During Session 3, Prof Donald Bundy, Professor of Epidemiology and Development: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, focussed on Integrating Health and Wellbeing in Education Sector Planning: Lessons for South Africa. Evidence shows that healthy, nourished and safe learners learn better. Globally, 466 million children are receiving daily school meals, with about 10 million South African learners benefitting from the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP). Investment in healthy learners is therefore an investment in a healthier, more prosperous and sustainable future for all.

Ms Livhuwani Maphorogo, Head: Research, Heartlines, shared Youth Perspectives on Fatherhood, Gender and Masculinity in South Africa. She explained that research conducted in 2024 with 10 – 16-year-old learners on their perception of gender roles and identity, shows that father absence raises risks such as an increase in Gender-Based Violence (GBV), teenage pregnancy, social ills, and gang culture, especially for boys who are perpetuating sexual abuse. It is important for the cycle of violence to be broken through partnerships.