Children
7 July 2006
Media programme
Date: Tuesday, 11 July 2006
Celebration of World Population Day and media launch of Orphans and Vulnerable
Children Conference. Minister of Social Development, Dr Zola Skweyiya, will
officiate the occurrence.
Time: 09h30
Venue: Sammy Marks Square Library, Pretoria, cnr Van der Walt and Vermuelen
Streets
Welcoming cocktail for delegates
Time: 17h00
Venue: Gallagher Estates, Midrand
Date: Wednesday, 12 July 2006
08h30: Opening address to conference by Dr Skweyiya
Date: Thursday, 13 July 2006
Time: 08h30 - Morning plenary session and breakaway sessions
Time: 19h00 - Gala dinner to be addressed by Dr Skweyiya
Date: Friday, 14 July 2006
Time: 08h30 - Report back from breakaway sessions
Closing address by Dr Jean Benjamin, Deputy Minister of Social Development.
The Minister of Social Development, Dr Zola Skweyiya, will on Wednesday, 12
July 2006, officially open the conference aimed at strengthening support to
orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. The conference is
hosted by the Department of Social Development in collaboration with members of
the National Action Committee for Children Affected by HIV/AIDS (NACCA) and
will take place at Gallagher Estates.
The theme of the conference is âStrengthening Co-ordinated Action for
Orphans and other Children made Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS (OVC).â It will bring
together about 500 delegates from South Africa and other countries in the
Southern African Development Community (SADC) such as Botswana, Lesotho and
Swaziland.
The conference will be preceded by World Population Day celebrations in
Pretoria on Tuesday, 11 July, at which Dr Skweyiya will hold a mini imbizo with
about 20 young people who are delegates to the OVC conference.
Dr Zola Skweyiya emphasised the importance of the conference. âThe
socio-economic impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic results in family, community and
social disintegration. This is evidenced by the increase in the number of
orphans and vulnerable children, child-headed households and the inability of
the extended family system to provide such children with basic requirements
such as shelter, food, medical care, education, love and support. Many children
are living with and often caring for ill parents or primary caregivers as well
as for their siblings. Stigma, discrimination and poverty lead to the children
being denied or discouraged from accessing basic services, such as healthcare,
education and social services.
Government has introduced programmes to support orphans and vulnerable
children. Over 300 030 children are recipients of foster care grants. Social
workers, youth and childcare workers are working tirelessly to ensure that the
process of foster care placement is speeded up.
The key objectives of the conference include:
* to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas, knowledge, research and
initiatives that will inform HIV/AIDS programmes, interventions and strengthen
care and support for orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS
* to provide a platform for policy-makers, donors, development agencies,
civil society organisations and government officials (national, provincial and
local) to share lessons and experiences on mechanisms to address the plight of
OVC
* to strengthen co-ordinating mechanisms to implement strategic initiatives
that are properly costed, monitored and evaluated to derive useful lessons
* to share and promote current good practice on psychosocial support to
orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS
* to foster regional cooperation in SADC countries to advance collective
responses to challenges of addressing the impact of HIV/AIDS on children.
A vulnerable child is one whose survival, care, protection or development
may be compromised by a set of conditions, situations and circumstances which
prevents the fulfilment of his or her rights. Such children include orphans,
those forced into work, the homeless, sex workers, victims of violence, natural
calamities, abuse, exploitation and neglect, girl child victims of gender
discrimination, those exposed to ethnic or racial discrimination, children with
disabilities and child victims of AIDS.
A child-headed household is defined as a household where children live
independently without adult supervision, care and support, with the oldest
member of the household being under the age of 18. According to Census 2001,
the total of households headed by children under the age of 19 was 248 424.
The conference will also be used as a platform to disseminate and promote
the policy framework and the national action for orphans and other children
made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. Childrenâs rights such as right to food, health,
shelter and protection as enshrined by the constitution will be
highlighted.
Background information
(1) The table below indicates the number of child-headed households per
province according to Statistics South Africa 2001 census.
Number of child-headed households in South Africa according to Census
2001.
Eastern Cape
Number of child-headed households (0 - 19): 42 756
Number of child-headed households (0 - 19) percent: 17,21 percent
Number of child-headed households (0 - 14): 3 870
Number of child-headed households (0 - 14) percent: 20,68 percent
Number of child-headed households (15 - 19): 38 886
Number of child-headed households (15 - 19) percent: 16,93 percent
Free State
Number of child-headed households (0 - 19): 16 234
Number of child-headed households (0 - 19) percent: 6,53 percent
Number of child-headed households (0 - 14): 771
Number of child-headed households (0 - 14) percent: 4,12 percent
Number of child-headed households (15 - 19): 15 463
Number of child-headed households (15 - 19) percent: 6,73 percent
Gauteng
Number of child-headed households (0 - 19): 32 488
Number of child-headed households (0 - 19) percent: 13,08 percent
Number of child-headed households (0 - 14): 1 175
Number of child-headed households (0 - 14) percent: 6,28 percent
Number of child-headed households (15 - 19): 31 313
Number of child-headed households (15 - 19) percent: 13,63 percent
KwaZulu-Natal
Number of child-headed households (0 - 19): 42 355
Number of child-headed households (0 - 19) percent: 17,05 percent
Number of child-headed households (0 - 14): 4 303
Number of child-headed households (0 - 14) percent: 23,00 percent
Number of child-headed households (15 - 19): 38 052
Number of child-headed households (15 - 19) percent: 16,56 percent
Limpopo
Number of child-headed households (0 - 19): 58 461
Number of child-headed households (0 - 19) percent: 23,53 percent
Number of child-headed households (0 - 14): 5 232
Number of child-headed households (0 - 14) percent: 27,96 percent
Number of child-headed households (15 - 19): 53 229
Number of child-headed households (15 - 19) percent: 23,17 percent
Mpumalanga
Number of child-headed households (0 - 19): 21 087
Number of child-headed households (0 - 19) percent: 8,49 percent
Number of child-headed households (0 - 14): 1 466
Number of child-headed households (0 - 14) percent: 7,84 percent
Number of child-headed households (15 - 19): 19 621
Number of child-headed households (15 - 19) percent: 8,54 percent
Northern Cape
Number of child-headed households (0 - 19): 3 787
Number of child-headed households (0 - 19) percent: 1,52 percent
Number of child-headed households (0 - 14): 3 441
Number of child-headed households (0 - 14) percent: 84 percent
Number of child-headed households (15 - 19): 3 443
Number of child-headed households (15 - 19) percent: 1,50 percent
North West
Number of child-headed households (0 - 19): 20 189
Number of child-headed households (0 - 19) percent: 8,13 percent
Number of child-headed households (0 - 14): 1 119
Number of child-headed households (0 - 14) percent: 5,98 percent
Number of child-headed households (15 - 19): 19 070
Number of child-headed households (15 - 19) percent: 8,30 percent
Western Cape
Number of child-headed households (0 - 19): 11 067
Number of child-headed households (0 - 19) percent: 4,45 percent
Number of child-headed households (0 - 14): 429
Number of child-headed households (0 - 14) percent: 2,29 percent
Number of child-headed households (15 - 19): 10 638
Number of child-headed households (15 - 19) percent: 4,63 percent
Grand total
Number of child-headed households (0 - 19): 248 424
Number of child-headed households (0 - 14): 18 710
Number of child-headed households (15 - 19): 229 714
(2) The Department of Social Development has put mechanisms in place to
ensure that child-headed households receive comprehensive and essential social
services. The Department is actively involved in the process of identifying
orphans and vulnerable children and this includes children in child-headed
households. Through home community based care and support programmes, the
caregivers and volunteers from the community based organisations (CBOs) and
faith-based organisations (FBOs) conduct home visits throughout their
communities to establish the circumstances of children and their families.
Caregivers and volunteers are part of the communities in which they operate and
are therefore in a better position to identify the families long before they
actually become child-headed households. Whenever a child-headed household is
identified, they ensure that their basic needs are addressed through provision
of food, shelter, education and alternative care as well as the provision of
psychosocial support.
To ensure the well-being of children from child-headed households, the home
community based care projects assign a mentor or caregiver to the households to
ensure that the basic needs of children are realised. This includes ensuring
that children go to school, receive nutritious meals and that they receive the
love and care of an adult caregiver. In this way the eldest child in the
household is not deprived of his/her childhood and the children remain in their
families and communities, thus preserving the family and fostering a sense of
identity among the children. The rationale is that they be integrated with the
society and learn the culture, norms, standards and beliefs prevalent in their
communities. The childcare forums also play a very crucial role in mobilising
communities for the early identification of child-headed households to ensure
access to appropriate social services. The role of childcare forums includes
recruiting prospective foster care parents and facilitating community income
generating projects to help child-headed households as well as after-school
care and holiday programmes.
The Department has established the National Action Committee for Children
Affected by HIV/AIDS (NACCA), a multi-sectoral structure made up of government,
non-governmental organisations (NGOs), FBOs, donor agencies, business sector
and civil society organisations. Through this co-ordinating structure,
mechanisms are in place to fast track the delivery of services such as access
to birth certificates and identity documents, access to grants, provision of
educational requirements, protection from abuse and neglect as well as the
provision of psychosocial support to orphans and vulnerable children including
child-headed households. The structure has also been established at provincial
and district levels to promote co-ordination between all stakeholders, at all
levels, to effect action to realise the rights of orphans and vulnerable
children.
The Policy Framework for orphans and other children made vulnerable by
HIV/AIDS (2005) outlines a broader framework for the protection and provision
of comprehensive and integrated developmental services for OVC as contained in
the six key strategic areas. The national action plan for orphans and other
children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS (2006 - 2008) is based on six key
strategic areas and programmatic interventions and clearly defines the unique
value-adding role of various stakeholders in addressing the social impact of
HIV/AIDS. This is based on the premise that no single sector can successfully
address the impact of HIV/AIDS epidemic on individuals, families and
communities.
The Department is also involved in facilitating the establishment of
community multi purpose centres in order to provide children with meals before
and after school. The caregivers at the centres also assist children from
child-headed households with homework, involve them in life skills programmes
and provide them with psychosocial support. The centres are not yet available
in all districts in the country but provinces have commenced with the process
of establishing them.
Supplementary information
A conference, âA Call for Co-ordinated Actionâ was held during 2002 to
establish:
* A common understanding regarding the interpretation of legislative and
policy issues and make recommendations for co-ordination between different
sectors to ensure implementation of policy on âidentification of children in
need, accessing basic services such as social grants (including birth
certificates), and alternative care (foster care, kinship care, adoption,
cluster foster care, community care and institutional care).â
* Co-ordination between all sectors of South African society to ensure that
children that are affected by HIV/AIDS (including child-headed households) have
access to services that provide their basic rights for food, education,
shelter, health care, family or alternative care and protection from abuse and
maltreatment.
* Mechanisms of co-ordination at local, district, provincial and national
levels.
The six key strategies which will assist in developing comprehensive,
integrated and quality responses for orphans and other vulnerable children at
programmatic level are:
1. Mobilise and strengthen community-based responses for the care, support
and protection of orphans and builds on the foundations of the policy
framework, creates and promotes a supportive environment in which orphans and
other children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS are adequately cared for, supported
and protected holistically to grow and develop to their full potential.
2. Ensure that legislation, policy, strategies and programmes are in place
to protect the most vulnerable children.
3. Assure access for orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS to
essential services.
4. Raise awareness and advocate for the creation of a supportive environment
for OVC.
5. Engage the civil society sector and business community in playing an
active role to support the plight of orphans and children made vulnerable by
HIV/AIDS.
6. Strengthen and support the capacity of families to protect and care.
The last strategy could be seen as crosscutting in that it supports the
implementation of the other strategies. The implementation of these strategies
is key to ensuring South Africaâs achievement of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) and the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS)
declaration of commitment on HIV/AIDS.
The national action plan which the policy framework for orphans and other
children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS has therefore been a stakeholder driven
undertaking that promotes an enabling environment for more effective delivery
on the existing obligations and commitments on orphans and other children made
vulnerable by HIV/AIDS at legislative, policy and programme levels.
As a policy framework it serves to:
* confirm existing policy and refer to intended policy
* reinforce existing, relevant legislation and the links between various pieces
of legislation and policies
* provide a rationale for common action by different government departments and
civil society for the implementation of various strategies in order to promote
the rights of OVC
* clarify the approach, principles and intentions for coordination and
effective partnerships.
The objectives of the policy framework for orphans and other children made
vulnerable by HIV/AIDS provide a framework:
* to ensure co-ordinated action at national, provincial, district and local
level to realise the rights of orphans and other children made vulnerable by
HIV/AIDS, their caregivers, families and communities
* to ensure that legal, policy and institutional frameworks for the
protection and promotion of the rights of affected children are implemented at
all levels
* to provide an overarching framework to support stakeholders in the
development of comprehensive, age appropriate, integrated and quality responses
to orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS.
Issued by: Department of Social Development
7 July 2006
