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An invitational teaching ecosystem comprises an environment of 5 Ps: people, places, policies, programmes and processes. Invitational education is promoted amongst students and educators. This article reports on an empirical study conducted at a higher education institution that is offering programmes at multiple sites of delivery to determine the impact of mergers on an invitational ecosystem. Results indicate that access to learning resources that support teaching, as well as other social and personal factors in the learning environment, also inluence the quality of a student's learning. Enthusiasm, motivation and sensitivity of educators are noted by students as necessary to create an invitational ecosystem. Key priority areas on which higher education institutions should focus are highlighted in the indings. A qualitative approach was followed to understand and represent the opinions of the students at the different sites of delivery. This article attempts to represent the views of students on the balance between people, places, policies, programmes and processes within the educational transaction movements. (Contains 4 tables, 3 figures, and 1 note.)

This paper aims to summarise current evidence and highlight best practices, in order to propose a paediatric food-based dietary guideline (FBDG) on exclusive breastfeeding for South Africa. A literature search was conducted to profile the current nutritional status of children and breastfeeding practices in South Africa, reflect on the commitment and capacity that has been pledged and built for exclusive and continued breastfeeding over the past five years, and highlight the action needed to improve infant and young child feeding practices in the country. From the review, it was clear that the nutritional status of children and breastfeeding practices in South Africa remain unsatisfactory. The evidence base supporting the importance of exclusive and continued breastfeeding on a global and local level has been broadened. There are comprehensive and practical international guidelines to guide the protection, promotion of, and support for breastfeeding. Comprehensive and sound national and provincial policies and guidelines have also been developed in South Africa. The political will to address infant and young child feeding has been advanced and demonstrated, and a supportive environment created through commitment and capacity building. There is a need for focused action addressing adequate monitoring and evaluation of processes during all stages of the implementation of evidence-based and theoretical planning. These actions should drastically improve exclusive and continued breastfeeding and advance the health and survival of children in South Africa. The recent momentum gained in support of improving infant and young child feeding could further be enhanced by the process of reviewing the preliminary South African paediatric FBDG and field testing the following proposed message: “Give only breast milk, and no other foods or liquids, to your baby for the first six months of life”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to propose evidence-based, paediatric food-based dietary guidelines on the complementary feeding period, from six to 24 months, of South Africa. A growing body of evidence supports the World Health Organization recommendation that, following six months of exclusive breastfeeding, appropriate and adequate complementary foods should be introduced, with continued breastfeeding for up to two years of age and beyond. A literature search was done by searching electronic databases (PubMed, the Cochrane Library and Sabinet) and hand searching key reference lists from January 2004 to April 2012, including studies published prior to 2004. Relevant international and national documents from normative bodies, global health and infant feeding authorities, professional and scientific societies and government were identified. It has been established that, in South Africa, high levels of stunting, growing concerns about overweight and obesity and the poor intake of certain micronutrients in the critical six- to 24-month period are, in part, a consequence of poor breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices, as well as the poor quality of the complementary diet. The introduction of semi-solid foods before four months of age is a common practice. The typical maize-based feeding pattern is low in food sourced from animals, vegetables and fruit and omega-3 fatty acids. Efforts by mothers to improve the quality of their children’s diets by adding energy-rich food to maize meal improves energy intake, but not micronutrient intake. Low nutrient-dense liquid, such as tea and coffee, energy-dense sugar-sweetened drinks, an excessive intake of fruit juice and high-fat and salty snacks exacerbate poor nutrient intake and displace nutrient-dense food in the diet. Healthcare workers should provide consistent, evidence-based messages and guidelines to caregivers of future generations. Interventions must be implemented and strengthened at a programme level. These could include nutrition education to improve caregiver practices, the use of high-quality, locally available foods, the use of enriched complementary foods, and exceptional support of food-insecure populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several nutrition intervention programmes have been implemented to alleviate malnutrition among young children in South Africa. However, both nationwide studies and smaller, region-based reports show that many of these programmes have failed to improve nutritional health among the target groups. This is an overview of the most important nutrition intervention programmes implemented in post-apartheid South Africa. It is based on data sampled between 1994 and 2010, and collected from HighWire Press and MEDLINE data bases, local journals, official reports as well as experience gathered over the past two decades. Abstracts and nutrition issues related to chronic and communicable and non-communicable diseases were not included. The main aim of the implemented supplementation programmes after the Second World War was to correct states of undernutrition. However, these efforts did not benefit the disadvantaged groups, particularly the coloureds and the blacks. Following the downfall of the apartheid regime, various nutrition intervention programmes have been implemented with varying degrees of success. These include health facility-based programmes, community-based programmes as well as nutrition promotion strategies. The more holistic approach of the Integrated Nutrition Programme since 1994 is commendable, but programmes have failed to restore adequate growth rates among the impoverished children. Most likely, the failures are not as a result of inappropriate policies and strategies or lack of knowledge about relevant solutions, but rather inadequate implementation and scale of the programmes. In order to ensure a satisfactory improvement in nutritional health in South Africa, the various programmes should undergo regular evaluations to identify pitfalls and shortcomings. The fight against undernutrition and hunger, which are rooted in poverty and social inequalities, remains a major challenge for the South African health authorities. Urgent scale-up of the current nutrition intervention programmes as well as evaluation of their implementation are needed, coupled with strategies for education, skills development, job creation and poverty alleviation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]