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
This policy brief calls for urgent action to ensure all South African children access nutritious food. It proposes affordable food measures, stronger local food systems, better nutrition quality through fortification, and maternal support to reduce stunting, improve growth, and boost lifelong health and economic wellbeing.
This policy brief calls for urgent action to ensure all South African children access nutritious food. It proposes affordable food measures, stronger local food systems, better nutrition quality through fortification, and maternal support to reduce stunting, improve growth, and boost lifelong health and economic wellbeing.
This report presents the latest stillbirth data and evidence from 195 countries. It shows nearly 1.9 million stillbirths in 2023, highlights that many are preventable with quality maternal and childbirth care, reveals major regional disparities, and outlines key interventions to reduce stillbirths and improve counting and bereavement support.
This report presents the latest stillbirth data and evidence from 195 countries. It shows nearly 1.9 million stillbirths in 2023, highlights that many are preventable with quality maternal and childbirth care, reveals major regional disparities, and outlines key interventions to reduce stillbirths and improve counting and bereavement support.
This report shows global under‑five mortality has more than halved since 2000, but progress is slowing. In 2023, an estimated 4.8 million children died before age five, mostly from preventable causes. Persisting inequities mean children in low‑resource and fragile settings face far higher risks, underscoring the urgent need for renewed investment and policy action.
This report shows global under‑five mortality has more than halved since 2000, but progress is slowing. In 2023, an estimated 4.8 million children died before age five, mostly from preventable causes. Persisting inequities mean children in low‑resource and fragile settings face far higher risks, underscoring the urgent need for renewed investment and policy action.
This report provides up‑to‑date global data and statistics on childhood immunization, including coverage rates for major vaccines (e.g., DTP3) and tools to explore immunization by country or antigen. It highlights trends, progress, gaps in vaccine delivery, and supports monitoring efforts to reach every child with life‑saving vaccines.
This report provides up‑to‑date global data and statistics on childhood immunization, including coverage rates for major vaccines (e.g., DTP3) and tools to explore immunization by country or antigen. It highlights trends, progress, gaps in vaccine delivery, and supports monitoring efforts to reach every child with life‑saving vaccines.
This youth‑focused guide explains how heavy drinking harms children and teens in South Africa including unsafe homes, accidents, and early alcohol use and what can be done to reduce those harms. It discusses rethinking drinking norms, raising awareness, and supporting healthier choices to protect young lives and futures.
This youth‑focused guide explains how heavy drinking harms children and teens in South Africa including unsafe homes, accidents, and early alcohol use and what can be done to reduce those harms. It discusses rethinking drinking norms, raising awareness, and supporting healthier choices to protect young lives and futures.
This evidence review documents how South Africa’s high levels of alcohol consumption cause widespread harm to children and teens before birth (foetal alcohol spectrum disorders), through unsafe homes, road crashes, violence, depression, risky sex, school dropout and community trauma. It highlights links between binge drinking culture and child/adolescent injury and developmental harm, and calls for evidence‑based actions such as stricter alcohol policies (advertising bans, minimum unit pricing, restricted sales hours), stronger enforcement, community mobilisation, and public health interventions to protect young people.
This evidence review documents how South Africa’s high levels of alcohol consumption cause widespread harm to children and teens before birth (foetal alcohol spectrum disorders), through unsafe homes, road crashes, violence, depression, risky sex, school dropout and community trauma. It highlights links between binge drinking culture and child/adolescent injury and developmental harm, and calls for evidence‑based actions such as stricter alcohol policies (advertising bans, minimum unit pricing, restricted sales hours), stronger enforcement, community mobilisation, and public health interventions to protect young people.
This is a policy brief by Hold My Hand arguing that South Africa should urgently introduce universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) as part of routine maternal and child health services. It highlights that around 6 000 babies are born with hearing loss annually, yet fewer than 10 % are screened at birth, delaying diagnosis and missing critical early intervention windows. The brief frames UNHS as feasible, cost‑effective and essential for equitable early development, calling for integrated screening, trained personnel and strengthened data systems so children can develop language and thrive.
This is a policy brief by Hold My Hand arguing that South Africa should urgently introduce universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) as part of routine maternal and child health services. It highlights that around 6 000 babies are born with hearing loss annually, yet fewer than 10 % are screened at birth, delaying diagnosis and missing critical early intervention windows. The brief frames UNHS as feasible, cost‑effective and essential for equitable early development, calling for integrated screening, trained personnel and strengthened data systems so children can develop language and thrive.
The First South African National Gender-Based Violence Study (2022) is a nationwide baseline survey across all provinces measuring the prevalence, patterns, and drivers of gender-based violence. It examines physical, sexual, emotional, and economic abuse, as well as perpetration, highlighting the role of gender norms and providing evidence to guide policy, prevention strategies, and monitoring of GBV interventions in South Africa
The First South African National Gender-Based Violence Study (2022) is a nationwide baseline survey across all provinces measuring the prevalence, patterns, and drivers of gender-based violence. It examines physical, sexual, emotional, and economic abuse, as well as perpetration, highlighting the role of gender norms and providing evidence to guide policy, prevention strategies, and monitoring of GBV interventions in South Africa
This is a national report which reveals that only about 42 % of children enrolled in early learning programmes are developmentally on track, highlights stark inequalities by income and gender, and shows children not enrolled fare much worse. The findings emphasise deep gaps in early learning, physical growth (including stunting) and social‑emotional functioning, and call for urgent action to improve access, quality, nutrition, and support for families to ensure young children thrive before formal schooling.
This is a national report which reveals that only about 42 % of children enrolled in early learning programmes are developmentally on track, highlights stark inequalities by income and gender, and shows children not enrolled fare much worse. The findings emphasise deep gaps in early learning, physical growth (including stunting) and social‑emotional functioning, and call for urgent action to improve access, quality, nutrition, and support for families to ensure young children thrive before formal schooling.
This report tracks the wellbeing of South African children under six, showing that post‑COVID‑19 many are more likely to live in poverty, face food insecurity, malnutrition and higher mortality. It presents data on health, nutrition, caregiver support, social protection and early learning to guide policy and action to improve early childhood development.
This report tracks the wellbeing of South African children under six, showing that post‑COVID‑19 many are more likely to live in poverty, face food insecurity, malnutrition and higher mortality. It presents data on health, nutrition, caregiver support, social protection and early learning to guide policy and action to improve early childhood development.
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