Eunice Motha is an aspiring public health expert currently completing her Master’s in Public Health at the University of Pretoria.
She uses research for advocacy to improve policies which can address public health challenges and social injustices South Africans face daily. Motha holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health from the University of Pretoria, a Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc) Honours in Bioethics and Health Law and a BHSc undergraduate degree from the University of Witwatersrand.
Motha serves as the Policy and Programme Coordinator at HEALA, a coalition of civil society organisations advocating for equitable access to affordable, nutritious food in South Africa by building a more just food system.
Motha says: “According to Stats SA, approximately 42% of this country’s households are headed by women. These homes are prone to food insecurity, in fact food insecurity affects women and children the most. Currently more than one in four children under the age of five are stunted because of this. This has a negative impact on their development.
“Addressing food and nutrition insecurity requires strengthening policies such as the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) which can generate more revenue for poverty alleviation measures like the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP); social protection, and subsidies on foods for populations vulnerable to food insecurity.”
