Despite producing enough food overall, South Africa is confronted with a devastating rise in child malnutrition and deaths, highlighting urgent gaps in policy and response mechanisms, and prompting calls for a comprehensive emergency food plan.
South Africa is producing enough food in aggregate, yet millions still go hungry, a disconnect that has become starkest in the deaths and illness of young children. The Daily Maverick reported that the country has now spent years discussing food security without putting in place the emergency machinery needed to respond to rising hunger, worsening malnutrition and persistent inequality.
The scale of the crisis is visible in health data. According to reporting cited by the Daily Maverick, more than 1,400 children died from severe acute malnutrition in 2023 and 2024, while 2024 alone saw more than 600 deaths recorded in public health facilities. The article said parliamentary figures also showed 206 deaths of children under five in public hospitals between May and September 2025, with severe acute malnutrition listed as an underlying condition, alongside another 92 deaths linked to moderate acute malnutrition. The Democratic Alliance has separately said that over 1,400 children have died from acute malnutrition since 2023, while The Citizen reported at least 618 malnutrition-related child deaths in 2024.
Those figures sit alongside broader signs of food deprivation. UNICEF said 23% of South African children live in severe child food poverty, a condition that leaves them far more vulnerable to life-threatening malnutrition. The Daily Maverick also cited estimates suggesting malnutrition may contribute to about 11,000 child deaths each year, underscoring that official hospital counts likely capture only part of the burden.
The policy response, meanwhile, has lagged behind the scale of need. The newspaper said the country’s previous National Food and Nutrition Security Plan expired in 2023 and has not yet been replaced, leaving what it described as a dangerous gap in coordination and accountability. It said the Department of Agriculture has identified a new plan and a national council as priorities, but progress has been slow and the council has not met.
Against that backdrop, the Union Against Hunger is pressing for a 12-month emergency food plan, with funding, targets and clear responsibility. The proposal would expand child nutrition support beyond the school week, strengthen the school feeding programme, extend support to early childhood centres, protect informal food traders and small producers, and create a monitoring system for hunger, food prices and malnutrition-related deaths. The Daily Maverick said the call is also intended to prepare the country for climate pressures and the possibility of a stronger El Niño-linked food shock in southern Africa. The central argument is simple: South Africa does not lack evidence of hunger, only the political will to treat it as an emergency.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
