Child malnutrition in the Eastern Cape has more than doubled

Zandile Mtungata is part of a project that tries to feed hungry children in Duncan Village, East London. Photo: Mike Loewe

• Since the Human Rights Commission was given severe acute malnutrition statistics for Eastern Cape children from April 2021 to March 2022, that number has more than doubled.
• In Duncan Village, an organisation helps women cook daily meals for hundreds of children and elderly people.
• But they say they receive very little help from the state for their efforts.

Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) has more than doubled over the last 18 months in the Eastern Cape.

In November last year the Human Rights Commission (HRC) released the results of its inquiry into child malnutrition and the right to food in the Eastern Cape. The report said that 116 children had died of malnutrition in the Eastern Cape between April 2021 to March 2022. They were among 1,087 children who presented with SAM in that period.

Over the last year, from September 2023 to August 2024, 2,758 children in the Eastern Cape suffered from severe acute malnutrition, spokesperson for the MEC of Health Mkhululi Ndamase told GroundUp.

This is an increase of over 1,600 recorded cases since the HRC report.

The new figures have alarmed HRC provincial manager Dr Eileen Carter, who headed the malnutrition report.

“We are deeply concerned about the alarming increase in severe acute malnutrition cases in the Eastern Cape,” she said. “While we appreciate the ongoing responses from the government and acknowledge the heightened alertness from both government and private stakeholders, it is clear that our collective efforts are not yet yielding the desired results.”

Huge community effort to fight hunger

There is a battered little two-plate stove in the corner of Zandile Mtungata’s cramped shack at the end of an alley in Duncan Village, East London. She uses this stove to cook for hungry children.

Mtungata is one of seven “community moms” assisted by Helping Those in Need, an organisation providing food for children across East London.

Mtungata is working in one of the poorest areas in the city. The organisation is a lifeline for her and the approximately 100 children she feeds almost every day.

When GroundUp visited on 18 September, Mtungata was surrounded by about a dozen children, one over her shoulder, toddlers held by older girls.

Activist Tubs Lingham and Quigney Baptist church evangelist Matthew Peake, a co-founder of Helping Those in Need, brought out a 20-litre bucket of hot samp and beans with vegetables and pork. A steady stream of children arrived with bowls, starting with Mtungata’s own extended family and then children from the surrounding shacks. Finally, three elderly women arrived for the meal.

Mtungata says her decision to start caring for children was part of her effort to get her life back after being raped as a teenager and dropping out of school in Grade 11. She ended up eating scraps from bins. Later she managed to find work cleaning in a school and noticed there was leftover food. With permission from the principal, she took it home and began to supplement the food with her own cooking.

She estimates that about a third of the children she feeds are under five. All the children are on child support grants but she is sceptical about how much of the cash reaches the intended mark.

State support?

While Mtungata tries to keep hunger in her community at bay, the only state support she receives is in the form of child support grants. She said she has not been visited by a social worker or other government official.

Eastern Cape Social Development spokesperson Mzukisi Solani told GroundUp they assisted with registration of non-profit organisations (NPOs), provided training and funding where applications were successful.

“So, if Zandile [Mtungata] has an NPO that requires the above stated assistance or services, she can visit any Social Development Department office close to her at Duncan Village. If she’s interested, we can assist her with registration. Registering has huge benefits. It improves the credibility of the work you do in the community and funding opportunities. It also allows the NPO to open a bank account and helps it with tax incentives.”

Peake and Lingham were sceptical of official statements of support. Peake says that in eight years of regular visits and work in their projects, the community has witnessed very little state intervention.

“They [government] are doing it on such a small scale that no one knows about it. Or they’re only doing it to help family and friends. Outside of that, they’re not doing anything. Otherwise, we would see a difference in these communities.”

Kitchens needed

Peake and Lingham collect food locally from retailers, restaurants and guest houses which they supply to the “community moms” in home-based kitchens in their nine community projects which feed between 2,500 and 3,000 people.

What Mtungata needs most is a stove. Peake says they gave her one a few years ago, but it is now broken.

They say “community moms” need simple infrastructure: robust kitchens with a fridge and freezer, a table, and chairs. A gate and fencing would make the places safer.

Mtungata says: “If it wasn’t for Matthew Peake helping those babies, I don’t know what would have happened.” Even when funds were short, “he will show up with something to eat”, she says.

She says when she cooks, “I have that feeling that everything will change. I feel hopeful. When people come asking for food, whoa, I am happy I see the joy and hope. Because I am their hope, I am their hope.”

But the day after GroundUp visited Mtungata, a big storm hit Buffalo City. We called Mtungata, and she said: “I am soaking wet. There is water all over the place, everything is just chaotic. We have water entering from the roof, as well as the ground. The furniture is swimming in water and our blankets are drenched. We cannot even keep warm.”

“I tried moving some of the furniture in different areas, but the rain somehow finds its way there, as well. I am utterly defeated. I guess God will see, because there is no one taking care of anyone here.”

Anda Tolibadi assisted with an interview and translation.

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