Illustrative Image: Children. | Building blocks. | South African flag. (Image: Freepik) | (By Daniella Lee Ming Yesca) 
Children are programmed to thrive from the moment they are conceived, except those born with life-long medical conditions. But for the most part, all children need is a nurturing environment – love, food, safety, stimulation and healthcare. Given these five things, most will continue to flourish until the wear-and-tear of old age.
Pity we deny those vital inputs to so many of our children. If they were all to grow up thriving, it would create massive opportunity for our country – a stronger economy and a safer, happier society.
Generally, South Africa’s children are healthier, better educated and financially more secure than their parents were 30 years ago. But at least a third still live on the edge of profound risk, and some of the fêted post-apartheid improvements in child mortality, poverty and malnutrition now seem to be faltering. These outcomes are lead indicators of the future health, wealth and wellbeing of our country – and they’re starting to head in the wrong direction.
The good news is that we can halt the erosion of our future. In December 2025, the Cabinet approved the National Strategy to Accelerate Action for Children, which identifies 10 priorities designed to fast-track change in the lives of children and teenagers. They are so basic they seem almost banal: strengthen the ability of parents and caregivers to care for their children; improve child nutrition; protect children and teens from harm; grow children’s brain power through early learning; and so on.
Banal perhaps, but powerful if we just did those things right.
The strategy gets practical with interventions that could make a major impact over the next decade, some of which are not yet government policy. Topping the list is improved child nutrition by restoring the Child Support Grant to the food poverty line, getting business and government to significantly discount a basket of protein-rich food staples and ensuring that every malnourished child gets the treatment they need, which is enough nutritious food.
Child protection also features high on the list, prioritising welfare services for children who have been abused or need care. But post-facto services are not enough, and it is within our power to reduce violence on our streets and in our homes. It would mean confronting the nation’s most preventable cause of child murders, intentional injury and profound learning deficit, namely widespread alcohol abuse. International experience shows that it can be done.
Currently, heavy drinking and unsafe sex combine with devastating effect on the life prospects of many teens. We must stop bombarding them with liquor adverts, expand their access to sexual and reproductive health services, and build networks of support that promote their sense of identity, agency and belonging.
These proposals may seem improbable in the face of budget constraints and industry lobbies. But there is recent precedent. The government has finally acknowledged the importance of early childhood development by substantially increasing public funding for early learning. That’s a major win. Now we must ensure that every child benefits, including those with hearing and visual impairments who enter school with their problems undetected. A universal screening programme would change that.
Implementing these gamechangers requires political leadership and government action, but it also requires the rest of society to mobilise for children. The Hold My Hand campaign was recently launched to inspire accelerated action. It’s a call from children and teens to let them lead us into the future. Their experience of life today will determine what that future looks like.
David Harrison is the CEO of the DG Murray Trust (DGMT) and co-lead of the Hold My Hand Accelerator.