It is girls who drop out of school due to malnutrition. It is women and girls who sacrifice meals so others in the household can eat. We must lift this burden off women and girls in South Africa.
This was the core message of South Africa’s delegation at the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit in Paris this year—a key global event uniting governments, international organisations, civil society, and businesses to tackle malnutrition in all its forms.
"All in all, South Africa's been represented at some great discussions, and as the country's agricultural minister it's been good to also be advocating to diversify our agricultural trade relations," said Minister of Agriculture of South Africa and Federal Leader of the Democratic Alliance, John Steenhuisen.
Held every four years in the host country of the Olympic Games, the 2025 Summit covered a diverse range of subjects such as the importance of food security and good nutritious diets for South Africans and the global environment. Steenhuizen said he was able to share his findings about some of the knock-on effects of sugar-tax on small-scale farmers and unpacked how SA's health-promotion levies help reduce obesity.
A key theme at the roundtable talks was gender, highlighting how poor nutrition disproportionately affects women and girls.
"We've been discussing how to develop programmes, utilise data, and implement interventions through a joint government approach to effectively tackle this issue," Steenhuisen said.
"When people eat well, they live well and this impacts the economy. The World Bank reports that every dollar invested in nutrition yields a $23 return for the country. This means children can learn better, and adults contribute to a more productive workforce. Ultimately, this ties back to the production of high-quality, healthy food at an affordable price."
He noted, "We've also been examining how poor communities suffer from limited access to good nutrition. There are many key learnings to take back to South Africa, particularly for the Eastern and Northern Cape provinces, which, according to our survey last year, are disproportionately affected by high levels of malnutrition, leading to childhood stunting.
Steenhuisen stressed the link between agriculture and nutrition.
"It is our farmers and the agricultural sector that produce the food and provide the nutrition we all need. I look forward to bringing back these learnings and integrating them into our G20 agriculture programme. By applying insights and experiences from other countries, we can strengthen our efforts to tackle childhood malnutrition in South Africa."
