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Education

The critical link between nutrition and learning in Africa’s future

Without regular, nutritious meals, a third of children in Africa face major barriers to learning, growth, and reaching their full potential.

By Leizl Eykelhof

Little Angels Early Childhood Development Centre in Kanana Park, Johannesburg, South Africa, has operated without government funding, relying instead on support from ForAfrika since 2017. Photo: Maryke Jankowitz/ForAfrika

Mirriam Molepo, founder of Little Angels, an Early Childhood Development (ECD) centre supported by ForAfrika, is on a mission – she wants every child who attends the centre, in the impoverished outskirts of Johannesburg, to be able to read by the time they go to primary school.

“But, if you don’t include a nutritious meal, you are wasting your time,” she says, shaking her head knowingly.

Molepo understands the simple truth – nutrition is the cornerstone to meaningful education. Without adequate nutrition children cannot grow, play, learn or develop to their full potential.

According to the Nurturing Care Framework, created by UNICEF, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank, young children need “five inter-related and indivisible components” of nurturing care – good health, safety and security, responsive caregiving, opportunities for early learning, and adequate nutrition – to reach their full potential.

The importance of nutrition, however, starts even before a child’s birth.

“Whatever a woman consumes will affect the health of her unborn child,” says Reggie Jaji, health and nutrition adviser at ForAfrika. “Babies who are malnourished in the womb have a higher risk of dying in infancy or being born with cognitive or physical challenges.”

Mirriam Nomsa Molepo, the founder and principal of Little Angels Early Childhood Development Centre, is a former teacher who established the centre in 2016 after becoming disheartened by the number of children in the community unable to read. Photo: Maryke Jankowitz/ForAfrika

Nutrition is essential to brain development

The first two years of a child’s life – from conception to the age of two (also referred to as the First 1,000 Days) – are the most important, since 80% of a baby’s brain growth happens in this time. However, brain and bodily development continue until the end of puberty. Quality nutrition is a life-long necessity.

The organisation 1,000 Days explains that different regions of the brain develop at different times and require specific nutrients for certain processes. For example, for babies in the womb, certain nutrients allow for the formation of synapses in the brain which provide the basis for learning ability. In infancy, breastmilk contains a variety of nutrients, growth factors and hormones essential to brain development, and toddlers especially need protein, iron, zinc and iodine for the strengthening of synapses.

“A balanced diet is essential to human growth and intellectual capacity,” says Lindy Goodwin, a nutritionist in private practice from South Africa.

“Growing children need food from all the basic food groups – carbohydrates, proteins, healthy fats, dairy, fruit and vegetables – and they also need enough hydration for the proper functioning of the brain and body. Water is essential to muscle growth and nutrient absorption as well as the prevention of toxin build up. It is also important in the formation of neural pathways and brain processes. A child cannot concentrate and retain information successfully if they are dehydrated,” she says.

Children at Little Angels eat porridge supplied by ForAfrika. For many, it is the only nutritious meal they receive each day, according to Principal Molepo. Photo: Maryke Jankowitz/ForAfrika

No food, no Learning

Children need the energy from various food groups to complete academic, physical and social activities. It is well known that hungry children are unable to concentrate, learn and play. Hunger means they could be lethargic, irritable, experience nausea, dizziness or headaches. Hunger means thinking only about food, not about reading, writing or imaginative play. Hunger means some children stay out of school because they are too weak or would rather go out to look for food.

“At the same time there are also certain foods that growing children should have less of. Refined sugar and processed foods, for example, have been proven to have a negative effect on learning, moods and behaviour. Unfortunately, these types of foods are generally aggressively marketed, cheap and easily available and more and more families are being forced to rely on them to keep hunger at bay,” says Goodwin.

Extreme hunger is stalking millions of families in Africa. Driven by conflict, climate change, inflation and soaring food prices, it is affecting educational and developmental outcomes in many countries and is contributing to “child food poverty” – defined by UNICEF as “children’s inability to access and consume a nutritious and diverse diet in early childhood”.

“Around 64 million children in Africa under 5 years of age – or 1 in 3 – are experiencing severe child food poverty, making them 50 per cent more likely to experience wasting, a life-threatening form of malnutrition,” their report revealed.

Although these children could appear healthy, they often suffer from vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

“Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are referred to as ‘hidden hunger’,” explains Jaji, adding that a lack of these essential ingredients can lead to health and behavioural issues as well as learning challenges.

“This is why school-feeding programmes are so important – they fill in the gaps. By offering fortified foods, we try to ensure that children are receiving a portion of their required daily intake.” 

Little Angels staff member, Ndileka Patience Mazwi, says many children arrive hungry, but after a meal, they are energised, social, and ready to learn and play. Photo: Maryke Jankowitz/ForAfrika

Nutrition education

“But, as much as quality nutrition acts as a foundation for quality learning and mental well-being, so educators need to teach children about the importance of nutrition and healthy eating and exercise habits. What they learn and adopt from a young age will set them up for life,” says Goodwin.

“Education is not just about the classroom either, it is also what you learn from family and peers. Sitting around a meal together fosters a wholesome experience, good relationships, social skills and sharing of other pieces of knowledge, which is just as vital for a child’s holistic development.”

A child at Little Angels colours with crayons, one of many activities designed to nurture creativity and support early learning. Photo: Maryke Jankowitz/ForAfrika

The difference a nutritious bowl of food makes

Molepo, who was a primary school teacher before starting the ECD, has witnessed first-hand the difference a bowl of fortified food has had on the children in her care.

The pupils at Little Angels are fed a highly nutritious porridge each morning. The porridge, made from corn, soya and sugar is fortified with vitamins and minerals (micronutrients) and provides 75% of a child’s daily required nutritional intake. For lunch they are given a variety of meals during the week, supplemented with dried legumes or fresh vegetables from the garden or local market.

For some children in her care, these are the only meals they will receive in a day – and the meals keep them coming to school.

Ellen Kgati, Area Supervisor at ForAfrika, measures the circumference of a child’s arm to screen for malnutrition, a condition that can severely hinder physical growth and cognitive development critical for learning. Photo: Maryke Jankowitz/ForAfrika

“Some of them arrive here and you can just tell they didn’t have a meal the night before. After the porridge you can see the difference… they wake up! The porridge is very important. To me it is the most special meal of the day. It’s like we say in my language ‘Tsotsi ke tsotsi he e kgotse’ which means ‘a clever person becomes clever when he is full’.”

For the children of Little Angels, who are receiving regular meals, health care, responsive caregiving, and opportunities for early learning in a safe and secure environment, the chances that they will reach their full potential are looking good. 

Unfortunately, millions of children in Africa lack access to essential elements of nurturing care, placing their development at serious risk. With nutrition deeply intertwined with learning, nearly a third of the continent's future generation faces the danger of falling short of their full potential throughout their educational journeys.

Only with immediate action and collective effort can we change this trajectory and secure a brighter future for Africa’s children.

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