CHILDREN AND POVERTY: A PROTECTION MECHANISM

1. CHILDREN AND POVERTY: A PROTECTION MECHANISM Department of Social Development

2. Areas of Discussion • Introduction • Adverse effects on children’s rights • Responses to Children’s Poverty • Social Development Priorities • Policies • Inter-sectoral Collaboration • Major programmes targeting poverty • Challenges

3. Introduction • Poverty has devastating effects on children and their well being • It undermines the efforts towards the realization of children’s rights as enshrined in the Constitution • Poverty manifests itself in shortages for food, clothing, shelter and general access to basic social services • Poverty erodes the opportunities for children to attend school, always seen as the gateway for exiting the poverty cycle • Poverty increases infant mortality rates, preventable diseases, stunted growth, hunger and malnutrition among children thus making them more vulnerable.

4. Introduction • Population of children in the country– 18,5 million approximately 45% of the population which is 44.8million • As many 60% of these children live in poverty as follows: • 3.2million 0-5 year olds • 10.2million 0-18 year old • One million orphans (under 15) in SA by 2005 • 9-12% orphans (1.5m) by 2010

5. Adverse Effects on Rights of Children • The right to food. Food insecurity is one of the primary impacts on children due to impoverishment. • The right to health. Children in poverty stricken households have lower immunization rates and poorer nutrition. • The right to parental love, care and nurture. • The right to appropriate alternative care. When the extended family does not exist or simply cannot cope with the care of large numbers of orphaned children many children are forced to live by themselves without adult support or supervision as child headed households. These households are often not detected and do not access any form of community or government assistance.

6. Adverse Effects on Rights of Children • The right to education. There are cases in which children who cannot pay fees, or buy uniforms and books are still denied education even though this is illegal. Some children drop out of school as a result of this. Many children are in school but not necessarily becoming educated as their circumstances prevent them from concentrating on their studies • The right to play and recreation. Poverty stricken children have minimal or no access to facilities to realise this. • The right to identity. The numbers of children who do not have birth certificates and identity documents which allow them to access other government services and support is still unacceptably high.

7. Adverse Effects on Rights of Children • The right to shelter, protection of property and inheritance depriving them a stable home environment and accumulation of wealth . • The right to protection from abuse. Children in poverty are more at risk of abuse and exploitation of all forms – physical, emotional and sexual • The right to protection from child labour. Children in poverty are oftenexpoilted for labour and sometimes forced into menial work or transactional sex, for survival. • The right to participate in decisions affecting their lives. Decisions such as those about where children should live and with whom are often made without consulting the children

8. Challenges • HIV and AIDS- orphaned children • HIV&AIDS found the extended family already weakened socially and economically by apartheid-migrant labour system • Child headed households • Child labour, exploitation & prostitution • Child abuse and neglect • Children working and living on the street • Domestic violence • Gaps in the legislation and programme • Achieving full coverage and access

9. Responses to Children Poverty • Programs in government: • Safe and sufficient water, • Basic sanitation, • Growth monitoring, • Immunization, • Nutrition, • Shelter • Education • Early child hood education • Social Grants • Social Services- Child Protection • Poverty alleviation programme targeting women and families

10. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES OVER MTEF YEARS • Improvement of access and the quality of Social Security Service • Establishment of the Social Security Agency • Comprehensive Child Care Legislation –makes provision for prevention and early intervention services • Expanded Public Works Program • Welfare Service Transformation to ensure access of services to families in remote areas • Improve services to Older Persons and people with disability • Strengthening of Families • Youth development; • Partnerships and Cooperative Governance • HIV and AIDS • Poverty Reduction and Integrated Development

11. Millennium goals • Eradicate poverty and hunger • Achieve universal primary education • Promote gender equality and empowerment • Reduce child mortality • Improve maternal health • Combat HIV/AIDS malaria and diseases

12. Policies • Constitution • White paper • Ten point plan • Transformation of the child and youth care system • Strategy on child abuse and neglect • Financing policy • Department Strategic plan • Draft policy on orphans and vulnerable children • The draft family policy • Childcare Act 1983 and related legislation

13. Intersectoral Collaboration • Cabinet Clusters • Cabinet Lekgotla • NPA Office on the Rights of Children in the Presidency and Premier’s offices • MINMEC • HSD • Various inter-sectoral Committees which include NGOs • Partnerships with NGOs

14. Major Programmes Targeting Poverty • Social Security • Poverty alleviation Programme • Home Community Based Care and Support/Responding to the impact of HIV&AIDS on children and families • Early Childhood Development Programme and Expanded Public Works Programme • Flagship Programme unemployed women with children under five • Food security programme

15. Social Grants • 5 million children are in receipt of the child support grant which is gradually being extended to children up to the age of fourteen – 1 April 2005. The Dept will spend R14 billion this coming financial year • 229 101 on foster care grants costing R121 327 000 • 8 million people on grants

16. Early Childhood Development Programme and Expanded Public Works Programme • An interdepartmental Integrated Plan on ECD involving the Departments of Health, Education and Social Development • EPWP addresses the challenges in ECD&HCBC whilst alleviating unemployment • Over 200,000 unemployed to acquire work opportunities over the next five years, 76,000 targeted to be long term employment • Provide on the job experience, training with a stipend leading to NQF qualifications • NGO’s, CBO’s and municipalities to continue as delivery agents of social sector programmes

17. Poverty Alleviation • Develop, implement and monitor strategies for poverty alleviation, undertake community development programmes and support non profit organisations: • Support existing poverty relief projects • Develop and ensure implementation of the poverty relief strategy for Social Development • Rendering registration and capacity building services to not for Profit organisations • Manage the Food emergency programme • Manage and ensure implementation of Expanded Public Works Programme especially the Home community based care and support and ECD objectives of the programme 60% were targeting women

18. Community based responses • Home community based care and support for children and families affected by HIV&AIDS • R138 million allocated • To over 500 NGOs and CBOs country wide • 630 child care forums at community levels • 4,116 community care givers trained and receiving stipends • 20,000 care givers involved in home community based care • 600 Child and youth care workers trained to work at community level complementing social work services • Drop-in centres –135. KZN 49 • ECD centres 4612 • Child protection committees

19. SECTOR CHALLENGES • Targeting vulnerable groups • Demographic challenges • Pressures on other welfare services • Capacity constraints • Infrastructure needs • Fragmented legal framework • Information management • Monitoring and evaluation • Impact studies and research • Sustainability • Dependency