The Democratic Alliance (DA) urgently calls on the Northern Cape Provincial Government to address the severe acute malnutrition (SAM) crisis that has claimed the lives of 110 children, under five years old, out of 1600 hospital admissions over the past three years.
Losing 110 children under 5, to malnutrition, is an absolute tragedy and our hearts go out to the families of these children.
This is according to a reply to a written question by the DA to the MEC of Health, Mr Lekwene. This preventable tragedy highlights systemic failures across multiple departments safeguarding child health and food security.
The food security crisis in the Northern Cape is not new. In 2020, the National Institute of Health identified the province as the worst affected by undernutrition in South Africa, with wasting prevalence at 19% and 18.8% of children being underweight.
These alarming figures are exacerbated by poor intergovernmental coordination. The auditor-general also highlighted findings in the Department of Health’s 2023/2024 Annual Report about incomplete data on SAM and disagreements over its presentation. Meanwhile, despite the rising cost-of-living crisis and unacceptably high unemployment rates, the Department of Social Development has reduced the number of soup kitchens it funds.
The DA has written to the Portfolio Committee Chairperson of Health and Social Development to urgently convene a joint meeting to discuss SAM and food security in the province. Any further delays in the Northern Cape Integrated Food Security Plan rollout are unacceptable.
The Department of Health and Social Development must close operational gaps and collaborate effectively to identify and address malnutrition and food insecurity, especially in hotspots such as Frances Baard, ZF Mgcawu, and John Taolo Gaetsewe.
The DA is committed to pushing for the accelerated implementation of the Northern Cape integrated food security plan and rigorous oversight once implementation starts to ensure transparency and accountability in the fight against hunger. We will also engage communities and civil society organisations to drive better collaboration and for more soup kitchens to be funded.
The DA will not rest until the Northern Cape Government ensures that no child goes to bed hungry and that no family suffers the loss of a child due to malnutrition