JOBURG – About 113 deaths among children with severe acute malnutrition were recorded in Gauteng over the last year.
This according to the Gauteng Department of Health MEC, Qedani Mahlangu, who revealed this during the department’s annual report from last year April to March this year, on 28 October.
According to the department, over the last year, about 3 040 new cases of severe acute malnutrition were identified and out of those, about 1 512 children were admitted to different facilities. Of these, 113 died because of severe malnutrition.
The department’s spokesperson, Steve Mabona, said once malnutrition is at the acute stage, there is a high mortality rate and that it is extremely important to detect it in its earlier stages.
He said that children who are malnourished are identified at the department’s primary health centres where they are referred to a hospital for final diagnosis through the World Health Organisation classification protocol, and put on appropriate treatment or management thereof.
Mahlangu said that in the department’s effort to fight the scourge of malnutrition, it will make sure that children do not reach hospitals very late in an advanced condition, which could lead to death. “Our antenatal care will continue to identify women at risk of malnutrition due to low income and provide them with food supplementation,” she said.
The department’s Shadow MEC, Jack Bloom, called it a shocking figure. “I am horrified that so many children are dying of starvation in an urban province like Gauteng that has the resources to ensure that everyone is fed,” he said.
He added that the malnutrition death figures should be a wake-up call, and said more needs to be done to identify people who need assistance. “It also shows the urgent need for job creation so that people have money to feed themselves instead of relying on welfare.”
Mabona said the department was finalising plans to implement a community-based nutrition programme to all crèches and early childhood development centres for practitioners’ training on vitamin A and deworming.
The department has come under fire recently when it was revealed that 36 psychiatric patients died after being transferred from Life Healthcare Esidimeni earlier this year while in the care of the NGOs in which they were placed.
