KwaZulu Natal University

South Africa has some of the highest rates of HIV prevalence in the world. Over a decade ago, to prevent the mother-to-child transmission of HIV during breastfeeding, the Government of South Africa rolled out a policy providing free infant formula for all HIV-positive mothers.

But infant formula is not equivalent to breastmilk; it does not contain all the essential nutrients or antibodies to protect children from diarrhoea, pneumonia or malnutrition – some of the top causes of death among children under age 5. And child deaths remain a critical problem in South Africa, which currently lags behind the Millennium Development Goal on reducing child mortality.