Z Skweyiya: Launch of UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children report
2006

6 February 2006

Programme director
The country representative of UNICEF, Mr Macharia Kamau
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

It is with a deep sense of accomplish that our country will on 8 May 2006
celebrate the tenth anniversary of the adoption of our Constitution.

We adopted our Constitution so as to heal the divisions of the past, and
build a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental
human rights. Our intentions were multi-fold to base government on the will of
the people, to ensure that every citizen was equally protected by the law, to
improve the quality of life of all our people, and free the potential of every
individual.

Based upon these varied intentions, I think we can confidently look back
over the past 10 years and say we have made substantial progress in fulfilling
the promise of the Constitution.

Today’s occasion, when we formally launch UNICEF'S State of the World’s
Children Report for 2006 in South Africa, highlights the fact that a critical
dimension of our Constitution is the fact that its ensures that children’s
rights are at the centre of public policy. Our long term public policy
initiatives to protect children and promote their well being are rooted in a
human rights approach to development.

It is therefore very heartening that in this year in which we mark the tenth
anniversary of our Constitution, Parliament will be bringing to closure its
work on the new wide-ranging Children’s Bill. The passage of the Children’s
Bill is another confirmation of the fact that our country has entered it Age of
Hope. It should be noted that the Children’s Bill makes provision for
appropriate structures, services and the means to promote and monitor the sound
physical, psychological, intellectual, emotional and social development of
children in our country.

Programme director, it should be noted that because of the principled and
sterling work of various community-based civil society organisations, the
children of our country were neither excluded from nor invisible during the
drawn out consultation processes on the Children’s Bill. I would like to quote
the words of one member of the Dikwankwetla Children’s Group who addressed the
Parliamentary portfolio committee during its public hearings. They said, “……in
my opinion any child should be treated and understood as a child, otherwise a
lot of complications, like children being soldiers, older men marrying younger
women, children looking after families, and so on arise.”

The 2006 State of the World’s Children Report concentrates our attention on
the vulnerable children in every society, including our own, which face
especially difficult situations. These children variously live in poverty, face
discrimination, are displaced by armed conflict, suffer abuse, are affected by
HIV and AIDS, lack formal identity or are not treated as children. Some of
these concerns will be addressed during the meeting of the ‘Global Partners
Forum for Children Affected by HIV and AIDS’, which will be held in London
between 9 and 10 February this year.

Each one of us cannot be but moved into action by situations in which
children literally take turns to eat as there is not enough food available in
their household for each one of them to eat everyday. Similarly, situations in
which some children have sole responsibility for caring for other children must
elicit a societal response and activate the resources of all our support
networks.

Because of a variety of circumstances and vulnerabilities, there is an
increasing incidence of child-led households in our country, particularly in
the former Bantustans. I appeal to the faith community to assist us in
addressing this situation. The multi-dimensional response that is required must
reach into both peri-urban settlements and into remote rural areas. The faith
sector has the networks and volunteers that can be mobilized to attend to this
task and partnerships with government and other social partners need to be
established.

In addition to collective action in response to the social welfare needs of
specific groups of vulnerable children, the 2006 State of the World’s Children
Report is a call to action in the fight against the inter-generational
reproduction of poverty. Breaking the cycle of poverty depends on investments
by governments, civil society and families in children's wellbeing.
Expenditures on a child's nutrition or on their social, emotional and cognitive
development is not only an investment in a more humane and equitable society,
it is also an investment in a healthier, more literate and, ultimately, more
productive nation.

In order to address the needs of vulnerable children in our country, a
central element of Government’s intervention has been the implementation of a
substantial programme of social assistance. As we speak more than seven million
children from poor families currently receive the Child Support Grant. These
grants act as more than a safety net. They seek to ensure the best start in
life for every child. There is empirical evidence that they ultimately enable
children to overcome the socio-economic barriers that entrench
inter-generational poverty in households.

The Child Support Grant has to be assessed in the context of the
government’s entire programme of social assistance, which includes other types
of grants. A recent empirical study on the social and economic impact of South
Africa’s social assistance programmes found that social grants play a critical
role in reducing poverty and promoting social development.

The study examined the effects of receiving a grant on household health,
education, housing, labour market participation and labour productivity. The
study also quantified the macro-economic impact of social assistance grants,
evaluating their impact on savings and on aggregate demand. The study showed
that the greatest poverty reducing potential lies with the progressive
extension of the Child Support Grant, with extension of eligibility to the age
to 14 years reducing the poverty gap by 16.6%. A further extension to 18 years
reduces the gap by 21.4%.

Findings in various other studies have shown that children in households
receiving social grants, especially girl children, are more likely to attend
school as a result of social assistance. Other longitudinal studies have
documented improvements in nutritional status. All these studies are part of
concerted effort on part of government to engage social science researchers and
the academic community in a partnership focused on evidence-based social
policy.

In this regard I would like to draw your attention to a Unesco-sponsored
‘International Forum on the Social Science – Policy Nexus’ that will be held in
Argentina between the 20th and 24th February this year. Researchers, policy
makers, and policy activists from across the global will be converging to
examine the mechanisms of translation at the interface of policy and research.
A new kind of dialogue is being initiated that parallels both the World
Economic Forum and the World Social Forum. We hope this dialogue will result in
increased funding for policy relevant research across the globe.

Programme director, much more work needs to be done and more public debate
should be encouraged. We need to assess and remedy gaps in the coverage of the
Child Support Grant whilst ensuring that the right children those who are
eligible to receive social grants. We have to work towards ensuring that all
children receive social grants and go to school, and that there is alignment
between social assistance programmes and school nutrition programmes.

All of the programmes and activities of the Department of Social Development
are intended to ensure the provision of high quality social development
services that reduce vulnerability and poverty in a comprehensive, integrated,
and sustainable manner. Over the next three years the Department will be
reinforcing its developmental strategy by increasing its focus on mobilizing
social capital and directing more resources into sustainable livelihoods
programs.

Because of the nature of the challenges that we face and the incidences of
vulnerability and exclusion documented in the State of the World’s Children
Report, the Department is collaborating with a wide range of partners in the
various sectors of South African civil society. We are also working within the
frameworks agreed to by SADC and the African Union. We will not walk away from
our internationalist responsibilities.

It is only by responding to the call to action and attending to the
incidences of vulnerability and exclusion documented in the 2006 State of the
World’s Children Report that we will accomplish the Millennium Development
Goals. All the children around the globe deserve such an accomplishment.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Social Development
6 February 2006