Our children hold the power to change our future

Dear Fellow South African, 

The best way to secure our country’s future is to invest in the health and well-being of its children. 

Since the advent of democracy, we have made considerable progress in reducing child poverty and mortality. We have expanded access to education and are now focused on making sure every child has access to early childhood development.

Earlier this month, Cabinet approved the National Strategy to Accelerate Action for Children (NSAAC). It focuses on a range of interventions to improve the conditions and the development of our nation’s children and adolescents.

The strategy follows extensive consultation with the children’s sector, relevant government departments and with children themselves. It identifies ten priorities for children and teenagers that seeks to galvanise all of society. The strategy follows key milestones in the life of children, paying added attention to adolescents and children with disabilities.

The strategy will be implemented through the 5th National Plan of Action for Children 2025-2030. This is a comprehensive roadmap to promote and protect the rights of children as enshrined in our Constitution. It relies on closer collaboration between government, civil society organisations and all other social partners.

Business has a critical role to play. The private sector has considerable resources and logistics infrastructure that could be used to distribute food, toys, information to parents and books to children in thousands of under-resourced early learning programmes across the country. Trade unions also play an important role because most workers are parents and need time and support to nurture their children.

Today, our children live on the edge of great possibility, but also great risk. Many children in our country continue to bear the ill-effects of poverty, which negatively affects their health, social, educational and other outcomes. 

A recent report by Statistics South Africa on poverty trends showed that while child poverty declined from 69% in 2006 to 49% in 2023, the child poverty rate in South Africa is still the highest for any age group. Nearly half of our country’s children live in poverty.

Many children are disadvantaged before they are even born, with maternal undernutrition contributing to low-birth weights. Because it is difficult for malnourished mothers to breastfeed, babies are being weaned onto low-protein diets, which lower their immunity and make them susceptible to infections. As they grow up, their health suffers and they fall further behind. As children’s advocates keep reminding us, this domino effect must be broken.

Crimes against children, including abuse, neglect and abandonment, are worryingly high. Figures released during Child Protection Month in May revealed that there were more than 26,000 cases of child abuse and neglect reported in the 2024/2025 financial year. The majority of cases involved sexual abuse.

The experience of children today will determine our nation’s social and economic wellbeing over the next twenty years. If we protect and nurture them right from the time of conception until they leave school, they will be brighter, get better jobs and contribute more to their communities and the economy. 

One of the initiatives emerging from the strategy is the national ‘Hold My Hand’ campaign. It calls on each of us to imagine what would happen if every child born today, tomorrow, the next day and the next, had enough love, enough food, safety and brainpower. It would change the future. 

As 2025 draws to a close and we look towards the new year, ‘Hold my Hand’ calls on every person in South Africa to do just one thing to improve the lives of children. 

We pay tribute to the thousands of civil society activists who have championed child rights and provided care over many decades. Thank you to our health workers, teachers, child and youth care workers and social workers for protecting, developing and inspiring our children. We also pay tribute to the parents, grandparents and relatives who care for the young in our society.

For the sake of our shared future, we must work together to ensure that our nation’s children and young people grow, thrive and are happy. 

With best regards,