School Nutrition Programme
18 July 2006
Programme Director
My colleague the MEC for Education
Senior managers
Ladies and gentlemen
Today is a very special day for the children of Gauteng. It is a day on
which the provincial government, together with our partners in the private
sector, reaffirm our commitment to the eradication of poverty and to create an
environment fit for children to grow in.
They deserve special attention because of their vulnerability to ill-health.
It is said that while children constitute about 10% of the world's population,
they bear 40% of the global burden of diseases.
Under-nutrition, especially vitamin and mineral deficiencies, is a serious
health problem facing children in our country. Different surveys have indicated
two out of three households in the country do not have access to enough
nutritious foods.
Over the years government has implemented a number of interventions to
address the challenge of poverty and under-nutrition in our community. In its
first years in office, this democratic government launched the school feeding
scheme as a necessary intervention to address the physical and mental nutrition
needs of children.
In later years the Food Security and Nutrition strategy was introduced to
distribute food parcels to needy households. Food Fortification was also
introduced to compel producers of maize and bread flour to add certain vitamins
and certain micronutrients in this staple food. Our clinics and hospitals also
provide Vitamin A supplementation to all children under five years and to
pre-school children suffering from severe malnutrition, persistent diarrhoea,
measles and severe eye infection.
We have done all this because we realised that a single strategy implemented
in isolation would not adequately address the challenge we are faced with. A
more sustainable food security and nutrition intervention has to be
multi-sectoral in its approach and must involve communities in finding
solutions to this challenge.
It is for this reason that we see the intensification of the school
nutrition programme that we are launching today. In this context the government
also provided agricultural starter packs to enable households to produce their
own food and improve their livelihood.
The provision of support for the implementation of income generating
activities is also done to fight poverty, hunger and which continue to expose
our people to diseases and cause them to succumb easily and quicker. While we
continue to address issues of food security, the Department of Health is
focusing on ensuring that the food is nutritious and is of health benefit to
our people.
There is a realisation internationally that good nutrition is a critical of
element of our response to diseases. The World Health Organisation and the Food
and Agriculture Organisation have said that good diet can prolong the life of
people living HIV/AIDS and is important in the management of other chronic and
debilitating diseases.
South Africa is faced with a triple burden of disease, namely Tuberculosis
(TB), HIV and the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes
and high blood pressure. Many of these diseases are caused by factors such as
overweight, lack of physical activity and poor diet.
It must however be emphasised while nutrition is essential in the fight against
ill-health, it is not a substitute for medicines. We believe that good
nutrition actually improves the efficacy and the effectiveness of
medication.
It is encouraging to see that companies such as the Johannesburg Food
Produce Market are willing to join government in improving the health status of
people and in building a province fit for children.
That is why today we are gathered here to re-affirm our dedication to the
battle against poverty, hunger and under-nutrition. We want to make our
children realise that our lives come from the soil. We want them to believe
that it is cost-effective and healthier to grow a vegetable garden, eat from it
than to buy to eat junk food from the fish and chips outlets.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Health, Gauteng Provincial Government
18 July 2006
