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 growth, depend on foods that are often out of financial reach. Protein-rich foods, fresh vegetables and fruit tend to cost more than staples like maize and cereals, or the nutrient-poor ultra-processed foods that fill the gap. The Child Support Grant is a vital poverty alleviation tool, and more children draw on it every year, yet South Africa’s stunting rate has barely shifted. That tells us the early-life window can only do so much on its own: we also need to widen the lens from the individual child to the household around them, and tackle what makes nutritious food unaffordable in the first place.
This third brief in the series looks at broad interventions that lift a whole household’s nutritional status — making nutritious food cheaper through retail subsidies, fortifying staple foods at scale and helping families grow their own.
To read this learning brief, download a PDF, or read it magazine-style on ISSUU.
