{
  "id": 2127385,
  "title": "Short changed: What’s really stealing our children’s height?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/short-changed-whats-really-stealing-our-childrens-height",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-20T11:21:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/lifestyle/health/short-changed-whats-really-stealing-our-childrens-height/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Stunting, a severe chronic undernutrition crisis, affects nearly one in three South African children under five, with a rate of 28.8%. The South African Health Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, reported these figures, which surpass the global average according to the World Health Organization (WHO), to the South African Human Rights Commission's (SAHRC) inquiry into food systems. The StartWell Foundation, a non-governmental organization focused on child nutrition, claims that South Africa's problem lies not in a shortage of food, but in a lack of nutritional quality in children's diets. Common misconceptions among South African communities are that stunting is caused solely by food shortages or that affected children will simply catch up later in life. While children may eat until they are full, they may not receive the necessary protein, vitamins, and minerals required to support growth and brain development. Many feeding programs at early childhood development centers struggle to provide sufficient high-quality protein and key nutrients due to limited budgets. The National Department of Basic Education's subsidy of R24 per child per day does not cover the full cost of running these programs. The DBE's 2026 budget review shows that it spends more than R10 billion annually on the National School Nutrition Programme to provide 9.7 million meals daily. However, feeding programs should also track children's growth, nutrition status, and reductions in stunting, according to Tshimbi Mokgele from the StartWell Foundation. A nutrient-rich meal alone cannot solve the problem. Microbiologist Thulani Makhalanyane and health economist Ronelle Burger argue that repeated exposure to infections, unsafe water, poor sanitation, and unhygienic environments can also contribute to childhood stunting. These environmental factors can cause an inflamed or damaged gut, which may impair the absorption and utilization of nutrients, even when a child consumes nutritious food. Additionally, stunting often results from a combination of factors, including poor sanitation, inadequate feeding practices, undernourished pregnant women, alcohol use during pregnancy, and fetal alcohol syndrome. Stunting should be viewed as both a nutrition challenge and a broader development challenge, as it can be driven by various socio-economic and environmental conditions. Routine growth monitoring can help identify children whose height is falling behind before the issue becomes more challenging to address.",
  "summary": "It's easy to assume it comes down to genetics, but the reality is far more alarming: chronic undernutrition during their most critical early years.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}