THE government’s child support grant is not enough even to support a single mother and her young child.
This is according to a shocking report released on Thursday, 24 February, by the Black Sash.
It found that caregivers were forced to make choices between needs that are fundamental human rights, including choosing between food and education for their children.
The non-profit organisation said the government needed to do more to improve the lives of the country’s poorest children.
“This highlighted the need to increase the child support grant to afford children (0-18 years) adequate nutrition.
Food insecurity, which manifests into high rates of child malnutrition, is an ongoing struggle and an emotional burden and distress for caregivers and community-based support systems,” the organisation said.
The report, titled “Children, Social Assistance and Food Security”, lays out a heartbreaking narrative on how the country’s poorest children are starving and how mothers are going without food to shield children from hunger.
During his budget for the 2022/2023 financial year on Wednesday, 23 February, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana increased the child support grant by R20 to R480 per month while the old-age grant rose from R1 890 per month to R1 985.
Black Sash said there were over 12 million children that benefit from the child support grant.
“This grant of R460 (now R480) is below the food poverty line, which is currently valued at R744,96 per person.”
The report shows that mothers were aware of high value foods but these foods are too costly, highlighting the need for macro-food policies to subsidise the food basket of child support grant recipients.
“Food security should be ensured throughout the life cycle of a child, including maternity protection for pregnant and breastfeeding women, and optimal food support for children at all contact points, such as early childhood development, school-based and community-based feeding programmes,” it said.
