DGMT CEO Dr David Harrison spoke to Ashraf Garda on SAfm’s National Pulse about what poverty actually does to a child’s body and brain. About a thousand children die of severe acute malnutrition in South Africa every year, but Dr Harrison called that the tip of the iceberg. Beneath it sits chronic food insecurity — families so close to the edge that one crisis, like paying a neighbour R700 for a lift to hospital, empties the food cupboard for the month. The result is one in four children stunted, against 6 or 7% in countries with comparable GDP, and a domino effect that runs from a mother with too little to eat in pregnancy, through a child who can afford pap but not protein, to a young person who falls behind at school and never catches up. Dr Harrison was clear that none of this is inevitable: make protein affordable, feed mothers before birth, reduce alcohol harms and help communities grow their own food.
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.
July 24, 2026
