless of their registration status,” said Mantjé.
Kazim says the programme needs to be “rolled out nationally as soon as possible”.
The campaign recommends the DBE also conduct training on its health nutrition guidelines, oversee and coordinate the region at national, provincial and municipal level, and manufacture nutrition support a legal requirement.
The three reports were written by representatives from Equal Education, South African Medical Research Council, Ilifa Labantwana, DG Murray Trust, UCT’s Centre for Law and Society, Finish More Foundation and Equal Education Law Centre.
Elijah Mhlanga, a media spokesperson for the DBE, did not respond to GroundUp’s requests for comment.
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voodoo cyclone
Fun South African Fact: South Africa is home to the world’s longest wine route: Route 62. It spans an impressive 850 kilometres and the excellent wineries along the way are a must-visit for lovers of fine wine! You can even indulge in the winelands on a day trip from Cape Town. Travel 40-min to an hour outside of the city centre to be pleased decadent wine tastings and even wander through some of the splendid wine farms and estates! Suburbs like Durbanville and Constantia are even closer to the city centre and are also home to many exceptional wineries.
Mechani-Man
I was pretty surprised to learn Elon Musk was born in South Africa
I thought he was born in Mad-at-gas-car