“Break free, grow tall, reach far” – a systems approach for STUNTING reduction

IAS Visiting Fellow Dr Lisanne du Plessis delivers a seminar on their research - 

The nutritional status of young children in South Africa is of great concern. Stunting in a quarter of children under five is particularly alarming, since it poses significant costs on health, cognitive development, schooling, and economic performance in future. Overweight and obesity in this age group is also on the increase. The multiple burdens of malnutrition reflects a food system that is failing. This stems from inequalities of the past with persistent issues of access and agency, but also highlights unscrupulous actions of big food companies. To address these challenges, requires working with government, communities, civil society organisations and researchers to understand the complexities and work collectively to identify innovations and effective interventions to reverse the numbers. The presentation will share a systems approach to understand the multiple burdens of malnutrition and to identify community-based approaches to improving early childhood development, nutrition, and health for the future generation South Africans.

Arrivals from 11:45 am for a 12:00 noon start. For those joining in-person, lunch will be served after the seminar from 1:00pm.

This event is hybrid format, please use the required booking button at the bottom of the page to choose either in-person or online attendance.
(Please note that in-person spaces are limited and booking is required, so we can manage numbers for catering and also the space inside International House)

By booking a place at this event, attendees agree to behave in a respectful manner such that everyone feels comfortable contributing as they wish. The IAS reserves the right to eject anyone who does not abide by this policy.

IAS seminars are typically recorded, minus any Q&A sessions at the end, again to encourage contributions. The recordings are then uploaded to our website on a Fellows bio page and/or Programme page, along with our IAS YouTube Channel. If you are not able to attend a seminar live, please do still register as we will email everyone who registered to let them know once the recordings are made available.