Moneyweb Interview: SA must not miss an opportunity to fund the Maternal Support Grant

South Africa has promised to end child stunting, but a pregnant woman living in poverty still gets no targeted support from the state until her baby is born. DGMT communications director Rahima Essop spoke to Moneyweb about the proposed Maternal Support Grant, which would cost about R2 billion a year and pay R560 a month to pregnant women from their second trimester. She explains why the grant is one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent low birth weight and stunting, and why the coalition behind it wants National Treasury to fund it in the upcoming Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement.