Child hunger and malnutrition remain a stubborn crisis in South Africa, with more than a quarter of children under five affected by stunting which is a  severe form of chronic malnutrition where children under five, are too short for their age. Now, advocacy group Real Reform for ECD is calling on the Department of Basic Education to urgently roll out a long-delayed nutrition pilot programme targeting over 1,000 early childhood development centres in the Eastern Cape. While hundreds of millions of rand have been allocated over the past two years, many vulnerable children, particularly those in so-called "bronze"-status centres in rural and informal communities, have remained excluded from critical nutrition support. The organisation says this pilot could be a turning point, but only if it leads to a scalable, national solution. Mpho Sithole spoke to Jessica Ronaason from the Do More Foundation and member of Real Reform for ECD steering committee to unpack what's at stake.

<p>Child hunger and malnutrition remain a stubborn crisis in South Africa, with more than a quarter of children under five affected by stunting which is a &nbsp;severe form of chronic malnutrition where children under five, are too short for their age. Now, advocacy group Real Reform for ECD is calling on the Department of Basic Education to urgently roll out a long-delayed nutrition pilot programme targeting over 1,000 early childhood development centres in the Eastern Cape. While hundreds of millions of rand have been allocated over the past two years, many vulnerable children, particularly those in so-called "bronze"-status centres in rural and informal communities, have remained excluded from critical nutrition support. The organisation says this pilot could be a turning point, but only if it leads to a scalable, national solution. Mpho Sithole spoke to Jessica Ronaason from the Do More Foundation and member of Real Reform for ECD steering committee to unpack what's at stake.</p>

An English news and current affairs wrap with a fresh take on the day’s top stories, hosted by the seasoned journalist Tsepiso Makwetla.

<p>An English news and current affairs wrap with a fresh take on the day&rsquo;s top stories, hosted by the seasoned journalist Tsepiso Makwetla.</p>