7.8-million children remain below the food poverty line
Since the child support grant was introduced in 1998, the number of children living below the food poverty line has decreased, from 53% of all children in 2003 to 33% in 2019.
But there is still a way to go. The economic effects of the covid pandemic have reversed some of the gains, pushing an additional 1.2-million children into food poverty. As of 2024, 7.8-million children live below the food poverty line.
Researchers have repeatedly called for the grant to be increased. The value of the grant -- R560 a month -- is less than the food poverty line of R796, so it is not sufficient by itself to protect a child from food poverty. The Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity group has calculated the cost of meeting a child's nutritional needs to be between R826 and R1,085, depending on the age.
Many children qualify for the grant but do not receive it. About 48% of eligible infants did not receive the grant in 2020, according to the Children's Institute at the University of Cape Town.
More than a quarter of children in South Africa are stunted due to malnutrition. About 1,450 children under the age of five died of acute malnutrition in 2023.
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