More than one in five children in South Africa are stunted, according to the Global Nutrition Report 2015, and addressing that should be the focus of this government.

 

Childhood stunting refers to the significant impairment of a child’s growth; that child is very short in relation to peers in their population and age groups because of malnutrition (of the child or the mother when she was pregnant) or chronic disease.

 

And there are greater consequences than immediate hunger or an ability to concentrate in class — it affects cognitive and mental abilities.

 

If you’re interested, this piece is published in full in the Mail & Guardian, and you can read more here or look at my original piece about the Global Nutrition Report 2015 here.