​*This is a summary of an article by Desmond Thomas and published in News24. Click here​ to read the full article.

A groundbreaking pilot project launched in the Western Cape aims to transform South Africa’s fight against childhood stunting, which affects over 25% of children under five nationwide. Childhood stunting is a condition where a child fails to reach the expected height for their age due to chronic undernutrition, often caused by inadequate maternal health, poor infant feeding, frequent infections, and inconsistent care during the first 1,000 days of life. 

The initiative, announced on World Health Day, will support 1,700 underweight pregnant women and new mothers in Worcester, Khayelitsha, and Mitchells Plain through a “cash + care” model. This combines monthly food vouchers with comprehensive health and psychosocial support. 

The project stands out for its collaborative approach, including co-design by members of Stellenbosch University’s “Break Free, Grow Tall, Reach Far” Public Square team—a key part of SU’s broader Public Squares initiative promoting socially engaged, transdisciplinary research. This partnership exemplifies the project’s innovative “quadruple helix” model, uniting government, civil society, academia, and communities to tackle the root causes of stunting. 

Running until 2026, the pilot aims to address the systemic roots of malnutrition and low birthweight, positioning itself as a scalable model that could shape national policy and help South Africa meet global goals to halve stunting by 2030.