People’s Post Article: Metro Lives – How Cape Town’s municipalities shape children’s futures
Where a child grows up shapes their access to education, safety, public services and opportunities. Consequently, local government is a powerful force in children’s lives. This was the focus of the first Metro Lives dialogue. The event was held at the District Six Museum’s Homecoming Centre on Tuesday 21 July. Government representatives, child-rights advocates and political leaders attended to […]
MEDIA STATEMENT: Where a child lives determines their life chances and we need to change that
Where a child grows up shapes their experience of childhood and chances in life so much so that those in the same city can have wildly different experiences of love, access to food, safety and opportunities for early learning. These children don’t get to vote in Local Government Elections, yet municipal decisions shape almost every […]
Metro Lives: What can municipalities do for children?
Children don’t vote — but local government decisions shape their lives every day. Whether a child has a safe place to play, a park worth walking through, clean water, a registered early learning programme nearby, or a neighbourhood with more libraries than liquor outlets: these are municipal choices. Metro Lives is a series of public […]
News24 Article: Cape Town’s inequalities remain rooted in apartheid-era spatial planning
Children growing up in Cape Town’s poorest communities are still paying the price for apartheid spatial planning more than three decades into democracy. This is according to GOOD party mayoral hopeful Brett Herron, who warned that unless municipalities put children at the centre of planning and investment decisions, another generation will inherit the same inequalities. […]
Daily Maverick Article: Missing link in urban development – Cape Town’s future depends on giving children a voice
What can municipalities do to create an environment in which children and families can thrive? Brett Herron, secretary-general of the Good party, argues that all levels of government need to prioritise first investment, services and infrastructure in communities that have the greatest need. In the City of Cape Town, the area in which a child […]
The Conversation Article: South Africa’s food system is failing children – what must change
Child malnutrition in South Africa casts a long shadow across the life course. For example, stunting or being short for their age compromises children’s physical growth and their brain development in ways that limit their education and employment prospects. Stunted and overweight children are both at greater risk of developing noncommunicable diseases such as obesity, […]
Hands-on Learning Issue 34
Through the Hands-on Learning publication, we hope to play a helpful role in synthesising information from innovators and implementers in civil society, supporting them to share what they have learnt so that others can draw from and build on their experiences. The long and short of stunting in South Africa: Why understanding the problem is […]
Learning Brief – Making the most of a good start: How to help families get all the nutrients they need
Even the best-targeted interventions in the first 1 000 days rest on something more basic — families being able to get nutritious food onto the plate, day after day. And this is where many households hit a wall. The nutrient-dense diets young children need, with enough protein and all the vitamins and minerals for healthy […]
Learning Brief – Preventing stunting starts in the womb: Why investing in the first 1 000 days of a child’s life is the best time to nip stunting in the bud
Given the urgency with which South Africa has to deal with the massive crisis of stunting, it’s important to focus strategically on interventions that can quickly lower stunting rates, such as those specifically targeting children’s nutrition status in early life. Starting in the first 1 000 days of a child’s life — the period from […]
Learning Brief – The long and short of stunting in South Africa: Why understanding the problem is important for policy change
Over a quarter of under-fives in South Africa are too short for their age — and the figure has been hovering around the same level for about three decades. But stunting is more than a growth problem; it’s also a developmental challenge. In February 2026, President Cyril Ramaphosa opened a critical window to kickstart real […]