‘Stunting is irreversible’: Gwarube urges more funding for school nutrition

Basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube has warned that child stunting is irreversible and called for greater investment in school nutrition programmes.

Gwarube was addressing the South African Human Rights Commission’s (SAHRC) inquiry into the national food system on Thursday, where commissioners questioned government on whether enough is being done to ensure children have access to nutritious food.

She said while the department of basic education would welcome additional funding, it was making the most of the budget available by buying food in bulk and focusing on providing balanced meals.

“We would certainly want more, but we also make sure that we are utilising the economies of scale based on what we are able to negotiate, considering that we’re a big buyer,” she said.

Gwarube said the department was also looking at ways to reduce costs by involving more small-scale farmers in supplying schools and encouraging schools to establish food gardens.

She said schools should also make greater use of locally available food where possible.

Commissioners questioned whether the amount spent per child each day was enough to provide nutritious meals that could help prevent malnutrition and stunting.

Gwarube said the department’s focus was not only on filling children’s plates but ensuring meals contained the right nutritional value.

The department monitors whether schools serve starch, protein, vegetables and fruit according to approved menus, although officials acknowledged that some schools still fall short, particularly when it comes to providing vegetables.

SAHRC commissioner Philile Ntuli urged the minister to push for increased funding from National Treasury, arguing that investing in children’s nutrition was investing in the country’s future.

Children should have equal access to healthy meals regardless of where they live

—  SAHRC commissioner Philile Ntuli

“Children should have equal access to healthy meals regardless of where they live,” Ntuli said, while she also warned that poor nutrition undermined constitutional rights.

Gwarube emphasised that every government department that works with children should ask whether it is doing enough to protect their wellbeing.

“Every single child, regardless of where they are, should not be denied that opportunity,” she said.

She said expanding access to nutritious meals, particularly at early childhood development centres, could help reduce child deaths linked to malnutrition.

“Stunting is irreversible,” Gwarube said.

“It will impact learning. It will create learning losses for years to come. We have to deal with the problem at source.”

She acknowledged that South Africa’s fiscal constraints made additional spending difficult but said the government needed to have an honest conversation about its priorities.

“I do think that as a government, we have to ask ourselves: where are our priorities? And where can we shift money to really service the priorities that we need to serve?” she said.

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