The shocking levels of poverty in SA represent a ticking time bomb which screams for urgent intervention to defuse the threat of a catastrophe. According to recent reports, at least 199 children under the age of five years died of malnutrition in the first two months of the year.

The full brunt of the tragedy is borne by KZN with 50 deaths, followed by the Eastern Cape with 32 deaths. Gauteng and Mpumalanga account for 29 deaths each with the rest of provinces accounting for 88 deaths...