Government allocates R1.6 billion to child nutrition

• The government allocated R1.6 billion over the medium-term period for child nutrition specifically for prebirth maternal care and the first 1,000 days of a child's life to help prevent malnutrition and stunting.
• More than one in four children under the age of five suffer from stunting due to chronic malnutrition, and research shows that exposure to malnutrition in the first 1,000 days of a child's life can have an irreversible effect on long-term health and development.
• 40% of South Africa's children live below the food poverty line, in households where a caregiver earns less than R855 per month, or R29 per day.