SOUTH AFRICA: GOVT CONSIDERS PLIGHT OF ORPHANED CHILDREN

The plight of orphaned and vulnerable children in South Africa is a key
focus of government's social development work this year. Addressing a
parliamentary briefing this week, Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya
said government was particularly concerned with the situation and special
needs of children in child-headed households.

The issue of orphaned and vulnerable children speaks to issues of poverty,
HIV/AIDS, food security and nutrition, improvements in social security,
budgeting issues, litigation and partnerships. Starting in late August,
Skweyiya has been conducting two-day visits to provinces to examine the
living conditions of vulnerable children and improving their chances of
survival. These visits have been focused on the nodes that government has
identified for the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme and
the Urban Renewal Programme, and have been conducted in conjunction with
provincial departments, LoveLife and Unicef.

The focus of the visits has been on community projects that improve the
living conditions and survival chances of vulnerable and orphaned children.
They have also been holding imbizos to hear directly from children about
their concerns. Together with its partners, government has been engaging
community structures and all role players to mobilise care and support for
vulnerable children.

Throughout the visits a common concern expressed by both volunteers and
people living with HIV/AIDS has been the difficulty in obtaining nutritional
food. One of the priorities of government's social sector cluster for the
2001-2002 period, food security and nutrition is being addressed in an
integrated manner.

Immediate responses are required in emergency situations, such as in the
case of Mount Frere in the Eastern Cape, where governmental inefficiencies
were found to be worsening a situation of chronic malnutrition. These
inefficiencies included the provision of birth certificates and identity
documents to enable access to social assistance. They also included the
referral and follow-up of poverty stricken families to ensure that they
received food parcels and accessible poverty relief funds. The departments
of Social Development, Health and Home Affairs moved quickly to address the
inefficiencies.

For parents living with HIV/AIDS an additional concern has been securing the
future care of their children. The departments of Social Development and
Health are providing support through the Home and Community Based Care
Programme. "The support provided through this programme does not match the
growing needs of orphaned children and the provision of more institutional
care cannot be ruled out as an option in the future," Skweyiya said.

He said there needs to be more recognition and support for community
initiatives. The experience and expertise of retired teachers, nurses and
other professional should be utilised more effectively.

The issue of foster care is being addressed in the comprehensive child care
legislation that is being prepared by the Law Commission. A draft of this
legislation will be ready for consideration by November this year.

In July this year, working together with nine South African universities, an
HIV/AIDS capacity building course for government planners was launched.
Through this training programme, 1 200 government officials at all levels
will be equipped with the tools to plan for the prevention and reduction of
the impact of the epidemic.

In August this year, the department started disseminating together with Save
the Children a newly published directory of services provided by 900
different organisations in South Africa for children affected and infected
by HIV/AIDS. This resource is to be translated into all official languages.

As a preliminary step in its partnership with Faith Based Organisations on
this issue, the Department of Social Development is mapping the care and
support activities of Faith Based Organisations. These commendable
initiatives within communities are being supplemented by initiatives at the
workplace. In the mining industry, both the trade unions and the mining
houses are devoting substantial resources to the provision of care and
support for mine workers and their families.

A key element in enhancing the provision of care and support for vulnerable
children is improving the social security system, Skweyiya said. To this
end, a project to develop national norms and standards for social security
was completed in July. Successful implementation of these norms and
standards will ensure that all beneficiaries receive equitable services
regardless of demographic or socio-economic differences between provinces,
he said. -- ANC Today