When we interviewed Dineo Mopeli, the head of nutrition in QwaQwa, Free State, she wasn’t convinced that severe malnutrition in her district had improved even though the elopstatistics showed otherwise.
“The kids brought to clinics are mostly healthy and so the situation in clinics suggested an improvement in malnutrition. But there are many children whose parents don’t bring them. They are the starving ones.”
The first five years of a child’s life is the most critical and usually determines the quality of their adulthood. Good nutrition is a key pillar and strong predictor of future success and wellbeing. Through our partnership with GlaxoSmithKline, we have begun working with Dineo and others in the Free State’s Early Childhood Care and Development centres to root out malnutrition.
The project, Sireletsa Bana (translated as ‘protecting children’), builds the capacity of healthcare workers and Early Childhood Care and Development practitioners in Limpopo and the Free State. By 2019, we aim to have made significant gains in eradicating the scourge of malnutrition.
We have successfully rolled-out better healthcare services for children in 150 Early Childhood Care and Development centres because we believe all children in South Africa are entitled to grow up healthy, enjoying long-term good health.
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