Child deaths due to hunger in Eastern Cape has doubled since 2023 - SA Human Rights Commission
Parts of the Eastern Cape are gripped by child malnutrition and starvation.
Picture: © sirinapa/123rf.com
702’s Bongani Bingwa speaks with Dr Eileen Carter, Eastern Cape Provincial Manager at the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).
Listen below:
In 2023, a mother in the Eastern Cape poisoned her children and herself when the hunger became too severe for them to bear.
In the years that have followed, the situation has worsened with the number of severe acute malnutrition cases in the province on the rise, according to Carter.
She adds that the deaths from malnutrition in the Nelson Mandela Bay area have more than doubled since 2023.
The SAHRC has been investigating hunger in the province and found several issues.
Firstly, she says the child support grant given to families without an income falls far below the food poverty line.
“These families cannot even put a proper plate on the table for the children from this child support grant.”
- Dr Eileen Carter, South African Human Rights Commission
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Carter says the severity of the situation shows that we can no longer rely on making policies to fix the situation, and that concrete action is needed.
“Policies do not feed hungry children.”
- Dr Eileen Carter, South African Human Rights Commission
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