Parental and Caregiver Involvement in South African Education
5. Build identity, agency and connectedness for teenagers
The decline of child stunting in 122 countries: a systematic review of child growth studies since the 19th century
1. Close the Food Gap
Childhood stunting fell dramatically over the 20th century
1. Close the Food Gap
Prioritising the fight against stunting in South Africa: Evidence, gaps, and implications: a synthesis of ten papers from a special issue of Development Southern Africa (Volume 42, Issue 6, 2025)
1. Close the Food Gap
The AI WhatsApp bot spotting hearing loss in SA schools
4. Provide early hearing and vision screening and referral for young children
From teddies to tablets: New global research reveals that digital devices are being used to comfort babies and parents
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
Playbook on Digital Innovation for Supporting Families. A framework for transformative digital support to parents
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
Where is the South African prevention of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder programme? A call to action
3. Protect children and teens by reducing heavy drinking
Closing the equity gap? An overview of progress toward implementing South Africa’s national integrated early childhood development policy
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
The Study on Violence against Children in South Africa. Special Summary for Teens
3. Protect children and teens by reducing heavy drinking
A study on knowledge, attitudes and practices of parents/primary caregivers with children from birth to six years old regarding the importance of play in early learning: Executive summary
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
2026 Background Report for the 2030 Reading Panel
5. Build identity, agency and connectedness for teenagers
The first South African National Gender-Based Violence Study, 2022: a baseline survey on victimisation and perpetration.
3. Protect children and teens by reducing heavy drinking
HANDS-ON Experience Learning
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
Measuring stunting and tracking trends in prevalence in South Africa: Conceptual and methodological considerations
1. Close the Food Gap
Scaling Early Parenting Interventions: A Qualitative Investigation of Factors that Enable Successful Scaling of Early Parenting Interventions for Sustainable Implementation and Impact
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
Reflections on monitoring parenting programmes during dissemination and scale-up
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
WHOeyes
4. Provide early hearing and vision screening and referral for young children
Child Poverty in South Africa. Assessing changes in multidimensional poverty using the MODA approach (2015–2023)
1. Close the Food Gap
Food Fortification protects billions—but could triple its impact
1. Close the Food Gap
The evolution of antenatal care HIV/syphilis sentinel surveillance in South Africa, 1990–2022, and future directions
By Africa, for Africa: data and action for young children
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
Impact of large-scale food fortification programmes on micronutrient inadequacies and their implementation costs: a modelling analysis
1. Close the Food Gap
Transforming Welfare Services: From Child Relief to Women’s Empowerment: The Child Support Grant in Rural South Africa
1. Close the Food Gap
Turning national commitment into community action in a child’s first 1,000 days
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
SA is failing its youngest ears
4. Provide early hearing and vision screening and referral for young children
World Hearing Day | South African Speech Language Hearing Association
4. Provide early hearing and vision screening and referral for young children
Adolescence. An Overlooked Window in Nutrition
5. Build identity, agency and connectedness for teenagers
UNIMMAP-Quality-Standards-Brief-FAQ-web-layout-3-19
1. Close the Food Gap
Defining Parent Responsiveness: A Systematic Review‐Based Theoretical Model
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
Acceptability of Antenatal Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) Compared to Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) Supplementation in Pregnant Individuals: A Narrative Review
1. Close the Food Gap
A quiet crisis: Babies born with hearing loss often diagnosed too late in SA
4. Provide early hearing and vision screening and referral for young children
New Technical Brief and FAQ for UNIMMAP MMS Quality Standards Published by UNICEF
1. Close the Food Gap
Introduction of Multiple Micronutrient Supplements in Pakistan through the National Health System: A Pilot Study
1. Close the Food Gap
Newborn and Infant Hearing Screening Facing Globally Growing Numbers of People Suffering from Disabling Hearing Loss
4. Provide early hearing and vision screening and referral for young children
Thrive by Five Index 2024: National Findings
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
Effective dietary interventions during pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of behavior change techniques to promote healthy eating
1. Close the Food Gap
Burns Awareness Guide » Surgeons for little lives
3. Protect children and teens by reducing heavy drinking
Childhood Illnesses Training Materials For Nurses, Doctors and Community Health Workers
1. Close the Food Gap
World Report on Hearing - Comms toolkit is important to alleviate poverty and ensure proper nutrition and care
1. Close the Food Gap
As Europe drinks less, Big Alcohol turns to Africa
3. Protect children and teens by reducing heavy drinking
At the Crossroads: Life Skills/Orientation Textbook Series
5. Build identity, agency and connectedness for teenagers
Why Is Social Connection So Hard for Young Adults?
5. Build identity, agency and connectedness for teenagers
Amazing to Me
4. Provide early hearing and vision screening and referral for young children
HOPE-Hear
4. Provide early hearing and vision screening and referral for young children
World Report on Hearing - Comms toolkit
4. Provide early hearing and vision screening and referral for young children
Ke Moja WhatsApp Chat Platform (SADAG)
3. Protect children and teens by reducing heavy drinking
Stories for Joy – Early Childhood Development South Africa
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
Tiny Happy People
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
Children's brains function differently during book reading and screen time
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
Welcome to Ethnikids - An Online Childrens Bookstore
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
How early book access can transform South Africa’s future
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
Western Cape Government Launches Khulisa Care to combat child stunting and improve maternal nutrition | Western Cape Government
1. Close the Food Gap
Healthy eating on a budget: Cost-effective protein options starting at just R5 | Life
1. Close the Food Gap
Newzroom Afrika Interview: Informal workers are not eligible for maternity and paternal benefits - DGMT
1. Close the Food Gap
SABC News Interview: The maternal support grant is vital to address stunting - DGMT
1. Close the Food Gap
Bhekisisa Health Beat Interview: Focus on moms - DGMT
1. Close the Food Gap
Newzroom Afrika Interview: Government must get behind the Maternal Support Grant - DGMT
1. Close the Food Gap
ENCA Interview: Calls are growing for government to fast-track the implementation of the Maternity Support Grant - DGMT
1. Close the Food Gap
ENCA Interview: New moms are desperate in SA’s malnutrition crisis - DGMT
1. Close the Food Gap
ENCA Interview: Why is South Africa still waiting on the Maternal Support Grant? - DGMT
1. Close the Food Gap
Young children and the polycrisis. Where to from here? Executive Summary
4. Provide early hearing and vision screening and referral for young children
Young children and the polycrisis. Where to from here?
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
Situation Analysis of Children and Adolescents in South Africa | 2024
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
THRIVE Nurturing Care for early childhood development. Country profiles for early childhood development (2025)
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
South Africa Public Expenditure and Institutional Review (PEIR) for Early Childhood Development
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
Effective Cross-Departmental and Inter-Governmental Coordination in Early Childhood Development: The First Step in Developing The ECD Sectoral Strategy for the 2024-2029 Medium-Term National Development Plan
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
The Nurturing Care Framework: Indicators for Measuring Responsive Care and Early Learning Activities
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
South African Child Gauge 2024
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
Reducing Child Poverty. A review of child poverty and the value of the Child Support Grant.
1. Close the Food Gap
2025 Background Report for the 2030 Reading Panel
5. Build identity, agency and connectedness for teenagers
Tobacco and stunting
3. Protect children and teens by reducing heavy drinking
Judicial Handbook for Navigating Online Harms
3. Protect children and teens by reducing heavy drinking
Microchange at Scale: HOW SMALL DATA-DRIVEN SHIFTS CAN TRANSFORM EARLY LEARNING IN SOUTH AFRICA
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
Unlocking the Power of Warm, Interactive Conversations
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
Do the benefits fade out or not? Understanding influences on short and long-term effects of preschool programmes
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
Advancing maternal and child health through Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) in South Africa
1. Close the Food Gap
WHO/UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage (WUENIC), 2024 revision
1. Close the Food Gap
Levels and trends in child mortality. Report 2024
1. Close the Food Gap
Standing up for Stillbirth: Current estimates and key interventions. Report of the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation 2024
1. Close the Food Gap
How South Africa can stop hurting its children by reducing heavy drinking: A Guide for Children and Teenagers
3. Protect children and teens by reducing heavy drinking
Reducing Alcohol Harms to Children and Adolescents in South Africa: Evidence for Action
3. Protect children and teens by reducing heavy drinking
Every child heard: Why South Africa must implement universal newborn hearing screening now
4. Provide early hearing and vision screening and referral for young children
South African Early Childhood Review 2024
2. Support responsive caregiving and language development for very young children
The State of the World’s Children 2025: Ending Child Poverty – Our Shared Imperative, Statistical Compendium and Data Tables
1. Close the Food Gap
What Makes Me? Core Capacities for Living and Learning in Childhood
5. Build identity, agency and connectedness for teenagers
Seeds of Success: Nurturing Young Children through Parenting Support
5. Build identity, agency and connectedness for teenagers
School Dropout: Hanging by a Thread
5. Build identity, agency and connectedness for teenagers
Boosting Adolescent Girls’ Agency Through Life Skills Training
5. Build identity, agency and connectedness for teenagers
Global Research Agenda for Children with Disabilities
4. Provide early hearing and vision screening and referral for young children
PROFESSIONAL BOARD FOR SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND HEARING PROFESSIONS EARLY HEARING DETECTION AND INTERVENTION (EHDI) GUIDELINES YEAR 2018
4. Provide early hearing and vision screening and referral for young children
Early Detection and Intervention in Audiology An African Perspective
4. Provide early hearing and vision screening and referral for young children
World Report on Hearing
4. Provide early hearing and vision screening and referral for young children
Hearing screening: considerations for implementation
4. Provide early hearing and vision screening and referral for young children
ENCA discussed South Africa’s proposed Maternal Support Grant (MSG), designed to reduce maternal and child malnutrition, has faced over a decade of delays despite strong supporting evidence. Civil society urges urgent implementation, while government concerns about cost and policy alignment persist.
ENCA discussed South Africa’s proposed Maternal Support Grant (MSG), designed to reduce maternal and child malnutrition, has faced over a decade of delays despite strong supporting evidence. Civil society urges urgent implementation, while government concerns about cost and policy alignment persist.
DGMT’s Deputy CEO, Kentse Radebe, urged the South African government on Newzroom Afrika to support and fast‑track a Maternal Support Grant to provide pregnant women with vital income during pregnancy, improve nutrition and birth outcomes, and reduce stunting and poverty. Advocates stress strong evidence and urgency for policy approval
DGMT’s Deputy CEO, Kentse Radebe, urged the South African government on Newzroom Afrika to support and fast‑track a Maternal Support Grant to provide pregnant women with vital income during pregnancy, improve nutrition and birth outcomes, and reduce stunting and poverty. Advocates stress strong evidence and urgency for policy approval
This executive summary outlines how multiple, overlapping global crises like the COVID‑19 pandemic, climate breakdown, conflict, inflation, and food insecurity are widening gaps in young children’s development, health, and access to services. It calls for child‑centred, system‑level solutions in policy, financing, and protection to help children thrive despite these compounded pressures.
This executive summary outlines how multiple, overlapping global crises like the COVID‑19 pandemic, climate breakdown, conflict, inflation, and food insecurity are widening gaps in young children’s development, health, and access to services. It calls for child‑centred, system‑level solutions in policy, financing, and protection to help children thrive despite these compounded pressures.
This report examines how interconnected global crises including climate change, conflict, inequality, and economic instability are intensifying risks to young children’s development, health, and well‑being. It highlights structural barriers, calls for child‑centred policy, financing, and systemic transformation, and offers adaptive strategies and recommendations for stakeholders to better support children globally.
This report examines how interconnected global crises including climate change, conflict, inequality, and economic instability are intensifying risks to young children’s development, health, and well‑being. It highlights structural barriers, calls for child‑centred policy, financing, and systemic transformation, and offers adaptive strategies and recommendations for stakeholders to better support children globally.
This UNICEF South Africa report provides a comprehensive overview of the living conditions of children and adolescents across key sectors like health, nutrition, education, water and sanitation, and social protection. It highlights persistent vulnerabilities, deprivations and barriers faced by young people, including multidimensional poverty, health and education gaps, and unequal access to services, and serves as a call to action for policymakers and stakeholders to improve children’s rights and well‑being.
This UNICEF South Africa report provides a comprehensive overview of the living conditions of children and adolescents across key sectors like health, nutrition, education, water and sanitation, and social protection. It highlights persistent vulnerabilities, deprivations and barriers faced by young people, including multidimensional poverty, health and education gaps, and unequal access to services, and serves as a call to action for policymakers and stakeholders to improve children’s rights and well‑being.
This is a set of 2025 country profiles developed under the Nurturing Care Framework by UNICEF in collaboration with Countdown to 2030: Women’s, Children’s and Adolescent’s Health. The profiles compile key indicators and data on early childhood development across nearly 200 countries to support monitoring, planning and policy action on nurturing care, early learning, health, nutrition and child well‑being globally.
This is a set of 2025 country profiles developed under the Nurturing Care Framework by UNICEF in collaboration with Countdown to 2030: Women’s, Children’s and Adolescent’s Health. The profiles compile key indicators and data on early childhood development across nearly 200 countries to support monitoring, planning and policy action on nurturing care, early learning, health, nutrition and child well‑being globally.
To improve and strengthen the delivery of the ECD function, the review examines expenditure that is allocated to ECD, identifies opportunities to increase or improve expenditure, and suggests ways to strengthen inter-departmental and cross-government collaboration to help ensure that all children in South Africa receive a comprehensive package of integrated support and services to build the foundations to thrive later in life.
To improve and strengthen the delivery of the ECD function, the review examines expenditure that is allocated to ECD, identifies opportunities to increase or improve expenditure, and suggests ways to strengthen inter-departmental and cross-government collaboration to help ensure that all children in South Africa receive a comprehensive package of integrated support and services to build the foundations to thrive later in life.
This report is a 2024 advisory by South Africa’s National Planning Commission ECD Advisory Report. It argues that better coordination across government departments and spheres is essential to build an integrated early childhood development (ECD) strategy that can inform the 2024‑29 Medium‑Term National Development Plan. The advisory highlights current coordination gaps and calls for urgent action to ensure children benefit from equitable, quality ECD services and stronger state capacity.
This report is a 2024 advisory by South Africa’s National Planning Commission ECD Advisory Report. It argues that better coordination across government departments and spheres is essential to build an integrated early childhood development (ECD) strategy that can inform the 2024‑29 Medium‑Term National Development Plan. The advisory highlights current coordination gaps and calls for urgent action to ensure children benefit from equitable, quality ECD services and stronger state capacity.
This is a guidance resource outlining indicators and tools to assess responsive caregiving and early learning practices in young children’s families and communities. It defines measurable behaviours (like play, communication and caregiver engagement), suggests data sources (surveys, observation tools), and helps programmes monitor and improve nurturing care for early childhood development.
This is a guidance resource outlining indicators and tools to assess responsive caregiving and early learning practices in young children’s families and communities. It defines measurable behaviours (like play, communication and caregiver engagement), suggests data sources (surveys, observation tools), and helps programmes monitor and improve nurturing care for early childhood development.
This annual flagship report from the Children’s Institute focuses on early childhood development (ECD) in South Africa, tracking progress against the National Integrated ECD Policy and highlighting critical gaps in health, nutrition, learning access and social support. It presents data showing ongoing high child poverty, stunting and low developmental outcomes, and recommends strengthened investment and coordinated services to ensure young children thrive.
This annual flagship report from the Children’s Institute focuses on early childhood development (ECD) in South Africa, tracking progress against the National Integrated ECD Policy and highlighting critical gaps in health, nutrition, learning access and social support. It presents data showing ongoing high child poverty, stunting and low developmental outcomes, and recommends strengthened investment and coordinated services to ensure young children thrive.
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