Stories of Challenge in South Africa: changes in the enabling environment for nutrition among young children (1994–2021)

Abstract

Despite important nutrition-related policy and programmatic improvements in South Africa, rates of stunting among young children remain unacceptably high, while rates of overweight and obesity in this same population group are simultaneously on the rise. This study sought to examine the changes in the enabling environment for nutrition aimed at young children in South Africa by drawing on a literature review, policy mapping, and stakeholder interviews, for the time period from the end of apartheid in 1994 to 2021. The study focuses on changes and drivers of change at national level but also in three provinces: Western Cape, North West, and KwaZulu-Natal. The study ultimately seeks to better understand the changes and challenges with regards to policy and commitment to nutrition, coordination structures at various levels, and how these led to or did not lead to implementation and impact in these provinces. The study ends with reflections on what these findings mean for food and nutrition security in South Africa going forward, as well as what they might mean for other countries with similar contexts.