RSG Interview: Can a maternal grant stop stunting?
South Africa wants to put an end to child stunting and malnutrition, but experts say the fight has to start before a baby is born. Yet pregnant women living in poverty can only access a child grant once their baby has been born and registered. A coalition of organisations and researchers is now calling on […]
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 […]
MEDIA STATEMENT: South Africa must not miss an opportunity to fund the Maternal Support Grant in the mission to end stunting
The upcoming Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) should allocate much-needed funds to pregnant women and their newborns as part of South Africa’s mission to end stunting. This ties directly to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s February State of the Nation Address commitment to end child stunting and malnutrition by prioritising nutrition in the first 1 000 days of […]
Daily Maverick Article: How cheap junk food and a R560 grant are fuelling stunting and child obesity
Obesity and overweight rates in young children have almost doubled since 2016 in South Africa. In his State of the Nation Address this year, President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed to eradicate child stunting by 2030 when he said “This year, we will embark on a mission to end child stunting by 2030 and tackle malnutrition among […]
SAFM Interview: Where a child grows up shapes their future
On 21 July 2026, DGMT — with Change Ideas and the Hold My Hand campaign — hosted the inaugural Metro Lives public dialogue at the Homecoming Centre in District Six, Cape Town. Metro Lives was created to open up a public conversation about how South Africa’s cities and municipalities can build better lives for children, […]
SAFM Interview: More than a quarter of South African children are stunted. For many, it starts before birth
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 — […]
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, […]
SAFM Interview: Will a new Minister of Social Development move to implement the maternal support grant a reality?
Speaking to SAFM, DGMT’s Communications Director, Rahima Essop, made the case for a Maternal Support Grant — temporary income support that helps pregnant women access nutritious food, healthcare, and antenatal care in the months that shape a baby’s future. On behalf of the MSG Advocacy Coalition, she argued that the grant could reduce low birth […]
Cape Talk Interview: Will the appointment of Dina Pule as Minister of Social Development make the maternal support grant a reality?
Speaking to Cape Talk this week, Hold My Hands Nutrition Strategy Lead, Liezel Engelbrecht, made the case for a Maternal Support Grant: temporary income support to help pregnant women access nutritious food, healthcare and antenatal care when it counts most. Speaking on behalf of the MSG Advocacy Coalition, she argued the grant could cut low […]
IOL Article: Calls intensify for a Maternal Support Grant as budget window opens
A COALITION of health, child welfare and anti-poverty organisations is urging the government to fund a proposed Maternal Support Grant (MSG), arguing that supporting women during pregnancy could play an important role in South Africa’s mission to end childhood stunting. The call comes ahead of a key budget planning deadline on Friday, when government departments […]