By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has laid a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) against President Cyril Ramaphosa, accusing him of failing to address hunger affecting millions of South African children.
The party laid the complaint on Thursday morning.
Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, alongside Deloitte, have shone a spotlight on the numerous challenges affecting South African children and proposed interventions to help tackle the issue.
The organisations released the State of the South African Child report on Monday to coincide with the international holiday.
According to the report, 4.8 million of the country’s 20 million children go to bed on an empty stomach.
The report looked at how child poverty is measured, the situation on the ground and the impact of Covid-19.
It found that the “pandemic has had a profound impact on poverty in children in South Africa, exacerbating existing vulnerabilities and creating new challenges”.
The call to action here included making child poverty a national priority, strengthening and expanding social protection programmes, as well as improving access to quality education among other initiatives.
Turning to health and nutrition, the report look at several key areas, including child mortality and nutrition, access to healthcare, the impact of Covid-19 and mental health.
Here it found that “despite SA providing free healthcare for children since 1994, there are still large socioeconomic inequalities that have led to adverse health and nutritional outcomes for millions of children”.
Party leader John Steenhuisen says only Ramaphosa can intervene to mitigate the growing hunger crisis.
“The proposals are realistic and implementable by any government that cares enough to put the country’s needs ahead of its own, and the DA continues to call for them.
“They include reviewing the list of zero-rated foods, with a view to including bone-in chicken, baby food, and other items most commonly purchased by low-income households.”
Steenhuisen says he believes the issue should be the government’s top priority.
“Let us hope that the SAHRC finds in favour of South Africa’s 4.8 million starving children and holds President Ramaphosa to account for failing them.”
The report proposed call to action included: advocating for comprehensive legislation and policies, increasing the availability and accessibility of specialised support services for child victims of violence and advocating for an accountable justice system.