Category: Academic Analysis

Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Leila Patel, Professor of Social Development Studies, University of Johannesburg

A 2024 Unicef report found that 23% of South African children experience severe food poverty, eating less than two of the recommended five food groups per day. Unemployment, food insecurity, limited access to basic services and a lack of knowledge about nutrition all contribute to this. The lead researcher of this multidisciplinary study, Leila Patel, and collaborating researchers Matshidiso Sello and Sadiyya Haffejee suggest ways to tackle this dire situation.

What’s in place to protect children from poverty?

Since a call for prioritising the needs of children was adopted by the Mandela government in 1994, much progress has been made in expanding access to education, to immunisations, other primary healthcare services and social grants. Just over 13 million children now receive a child support grant. This has reduced child hunger rates from the high levels seen during the apartheid and immediate post-apartheid eras.

But the grant doesn’t get to all the children who qualify for it. Around 17.5% of eligible children still don’t receive it. Reasons include a lack of proper documentation, lack of awareness of eligibility criteria and insufficient outreach by government agencies to reach vulnerable populations.

Also, the grant isn’t close enough to the food poverty line, which is R796 (about US$43) per month per person based on the daily energy intake that a person needs. From 1 April 2025, the child support grant will increase to R560 (about US$30) per month per child.

Secondly, although school feeding schemes are in place, many children fall outside the net. Close to 10 million children in low income communities in South Africa have access to a school lunch via the National School Nutrition Programme. This programme is an excellent intervention which improves the health of children. However, in 2024, about a quarter of the children who are eligible did not receive school meals. Some of the reasons are procurement issues, funding delays, problems with provisioning, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, when school feeding ceased. Uptake has recovered to some extent but there is a need to improve the quality and effectiveness of the school feeding programme to improve nutritional outcomes.

You designed a system to help alleviate child poverty: what did it involve?

The South African Research Chairs Initiative and the Centre for Social Development in Africa at the University of Johannesburg implemented a study to strengthen social and care systems across health, education and social development. The project, which was started in 2020, involved tracking early grade learners and their caregivers in Johannesburg over a three-year period, looking at their health, material circumstances, food security, educational performance and mental health. Our research revealed a concerning picture of child hunger in Johannesburg, Africa’s wealthiest city.

The number of children in our study who went to bed hungry in the past week decreased from 13.7% in 2020 to 4.9% in 2022. Zero hunger was achieved in 2021 but it increased again in 2022 due to broader economic pressures like rising food prices and unemployment. While stunting rates showed a slight downward trend over the three years (from 13.5% in 2020 to 11.1% in 2022), we observed worrying increases in wasting, a severe form of malnutrition (from 5.6% in 2020 to 20.3% in 2022), and underweight (from 5.6% in 2020 to 11.4% in 2022).

Increases in wasting may be due to the COVID-19 pandemic and slow economic recovery. Nevertheless, the fluctuating figures underscore the complex interplay of factors contributing to severe child hunger.

The teams who worked on the project – called the Community of Practice intervention – set about creating a tighter, more supportive net around children experiencing severe and moderate risk. This integrated approach brought together government agencies, NGOs, schools, social workers, families and community leaders, to build sustainable solutions for child wellbeing.

The focus was on strengthening existing systems and fostering collaboration to ensure that children’s needs were identified and addressed effectively. On average, 157 children were reached each year over a three year period.

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Read more:
COVID-19 has hurt some more than others: South Africa needs policies that reflect this

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What did you find?

Several promising practices emerged from the collaborations, demonstrating the potential for positive change. These included:

• Strengthening school nutrition programmes by improving the quality and consistency of meals received and providing nutrition education through radio and WhatsApp messaging. More children had access to school meals.

• Tailored interventions: The team conducted screenings to assess the needs of children and their families. Children requiring specific interventions were referred to appropriate services such as child protection services and grants. Caregivers facing mental health challenges were connected to psychosocial support services, and families experiencing hunger were provided with food parcels by NGOs. Providing food top-ups for children resulted in zero hunger in the second year of the pandemic.

The number of children experiencing learning and social and emotional difficulties decreased between 2020 and 2022. Access to food and nutrition improved, higher vaccination rates were achieved and caregivers were more responsive to their health needs.

What does this tell you about what needs to change?

A significant barrier in addressing severe child poverty is the fragmentation of services across the Departments of Health, Basic Education and Social Development. Since the departments run standalone programmes, the synergies between the different social systems are not optimised. Children and their families who need additional support are often referred to the appropriate services, but there is poor follow-up.

The Integrated School Health Policy of 2012 makes provision for better coordination between these departments. But implementation has been uneven and poor in some instances. Improving and strengthening these inter-connected social systems of service provision across government departments is critical to improving child food poverty outcomes.

While managing food inflation, economic growth, job creation, and reduced inequality are important longer-term goals, immediate interventions are essential to address severe child food poverty. Failure to do so will compromise school progression and delay their overall health and social wellbeing. Simply improving economic indicators will not automatically translate to food on the table for every child; targeted interventions are vital.

Ending severe child hunger in South Africa demands a comprehensive and coordinated response, involving government, NGOs, community organisations, schools, and families themselves.

Leila Patel receives funding from the National Research Foundation for the Communities of Practice (CoP) study for social systems strengthening for better child wellbeing outcomes.

Matshidiso Valeria Sello receives funding from the Centre of Excellence in Human Development for a project on Household Economic Shocks.

Sadiyya Haffejee receives funding from the National Research Foundation.

– ref. 23% of South Africa’s children suffer from severe hunger: we tested some solutions – experts – https://theconversation.com/23-of-south-africas-children-suffer-from-severe-hunger-we-tested-some-solutions-experts-252566

Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Tim Baker, Associate Professor, Karolinska Institutet

When someone falls critically ill, hospitals are expected to provide life-saving care. But in many African countries, intensive care units are rare. Critically ill patients are treated in general hospital wards, and the provision of essential emergency and critical care is limited.

Critical illness refers to any life-threatening condition where at least one vital organ – such as the heart, lungs, or brain – is failing. It can arise from any underlying condition including infections, injuries, or non-communicable diseases such as heart attacks and strokes, and can affect anyone of any age.

In high-resourced settings some critically ill patients are treated in intensive care units. They receive continuous monitoring, oxygen support, medication to stabilise their blood pressure, and other life-saving treatments. Until now, most data on critical illness and critical care in Africa has come from small, single-hospital studies. These studies hinted at a serious problem.

For example, a study in Uganda found that 11.7% of inpatients were critically ill, with a 22.6% chance of dying within a week. However, there was no large-scale research showing how widespread this was across the continent.

That is why we, a collaboration of clinical researchers across Africa, conducted the African Critical Illness Outcomes Study, providing the first large-scale look at the state of critical illness care across the continent.

The study builds on a network of clinicians, researchers and policy makers that has been growing for over a decade now, working out how to identify and treat patients who are critically ill.

The findings, published in The Lancet, are striking. One in eight hospital inpatients in Africa is critically ill, over two-thirds of the critically ill are in general wards, and one in five dies within a week.

Most of these patients do not receive the essential emergency and critical care such as oxygen and fluids that could save their lives.

What we found

The African Critical Illness Outcomes Study investigated 20,000 patients at one point in time in 180 hospitals in 22 countries across Africa. Countries throughout the continent were included, from Tunisia in the north to South Africa in the south, from Ghana in the west to Tanzania in the east.

Between September and December 2023, all adult inpatients in each hospital were examined on a single day to collect data about their clinical condition and treatments, and then a week later, their in-hospital outcomes.

The key findings were:

• 12.5% of hospital inpatients were critically ill

• 69% of critically ill patients were treated in general hospital wards, not intensive care units

• more than half of critically ill patients didn’t receive the treatments they needed

• critically ill patients were eight times more likely to die in hospital than other patients.

The study also revealed gaps in the most basic life-saving interventions:

• only 48% of patients with respiratory failure received oxygen therapy

• just 54% of patients with circulatory failure (such as shock) received fluids or medications to stabilise blood pressure

• less than half of patients with a dangerously low level of consciousness received airway protection or were placed in the recovery position.

These findings highlight a clear and urgent problem: many critically ill patients in Africa are not receiving the essential treatments that could keep them alive.

What can be done?

The study suggests that thousands of lives could be saved if hospitals had better access to essential emergency and critical care. This is a set of simple, low-cost interventions that can prevent deaths from critical illness.

The care interventions include:

• ensuring oxygen is available for patients struggling to breathe

• providing fluids or medications to stabilise blood pressure

• training healthcare workers in basic life-support techniques to manage unconscious patients.

Unlike high-tech intensive care unit treatments, essential emergency and critical care can be given in general wards with minimal resources.

Strengthening these systems could dramatically reduce preventable deaths from conditions such as pneumonia, sepsis and trauma.

Urgent action is needed

This study sheds light on a healthcare crisis affecting millions of people, yet one that has remained largely overlooked.

Every critically ill patient, no matter where they are treated, should receive the basic life-saving care they need.

We call for urgent action.

• Governments in Africa should make essential emergency and critical care a core part of universal health coverage. It should be integrated into policies and health benefit packages.

• The World Health Organization should embed essential emergency and critical care measures into its resolutions.

• African health funders should support studies and implementation of essential emergency and critical care.

• Professional medical societies and institutions should include this care in clinical guidelines and training. Frontline healthcare workers must have the tools they need to save lives.

The EECC Network, a global community dedicated to sharing knowledge, research and best practices, has been started to help prevent needless deaths.

* Nick Leech, who works on the promotion of essential emergency and critical care on behalf of EECC Global, contributed to this article.

Tim Baker declares technical consultancies with UNICEF, the World Bank, USAID, and PATH, has received research funding from Wellcome Trust and the National Institute for Health and Care Research and is a board member at the non-profit organisation EECC Global.

Karima Khalid is a board member of EECCGlobal

– ref. Critically ill patients in African hospitals aren’t getting the care they need: new survey – https://theconversation.com/critically-ill-patients-in-african-hospitals-arent-getting-the-care-they-need-new-survey-253355

Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Oluwaseyi Omowunmi Popogbe, Lecturer, Crawford University

Millions of people in Lagos live in slums. Slums typically have poor housing infrastructure and sanitation, and limited access to education, health facilities and clean drinking water.

These challenges make the people who live in slums vulnerable to health crises, high illiteracy rates and poor standards of living.

A central element of the city authorities’ efforts to address the issue has been to evict people. Over the past decade, more than 50,000 people have been evicted from their homes in Lagos slums.

As a development economist who has carried out studies on urban poverty in Lagos State and social exclusion of slum dwellers from full communal participation, I have observed some notable patterns.

Despite their efforts to contribute to national productivity, these low-income communities are often marginalised and denied access to basic public amenities and a dignified living environment. Instead of addressing their needs, policy and development priorities tend to focus on displacing them. Thereafter, provisions are made for affluent groups, replacing informal settlements with high-rise buildings.

Sadly, survivors of forced eviction usually move to other slum communities as they cannot afford the high cost of living in the city. This shows that forced eviction is not a solution to slum proliferation.

I argue that if Lagos wants to solve the problems faced by the city’s vast population of slum dwellers, it should focus on six things. These are:

• community-led regeneration processes

• communal engagement

• upgrading communities without displacement

• obeying court orders

• inclusivity in regeneration

• adequate compensation to the displaced.

This would help restore trust that the city has all its people’s interests at heart, not just those of the super rich.

Forced evictions are seen as benefiting the rich

In March 2025, a demolition exercise was carried out in the Otumara slum, displacing over 10,000 residents at short notice.

Despite a 2017 Lagos State High Court ruling which condemned forced evictions carried out without due consultation, they have continued.

Known cases are the Otodo-Gbame waterfront eviction (shortly before the court ruling), where over 30,000 residents were displaced, Ilubirin waterfront community, Orisunmibare in Apapa, Otto communities, Ayetoro, and Oko Baba communities.

Mid-April 2025, the Lagos State government revealed plans to regenerate the Otumara slum. Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency (Lasura) then met with community leaders and other stakeholders to discuss how it would be done. That step should have been taken before the demolition.

The idea behind the meeting was to ensure inclusiveness and reduce any challenge to the project. Lasura assured the community representatives of a fair hearing throughout the implementation process. They were told the benefits of the regeneration would extend to the entire community.

As a development economist who has carried out a number of studies on urban vulnerability and inclusion, I’ve found that slum dwellers don’t always trust the government. This lack of trust stems from experiences other slum dwellers have had.

Urban regeneration does not always favour slum dwellers. So government interventions are not seen as a genuine effort to improve their living conditions, but as a mechanism to displace them to make way for the elite.

For instance, Maroko slum residents were forcefully evicted under the guise of improving infrastructural amenities and because the area was below sea level. Now the Oniru Estate, Lekki Phase 1 and other notable residential and commercial buildings are located there.

Luxury apartments on the Lagos lagoon have replaced the former Ilubirin waterfront slum. Lekki foreshore development continues at the former Otodo-Gbame waterfront community.

Survivors of forced eviction usually move to other slum communities as they can’t afford to live in the city.

The attainment of Lagos as a “fair shared city” has been proposed by the Fabulous Urban Foundation in partnership with Heinrich Böll Foundation. These organisations advocate urban inclusiveness and community-driven initiatives. They envision Lagos as an inclusive place where everyone (irrespective of social class or status) has equitable access to amenities and decision-making processes.

The pattern of forced displacement under the guise of urban regeneration, without adequate compensation or resettlement, contradicts the principle of fairness.

Development plans in Lagos follow western ideas and keep widening the gap between the rich and the poor, as amenities are often developed to be accessible by the middle and upper classes.

Specifically, the Lagos State Development Plan (LSDP 2052) contains many lofty ideas and opportunities to make Lagos “Africa’s Model Mega City”. But it’s not clear how the city’s multidimensionally poor population fits into the plan.

Solutions

To include residents of slums marked for regeneration, a more proactive approach would be:

1. Continuous communal engagement, to reaffirm that government and other stakeholders are committed to including all residents.

2. Community-led redesign and regeneration processes. Slum conditions are deplorable and dehumanising, but evicting residents to make way for the high class is unacceptable. The redesign should aim to favour the community.

3. Abiding by court rulings which warn against forced eviction. Lagos courts have often ruled against forced evictions, especially when carried out without due process or resettlement arrangements. The Lagos State government ought to uphold human rights by ceasing all forced eviction procedures, as they are unlawful.

4. Upgrading instead of displacement. Regeneration within existing settlements should be encouraged where feasible, so that livelihoods and social cohesion are not disrupted.

5. Regeneration should include all income groups. It should not only focus on physical infrastructure, but also social and economic issues. It would make affordable housing and basic amenities available for all income groups.

6. Adequate compensation. Where relocation cannot be avoided, a resettlement plan must be in place that will ensure fair treatment and avoid disruption to livelihood.

Oluwaseyi Omowunmi Popogbe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Lagos slum evictions don’t work: 6 ways city planners can actually help the poor – https://theconversation.com/lagos-slum-evictions-dont-work-6-ways-city-planners-can-actually-help-the-poor-255341

Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Simone Papale, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Parma

Over the last decade, there has been growing international focus on the role of food in conflict, particularly in Africa. The continent has seen an increase in jihadist terrorism in several regions.

Violence, like that exercised by terrorist organisations, is linked with food security conditions, causing a vicious circle of hunger and conflict.

Terrorism generates food disruptions. It undermines production systems and supply routes.

At the same time, growing food shortages intensify tensions and competition over essential resources at the margins of vulnerable societies. This increases the risk of mobilisation into violence.

We are researchers in international security and contemporary warfare. In a recent article, we explored the role of food in Africa’s terrorist insurgencies. We focused on Boko Haram in Nigeria and Al-Shabaab in Somalia.

We show how food is not only a driver or victim of violence. It is also central to how terrorist groups fight, govern and survive.

Terrorists use food as a tool to challenge national authorities and increase their followers. In parallel, they exploit food insecurity to control communities and confront counter-terrorism forces, pushing the state out of contested areas.

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This has major implications. The use of food as a weapon worsens humanitarian conditions. It causes the displacement of people in vulnerable settings. As a result, it sets in motion dangerous mechanisms of instability that can even undermine militants themselves, reducing their resources and operational capabilities.

State responses need to address these challenges and promote more comprehensive approaches to counter terrorism.

Weaponising supplies

Since the late 2000s, Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab have engaged African security forces in a strenuous fight. Both groups have sought to overthrow local governments and establish their power.

They have expanded their networks in regions where food security is low. These are Nigeria’s Borno State and southern Somalia.

These areas have witnessed historical frictions between the population and government authorities. Local communities have lamented socioeconomic marginalisation, shortages of essential resources and high levels of unemployment.

Both Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab have sought to capitalise on inequalities to gain appeal among aggrieved populations, seeking to replace the state in the delivery of essential resources.

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Boko Haram militants have reportedly provided supplies, such as biscuits, rice and spaghetti, to marginalised villages. As a Borno State resident put it, the militants have shown “love and concern” while addressing local needs.

Al-Shabaab has resorted to similar practices to win the hearts and minds of southern Somalis and enlarge its pool of recruits. The group has supplied struggling communities with meals and goods, and promoted local agricultural activities.

In parallel to these activities, both terrorist groups have adopted more aggressive measures to counter the advance of anti-terrorism forces. They have used food denial to punish civilian insubordination and cooperation with the state, relying on starvation tactics.

Boko Haram has systematically targeted food infrastructures. The group has burned crops, banned farming and fishing activities, and even poisoned water sources. This has happened particularly in places where militants suspected collusion between communities and national authorities.

Likewise, Al-Shabaab has interrupted trade routes. It has destroyed food imports to isolate southern Somali villages controlled by security forces and deprive them of popular support. During Somalia’s 2011–2012 famine, Al-Shabaab militants blocked humanitarian agencies. This was aimed at preventing the distribution of food aid to curb western influence in territories under their control.

The repercussions

The use of food as a weapon has had major repercussions in Borno State and southern Somalia. It is a primary cause of the deterioration of food security in these regions over the last 15 years.

Attacks on food resources and infrastructure have disrupted supply routes. They have pushed people to abandon their crops and pastures. This has decreased the production and availability of essential goods.

As a result, humanitarian conditions have worsened, local economies have weakened and displacement flows have intensified.

This has had detrimental effects for Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab, depriving militants of key assets to sustain their activities and attract new recruits.

The two terrorist groups have become victims of the emergencies they have helped generate. They have increasingly struggled to supply nourishment for their troops and supporters. Consequently, they have witnessed a growing number of defections motivated by unsustainable conditions.

Reports highlight increasing cases of jihadists surrendering to security forces while requesting food.

To address these challenges, Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab have intensified raids on villages, looting goods and livestock.

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Read more:
What drives Al-Shabaab in Somalia: foreign forces out, Sharia law in and overthrow the government

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However, growing frictions with the population have undermined the groups’ operational capabilities, even opening up new fronts of resistance.

Boko Haram has been forced to transfer part of its resources and operations to the Lake Chad area. The group has intensified incursions to capture food in Nigeria’s neighbouring countries.

In Somalia, tensions with farming and pastoralist communities have led to the creation of militias mobilising against Al-Shabaab.

What next

The relocation of Boko Haram’s operations and the mobilisation of communities against Al-Shabaab have not eradicated the terrorist threat. However, these events further highlight food as a crucial factor shaping insurgencies.

African and international authorities need to tackle the dynamics of food weaponisation. They need to refine their approach to enhance local resilience, addressing the inequalities that insurgents exploit.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Terrorists use food as a weapon: how Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab exploit hunger – https://theconversation.com/terrorists-use-food-as-a-weapon-how-boko-haram-and-al-shabaab-exploit-hunger-256162

Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Roxy Davis, Doctor of philosophy, University of Cape Town

Children with disabilities face significant challenges in South Africa. Firstly there are delayed diagnoses which can lead to complications. The high cost of healthcare and little financial support for their families can limit their access to healthcare services altogether.

There is also little access to rehabilitation services. Inadequate facilities and a shortage of trained personnel are just some of the obstacles.

I started thinking about ways to get over these obstacles when I noticed that people with disabilities weren’t well represented in my sport.

As a competitive surfer and instructor, I had always celebrated the ocean’s ability to inspire confidence and resilience.

Every day, the beach was alive with activity – surfers, families and ocean lovers. Yet among them, I rarely saw people with disabilities in the water.

I began to notice that the beachfront itself, the infrastructure, the culture, and even my own surf school, weren’t actively creating space for inclusivity.

This would eventually become the cornerstone of the Roxy Davis Foundation, established in 2019, and later my doctoral research focusing on ocean-based therapy for children with disabilities.

I found surf therapy enhanced the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of these children.

New therapy

Surf therapy teaches people with disabilities to surf to promote psychological, physical and psychosocial well-being.

The first peer reviewed publication on surf therapy appeared in 2010 and focused on Aboriginal children in Australia. It was about mitigating the inter-generational trauma suffered as a result of the government-sanctioned removal of Aboriginal children from their families, a policy that only ended in the 1970s.

In 2020 a review of a 10-year period included 29 studies into war veterans and young adult cancer survivors, among others.

One such study focused on children with autism spectrum disorder. The study took place in the north-west of Ireland. Children said they felt happier and free, while their parents said they were more relaxed and confident.

A South African study with children with autism spectrum disorder explored the feasibility and unique benefits of an existing surf therapy programme and reported largely positive results.

My own research involved an adapted surf therapy programme for children with a range of disabilities.

Five children aged between 12 and 16 were enrolled. Altogether there were 35 participants including parents, counsellors, volunteers, physiotherapists and surf instructors.

Four of the five children were from under-resourced communities in South Africa’s Western Cape province and all had either a physical, sensory, intellectual or cognitive impairment.

None of the children had taken part in ocean sports before.

Getting into the water

For six weeks the children took part in a three-hour surf therapy session on a Friday afternoon.

The first goal was to get the kids in the water. We used mobility mats, surfboards with handles and amphibious beach wheelchairs to help.

Each child was taught now to surf according to their pace of learning and ability.

There was also a “surfers’ circle” with a discussion topic for each session.

After six weeks we conducted follow-up interviews to see what changes the children had experienced, and if these had any influence on their lives outside surfing.

We also asked parents and counsellors to identify the most significant changes in the children.

‘I felt free and confident’

Final interviews were completed one year later.

Charlie, aged 12, with cerebral palsy: “If my brothers want to go surfing I don’t have to stay behind and just watch them, I can go surf with them. It is so cool to surf with my dad and my brothers.”

Charlie’s teacher: “His self-awareness level and how he sees himself in the world has really improved.”

Tala, aged 15, with cerebal palsy: “Once I started surfing, I felt free and confident. Even in other spaces, when I’m not surfing, like, ‘Yeah I can surf, I can do something like surfing that I didn’t know that I could do before.’ ”

Tala’s school psychologist: “She went into this feeling very insecure, nervous and anxious. She said she will always remember who she was and how she felt before she went to the programme and how she came out of it … to be able to use that feeling and apply it to a different situation, that’s huge for her.”

Princess, aged 15, with spina bifida: was determined to “wean” herself off using nappies after gaining confidence through surf therapy.

Princess’s guardian described her experience as similar to “winning a gold medal … She was more confident in herself than ever. She is off that nappy completely now.”

Thabo, aged 14, a leg amputee: “Before session one, I was feeling nervous and excited, but as soon as I got in the sea, the nerves disappeared. You look and realise you can actually do that. I feel like I belong in the ocean.”

After the final session he said: “I can relax, I can be in control of my urges and my temper. I’m now not always thinking about what people think about me. I can be myself in many ways.”

Rowan, aged 15, a quadruple amputee: “Before I started surfing, I was thinking I can’t do it until I tried it and just being there was like beyond being able to speak in my wildest dreams. I couldn’t believe I could surf in the ocean riding some waves.

“On my first session, I was like ‘If I can do it, I can do it for the rest of my life’.”

In his second interview he said: “My goal is to become a national champion and to become a Paralympic champion.”

One year after the surf therapy programme he entered a provincial parasurfing competition, which he won. He was then selected to participate in the South African Para Surfing Championships in 2022, where he came second. Later that year he was selected to represent South Africa at the World Para Surfing Championships in California. Nineteen months after starting surfing, in December, on his 16th birthday, he competed in the World Championships and was placed 17th.

Surf therapy demonstrates what’s possible when we focus on ability rather than limitation.

Roxy Davis is affiliated with the Roxy Davis Foundation.

Angus Hunter, Theresa Lorenzo, and Yumna Albertus do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Surf therapy for children with disabilities: how it’s changing lives in South Africa – https://theconversation.com/surf-therapy-for-children-with-disabilities-how-its-changing-lives-in-south-africa-245290