Parliament debated South Africa’s child malnutrition crisis on Friday 28 November, placing national attention on whether the state is doing enough to protect young children from hunger and long-term developmental harm.
According to the DG Murray Trust (DGMT), more than a quarter of children under five suffer from stunting, a form of chronic malnutrition that limits brain development and learning potential. The organisation said between 15 000 and 20 000 children experience severe acute malnutrition each year, resulting in recurrent illness, hospitalisation and, in more than a thousand cases, death. DGMT said the crisis requires urgent, coordinated action from government.
Dr David Harrison, CEO of DGMT, told MPs that progress had slowed because of insufficient leadership and the absence of a unified national strategy. “Stunting results from setbacks that begin at conception and continue through early childhood, when young children lack the protein and micronutrients needed for growth,” he said.
He again called for centralised oversight. “We need a senior appointment a ‘nutrition czar’ to drive a national programme across government departments,” Harrison said. He added that the debate highlighted long-standing gaps in food access and frontline support for families.
DGMT urged Parliament to strengthen interventions that support mothers and infants from pregnancy onwards, while also improving rapid responses to severe acute malnutrition, which remains life-threatening for thousands of children each year.
Friday’s debate aimed to hold government accountable, assess the effectiveness of current policies and push for practical steps to improve nutrition outcomes for vulnerable households. Civil society organisations now expect measurable commitments from departments responsible for health, social development and food security.
Further information on child nutrition research and recommended policy actions is available on the DGMT website.
