The South African Child Gauge 2020 report describes early childhood malnutrition as “slow violence”. This term is used to illustrate how damaging malnutrition is during this period of development, resulting in long-term effects that are irreversible and impact a family’s economic welfare. 1
Figure 1. Malnutrition in young children leads to delayed development, compromises their immune system and puts them at higher risk of hereditary disease such as diabetes. This undermines their prospects of livelihood, which in turn contributes to the intergenerational transfer of poverty, malnutrition, and ill-health. 1
The true burden of nutritional deficiencies in young children
The South African Child Gauge 2020 report describes early childhood malnutrition as “slow violence”. This term is used to illustrate how damaging malnutrition is during this period of development, resulting in long-term effects that are irreversible and impact a family’s economic welfare. 1
Figure 1. Malnutrition in young children leads to delayed development, compromises their immune system and puts them at higher risk of hereditary disease such as diabetes. This undermines their prospects of livelihood, which in turn contributes to the intergenerational transfer of poverty, malnutrition, and ill-health. 1