One in 25 SA children die before turning 5 years
South Africa’s children are in crisis. One in every 25 die before their 5th birthday, while just over 70% live in households that cannot afford their basic needs. These and other concerning statistics have been cited at the launch of the Child Gauge 2024, an annual publication released by the University of Cape Town’s Children’s Institute.
The 17th edition, titled Enhancing Early Childhood Development, speaks to investing in prenatal care and support for families if the country is to achieve its developmental goals.
Children should be at the centre of every policy decision. This means among others, investment in the health, development, nutrition and care of pregnant women, infants and young children. The publication serves as an important resource for all sectors of society to improve the lives of South African children.
And researchers such as Linda Richter, Distinguished Professor at Centre for Excellence for Early Childhood Development at Wits University says early development interventions should be made even before a child is born.
“For me the critical thing is from conception. So, we need to really look after pregnant women, their families so that they have their support. Birth, during pregnancy and birth many developmental disabilities occur. So, if we want to prevent children needing special care we need to give much more attention. And I think it communicates that we care about women and children so i gave one example, in our country its policy that a woman leave a delivery centre six hours after giving birth, if anybody has had a child, they know the last thing you feel up to doing is getting up. Taking your bag picking up this tiny precious parcel and walking to a taxi rank, a bust stop, a train station.
Source: eNCA
In other news – Katy Perry to receive Video Vanguard honor at 2024 VMAs
Katy Perry is set to receive yet another award to add to her collection of trophies. At the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards also known as the VMAs
The Roar hitmaker would be named the winner of the Video Vanguard Award, joining the ranks of artists who have won the accolade named after the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Read more
