The Eastern Cape faces an unprecedented and dire situation in terms of a child malnutrition crisis in which 116 children succumbed to Severe Acute Malnutrition between April 2021 and April 2022.
At least 1 087 children suffered from malnutrition in the same period.
This was revealed in the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) Provincial Inquiry into Child Malnutrition And The Right To Food report launched on Thursday.
The data revealed an alarming 27% stunting rate among children in the Eastern Cape, the disproportionately vast majority of whom are black children, painting a stark picture of the urgency of the matter, the SAHRC said.
SAHRC commissioner Jonas Sibanyoni, who presented and chaired the inquiry, said the Disaster Management Act (Act No 57 of 2002) offers a compelling legal avenue for the province to consider addressing the crisis due to the number of deaths and confirmed cases of malnutrition.
After their prima facie assessment showed children were malnourished due to living in abject poverty, the SAHRC aimed, through the inquiry, to determine the pervasiveness of child malnutrition within the province and whether this scourge violated relevant rights contained in the Bill of Rights, along with measures undertaken by key-stakeholders to address systemic challenges.
The report also found that the child support grant (CSG) of R510 a month is inadequate and fails to provide proper nutrition for children considering that the food poverty line in South Africa is R624 a person.
This discrepancy means many children in the country cannot afford enough food to meet their nutritional needs, the report read.
“It is also clear from the submissions received that the value of the CSG has not kept pace with inflation, in particular food price inflation, creating a growing disparity between the grant and the food poverty line.
“This discrepancy is especially notable in the Eastern Cape, where child food poverty rates are the highest in the country,” the report read. Further to this, the declining uptake of the CSG, particularly among children aged 0 to 5 and 6 to 11, which was attributed to difficulties in birth registration and access to the grant for children without birth certificates, appears to be exacerbating this situation.”
Underspending for critical programmes was also noted and as per submissions from the Provincial Treasury there has “been a notable pattern of underspending, particularly by the DSD, amounting to nearly R500 million in the past three years”.
“This underspending has raised questions about the allocation and utilisation of funds intended for vital programmes addressing child malnutrition and poverty...
“The underspending issue is further complicated by the return of unspent funds to the provincial revenue fund, rather than their effective utilisation in addressing pressing needs.
“While Treasury clarified that returned funds could be reallocated to different priorities, concerns were raised about the impact on child welfare, especially concerning malnutrition, as a significant percentage of children in the province suffer from stunting due to malnutrition.”
Sibanyoni said child malnutrition was not merely a concern for the well-being of the affected children but “a stark violation of their rights to food and nutrition, dignity, life, equality, social assistance, health and education”.
In submissions made to the SAHRC, the Eastern Cape’s Office of the Premier put forward a comprehensive overview of government initiatives aimed at advancing the socio-economic rights of children, with a focus on addressing food insecurity and malnutrition.
The premier’s office highlighted the complexities surrounding malnutrition, including food insecurity, limited access to clean drinking water, healthcare deficiencies, weak early detection planning and resource mobilisation, the shift away from agriculture in rural areas, the influence of climate change, and the impact of teenage pregnancy.
Cape Times