Special projects
Special projects
Children and teenagers in South Africa live on the edge of both possibility and risk. They are healthier, better educated and financially more protected than their parents were thirty years ago. This is the result of better health care, better education for more children and the social protection provided by the Child Support Grant. But many children still live on the edge of profound risk. Three-fifths of children live in the poorest 40% of households1 Dept of Social Development (2023) Reducing Child Poverty: A review of child poverty and the value of the Child Support Grant. Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374618161_Reducing_Child_Poverty_A_review_of_child_poverty_and_the_value_of_the_Child_Support_Grant and a quarter are nutritionally stunted2 Statistics South Africa (2017). South Africa Demographic and Health Survey 2016: Key Indicator Report, Statistics South Africa. Report No. 03-00-09. https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/Report%2003-00-09/Report%2003-00-092016.pdf . A quarter of children are exposed to direct abuse or violence3 UBS Optimus Foundation (2016). Optimus Study South Africa: Technical Report. Sexual victimisation of children in South Africa. Final report of the Optimus Foundation Study: South Africa. https://www.saferspaces.org.za/uploads/files/08_cjcp_report_2016_d.pdf (accessed December 2023),4 Delany A, Hall K (2017). Analysis of South African Police Service crime data, 2013/14 – 2016/17. http://www.childrencount.uct.ac.za/indicator.php?domain=11&indicator=84#5/-28.672/24.698. And teenagers leaving school face the prospect that half of them won’t find work5 StatsSA (2024). Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS). Q1: 2024. https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0211/Presentation%20QLFS%20Q1%202024.pdf.
Some of the gains achieved since 1994 are starting to reverse, with evidence that levels of child poverty and even child mortality may be creeping up again. To prevent us from going backwards, the three big issues that require most urgent attention are high levels of child poverty, persistent malnutrition, and inadequate child protection.
The majority of South Africans are stuck in an inequality trap with wealth concentrated in the hands of a few. Most are stuck in intergenerational loops of exclusion with few chances to escape. Breaking this cycle requires a fundamental change in life trajectories, starting in the womb.
Think of a Möbius strip – just one twist in the circle allows you to trace a completely different pattern. Instead of being stuck on the inside of a loop, you emerge on the outside. In the same way, escaping the inequality trap requires a fundamental twist to set South Africa on a new path.
Our children face one of three possible futures: Either there will be an erosion of what we have achieved over the past thirty years, and we cannot allow that to happen. Or we can keep on a slow, but steady path upwards, where we keep doing what we’re doing only better. The problem with this scenario is that change will not happen fast enough to enable South Africa to escape the inequality trap, where sustained high levels of poverty and malnutrition continue to prevent half of our children from reaching their full potential. The third option is the future we all seek – a thriving nation – that requires we do things differently, that we accelerate action for children.
Experience from other countries is that action can be accelerated when the President takes the lead, when all of society gets behind a national programme for children and when there is an organisation that keeps driving that programme. Examples include Brazil’s Bolsa Familia, Chile Crece Contigo and HeadStart in the United States and the Healthy Child Programme in the UK.
With this in mind, the Presidency has led a process of consultation for a National Strategy to Accelerate Action for Children (NSAAC). It’s a high-level, shared vision aimed at improving the wellbeing and life outcomes of all children and teenagers in South Africa.
The NSAAC highlights 10 key priorities to accelerate change and identifies both gaps in existing services and new interventions that could help speed up progress. It recognises that while government must lead the implementation, the strategy can only succeed through a whole-of-society effort that brings everyone on board to turn this vision into reality.
One of the forms of partnership is the establishment of an Accelerator that can work across society and find ways to achieve new gains in child and adolescent development. Whilst the NSAAC will focus on multiple strategies for children, the Accelerator aims to fast-track the design and implementation of selected priority strategies. Together with government, the Accelerator is also driving a national branded communication campaign urging all of society to hold the hands of children. Hold My Hand is a campaign through which the voices of children and teenagers will be heard on radio, social and other media platforms, as well as in community spaces.
Closing the food gap
Food security is fundamental. Without it, our country’s economy and society will not grow. Imagine if the private sector were to open up their local supply chains to more small farmers and if retailers and manufacturers were to work together to reduce the price of 10 highly nutritious foods. These are some of the network strategies that could unlock value and improve access and affordability of food.
Supporting responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
The brain is most receptive to language and learning stimulation in the first three years of life. Yet, we really only start to focus on early learning at age three or so. The new strategy of the Department of Basic Education identifies the need to prioritise language and learning stimulation in younger children. The Accelerator is getting behind and helping to design and develop bigger and more systematic programmes in this age group, recognising that this will mean reaching children in home and community settings. There are some excellent initiatives to draw on that will help show the way.
Protecting children and teenagers by reducing heavy drinking
Most child protection efforts in South Africa focus on support for victims of abuse. Our biggest weakness is in preventing child and adolescent abuse, which is difficult in marginalised communities that lack resources and suffer the worst violence. One thing that we can change is the extent of heavy drinking by adults who then perpetrate violence and by teenagers who put themselves and others at risk. There is evidence from across the world that we can reduce the harm of alcohol by controls on advertising, the availability and trading hours of liquor outlets and minimum unit pricing.
Providing early hearing and vision screening and referral for young children
In most cases, the earlier the better in terms of detecting and responding to childhood disability. This is especially important for hearing loss, where appropriate treatment can enable children to better develop the language and communication skills that are critical for development. Imagine a national campaign to identify and refer every young child with hearing or visual disability, augmented with similar programmes for children of school-going age.
Building identity, agency and connectedness for teenagers
Imagine if every young person felt connected to networks of support, building a sense of possibility, identity and belonging. These networks could operate in schools, communities and on social media, but it must belong to young people, and not government or any other sector. Getting this right will require active engagement with children and teenagers, defining and responding to what they want in ways that work for them. There are many initiatives focused on young people, yet there is still much to be done to develop programmes at sufficient scale to reach everyone who want to be part of them.
Trying to change life trajectories is ambitious and profound. It requires us to radically influence the lives of individuals and to be part of changing the circumstances in which they live.
This leaflet introduces Hold My Hand. It explains the eight building blocks: Love, Food, Safety, Brain power, Health, Identity, Connectedness and Agency, and gives simple, practical actions for parents, caregivers and communities.
Visit www.holdmyhand.org.za for more resources, or to download this leaflet in Afrikaans, isiZulu or SeSotho.
Keready website:
www.holdmyhand.org.za
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Hold my Hand: Closing the food gap
This policy brief examines South Africa’s urgent child nutrition crisis, where severe malnutrition, stunting and obesity coexist despite the country producing enough food for all.
Hold my Hand: Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation
Every day, 3 000 children are born in South Africa, and their future health starts long before birth. This policy brief explores how shifting from Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) to Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) can transform maternal and child health.
Hold my Hand: The prevention of alcohol harms
Heavy drinking harms more than just the person drinking; it affects children and teenagers across South Africa. This policy brief explores how alcohol fuels violence, trauma, and neglect in homes and communities, and outlines the steps needed to protect young lives.
Hold my Hand: The case for a maternal support grant
This policy brief makes the case for introducing a Maternal Support Grant (MSG) - a monthly cash transfer starting in the second trimester of pregnancy and transitioning automatically to the Child Support Grant (CSG) after birth.
