President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in his State of the Nation Address his government’s commitment to end stunting by 2030, focusing on interventions during the first 1 000 days of life from conception to a child’s second birthday.
The announcement comes two months after Cabinet approved the National Strategy to Accelerate Action for Children (NSAAC), which sets 10 national priorities to improve the lives of children and teenagers.
The president said his government will “implement targeted interventions to ensure that pregnant women and low birth-weight children get the protein and nutrients that they need”.
Wine regions worst hit by FAS
The DG Murray Trust (DGMT) welcomed the president’s commitment and called for adequate funding towards evidence-based strategies. The organisation highlighted that stunting risk increases when babies are born with low birth weight (under 2.5kg) and never catch up because their mothers were malnourished or consumed alcohol during pregnancy.
The greatest prevalence of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) in the country are reported in the wine-growing areas of the Western Cape, according to Mediclinic. A recent study in the Boland around the town of Wellington showed that 48 out of 1 000 children in their first year at school had FAS.
This is 36 times higher than the figure for Western nations, which is 1.33 children per 1 000. Province-wide, according to the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape is facing one of the world’s highest rates of FAS with 310 cases per 1 000 births, prompting a renewed focus on prevention and support services.
Rates are highest in poor rural communities with a culture of heavy drinking of alcohol, wine in particular. This may have had its historical origin in the “dop system”—giving farm workers alcohol on a daily basis—and in the ready supply of cheap alcohol in both legal outlets and in “shebeens”, Mediclinic notes.
Urgent interventions proposed
DGMT proposed three key interventions being the introduction of Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) for pregnant women using a single tablet with 15 vitamins and minerals to replace iron and folate; implementing a Maternal Support Grant starting in the second trimester and transitioning to the Child Support Grant after birth; and providing targeted nutrition support to pregnant women at risk and new mothers of low birth-weight babies.
DGMT urged the government to introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol and called for provinces to tighten regulations around liquor trading hours and limit liquor outlet density.
Further details on funding allocation for the stunting eradication plan are expected during the upcoming Medium Term Budget Policy Statement.
