Day of the African Child: 16 June 2012

The theme for the 2012 Day of the African Child (DAC) is: “The Rights of Children with Disabilities: the duty to protect, respect, promote and fulfil’. This theme is in recognition of the fact that children with disabilities continue to be marginalised and they face difficulties in accessing education, health and other social services as well as being able to enjoy their rights. The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) Article 13 addresses the rights of children with disabilities. The UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD) can also be accessed at: http://www.un.org/disabilities/

Save the Children will coordinate Day of the African Child events in the region. For more information, please contact the Save the Children Offices in your country, or Ms Nikiwe Kaunda at: nikiwek@saf.savethechildren.se

Launch of 'A life free of hunger' report

 

Today Save the Children launched its report ‘A life free of hunger: tackling child malnutrition’ at a media briefing in Johannesburg. This is part of the Everyone Campaign and the report was launched simultaneously in three continents.

The report analyses the causes of malnutrition focusing on chronic malnutrition and stunting in children. It identifies solutions that are proven to be effective which include direct and indirect intervention.

Mixael de Kock, Chair of the Johannesburg Press Club, opened the event stressing the importance of looking after children and making sure that the current situation does not continue. All the speakers agreed that there is a need for a partnership between governments and civil society in dealing with malnutrition.

In his presentation, David Sanders of Save the Children indicated that child grants play an important role in curbing the situation. A study conducted in South Africa has proved that recipients of grants have more access to quality foods than those not receiving grants. He also noted that the proposed National Health Insurance in South Africa will not work unless the health system is working (public health system in rural areas, community clinics and small hospitals). He also argued that there is a need to invest in competent people for the right positions and ensure that proper management systems are in place. He commended the work of community workers and that they do not get enough support from the state (nurses and local facilities).  

He added that there is a need to deploy district specialist teams and improve the school health programmes. There are plans for school nurses to visit schools on a regular basis. Save the Children is exploring ways of assisting in this regard. He concluded his presentation by noting that 18% stunting is too high for a middle income country like South Africa. 

There was input from Scott McNiven of USAIDS talked about food aid quality, Osten Chulu of UNDP looked at the challenges of meeting the MDGs by 2015 while Richard Young of the EU looked at the inequities and the relationship to hunger and malnutrition. Chantell Witten, the Nutrition specialist at UNICEF noted that the nutritional challenges differ from community to community and are also affected by geographic location of those affected. She stressed that the problem is not always that people do not have access to food, but the quality of food they have access to. She said that nutrition is an imperative, we can’t do without it. She informed the audience that packages of care for new born babies are available in some provinces and KZN has taken it on board.

A child journalist from Parktown Girls High asked if genetically modified foods have any nutritional value and if it is wise to promote them as an alternative. Witten advised that those with micro nutrients would be best and she would support them. There was also a discussion on the integrated feeding programme at South African schools as it does not meet the nutritional requirements of the students. Nutrition is taught in schools and but school feeding does not focus on nutrition but is there to ensure that kids manage the day.

The keynote address was given by Lynn Moeng, the Director of Nutrition from the South African Government. In her speech she said that people affected by malnutrition are not consulted when developing strategies. She asked the following questions: Are we targeting the right people? Are we investing in the right strategies? Are policies aimed at addressing malnutrition correct? Who should be investing in the first 1000 days of a child’s life? What should government do to ensure mothers breast feed for the first six months?

Moeng acknowledged that various government departments should be involved in nutrition issues not just one. She stressed the need to hear from children what needs to be done differently. She pointed out that when dealing with nutrition and hunger, people must understand that causes are different and not the same in each environment and should be treated accordingly. It depends on the areas where people live e.g. an alcoholic parent, where parents are overweight, where both parents earn an income. Its not only the poor who struggle with poor nutrition. She said that everyone needs to play a role – governments, families, establishments and business. She concluded by stating that she feels ashamed as an adult to be told by children that we should feed them. This was after she was handed a petition signed in thumbprints by hundreds of children.

A life free from hunger

                                                                                  

The Global Launch

Save the Children and the Johannesburg Press Club

will be hosting a media briefing for the launch of the report called A Life Free from Hunger.

This new report highlights the issue of hunger and malnutrition for children around the world.

Children on the African continent are amongst the worst off today.

 Policy makers and key stakeholders will be in attendance. There will be a panel discussion on the issue and an opportunity to ask questions

Members of the media

are cordially invited to this launch on Wednesday, February 15, at 10h00 for 10h30 at Marks Park Sports Club (Pavilion Room), Judith Road, Johannesburg

The report which will be released simultaneously  in a number of major cities around the world including New York, Geneva, London, and Singapore with Johannesburg serving as the focal point in Southern Africa.

RSVP and Media Requests to:

Ms. Noma Rangana nomar@saf.savethechildren.se  012 334 0222/ 082 888 0341

Why now? This crisis is not new. Progress on reducing malnutrition has been pitifully slow for 20 years.  But a combination of global trends is putting future progress on tackling malnutrition at risk.  Action must be taken now because if current trends continue, the lives of more than 450 million children globally will be affected by stunting in the next 15 years.

A child's perspective of COP17

As I walked out of the King Shaka International airport, all I could see was poster after poster advertising for Cop17. For me the thought that came to my mind was that they are doing all of that for us. If they don’t fix the problems now, in 20 years the earth will be a very difficult place to live!

When you drive past the busy streets with the sound of foreigners speaking with strange accents, it makes me feel great that they are here just for us children to secure our future.

At the Durban Convention Centre, you walk inside to see all these items of technology, like solar cars

and hydro-bikes. This gives me hope that working together, we can stop the effects of climate change.

I was privileged to interview Connie Hedegaard, who is the Commissioner for the European Union. She says that she got into climate change when she was appointed as Environmental Minister.

Someone in the ministry asked her, “what do we do about the climate?” She responded by saying, “the more knowledge you get about climate change the more you understand how serious it is, and then it’s hard not to get interested in how we can solve this difficult problem.”

Hedegaard said that “Our efforts now make a huge difference, even what people do in their daily lives.” Some people say “What does it help if I do anything because there are 7 billion people on planet earth?” She added, “If everyone thinks like that one thing is for sure, nothing happens.”

The Commissioner is convinced that if all of us work together to see what we can do that we can change things.

According to NASA Science, if we don’t do something to stop pollution and the consumption of fossil fuels, the average temperature will rise between 2 to 6 degrees by the end of the 21^st century.

We need to save our planet starting now!

Article by Asher Pardey, one of the children participating in the Children and the Media programme in South Africa

Conference on the status of children's rights in SADC

From 14 to 16 November 2011 Save the Children, the Pan African Parliament and SADC CNGO hosted a conference on the Status of Children’s Rights in Southern Africa.

The conference was attended by government representatives from 11 SADC countries, the Pan African Parliament Members of Parliament, SADC Parliamentary Forum Members of Parliament, African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, civil society organizations from 12 Southern African countries, academics and consultants.

The conference aimed at increasing the participant’s understanding of instruments and processes in promoting accountability for the realization of children’s rights. There were dialogue sessions to strengthen civil society and government’s capacity to collaborate on advocacy issues around children’s issues.

On the last day a committee was established to take forward the process of establishing a Regional Child Rights Reference Group to undertake advocacy around children’s rights in the region.The terms of reference for the Reference Group were discussed but it was agreed that further discussions at country level have to take place.

The conference also agreed that more issues should be included to the Reference Group's ToRs. The issues include identifying child rights advocacy priorities and resource mobilization, building networks and coalitions for child rights advocacy, establishing collaborative relationships amongst CSOs and governments, the implementation of regional and international instruments and protocols, reporting mechanisms and child participation.

At the end of the conference resolutions were made which will be finalised once country network consultations have taken place. They will be communicated wildly and used as a benchmark. The report on the conference will be available shortly.

Children talk to the EU President in Johannesburg

On 16 September, accompanied by, Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, and the EU Ambassador to South Africa, President Barroso attended a press conference where he was interviewed by child journalists.

The event was opened by Susanne Martin who introduced the EU delegation. 

Timothy Bainbridge, Regional Director of Save the Children Sweden gave a brief background of the EU Save the Children relations. William Bird, Director of Media Monitoring Africa, a Save the Children partner implementing the Children and the Media programme in South Africa, introduced the programme and what MMA does. He also introduced the children who were to share the information and those who were to conduct the interview.

 There were thirteen children who had an interest in sharing information with the EU president. The children talked about why they monitor the media and what they monitor. They explained to the president why it is important to have fair media coverage of children’s issues. They also shared their concerns with the impact of poor reporting. Three children from schools around Johannesburg interviewed Barroso on his understanding of child rights and how they are realised. Jead Stehr , a 13 year old from Saxonworld Primary, asked what the president thinks of children’s rights.

Barroso’s response focussed on the need to protect children and ensure their safety, access to education and to be taken care of. “Children are our future” he said, “we need to take care of them”. The president encouraged children to stay at school and learn. He told them that learning is not easy but to succeed, one needs to be committed to what they are doing. He made an example where he had to learn English. This has made life easier for him as it has improved the way he communicates. It also allows him to meet people.

Hosted by the University of Johannesburg, the event was a success. Talking to the children after the interview, they indicated how relaxed Barroso was and that he seemed to understand children (based on his responses and jokes).  When he came to the room he asked for some children to come and sit next to him. Asking one of the children how he felt about sitting that close, he said, “Yho, I was scared at first but he made me laugh and it was easy to tell him what we do in our school”.

Children’s Knowledge of Sexuality: Finding New Directions

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA - Children and young people continue to lack accurate and comprehensive knowledge of HIV and how to avoid transmission. There continues to be little, if any, data on younger children’s knowledge of HIV and how to avoid transmission. The silence around sexuality in general and children’s sexuality in particular generates misconceptions, myths and misinformation which contribute to children’s risky sexual practices.

Until recently, implementation efforts have been limited by a tendency to focus HIV prevention and sexual and reproductive health initiatives on children 15 years and older. Younger children are rarely asked their opinion on the information and services they receive. In addition, the difficulties faced by adults in accepting children’s sexuality and the social taboos and attitudes regarding sex, gender, contraception and HIV prevention itself have not been addressed adequately, if at all.

A new report, released here today, seeks to improve the lives of children by strengthening a regional programme promoting comprehensive sexuality information and education that would improve children’s access to knowledge and information about HIV, sexual and reproductive health and information relating to HIV prevention. Save the Children commissioned the HSRC to undertake a pioneering approach to examine the level of accurate and comprehensive knowledge of HIV, how to avoid transmission and understanding of sexuality and access to sexual and reproductive health among children 5-17 years of age. The research showed how vulnerable children between 5 – 8 years old are vulnerable to sexual risks, as   emphasised by their limited knowledge, attitudes and skills in relation to sexual behaviour. They also had only a rudimentary understanding of the concepts of sex, gender and human rights. Most children interviewed in this age range could not describe how pregnancy occurred. As a result, they did not know how pregnancy could be prevented.

The picture with regard to 9-11 year old children was not much better. Only a few understood the meaning of sexuality in relation to the human life cycle, with many misconceptions. Children at this age are at the cusp of puberty but reproductive health was not well understood, with only 51% knowing  how pregnancy occurred,  its impact on their lives (schooling, lack of love by parents, etc.), and  ways to prevent unintended pregnancy (condoms, abstaining from sex, contraceptive pills).

Most children believed that they could not get AIDS, which is likely a function of the absence of formal or informal discussion of HIV transmission. Fifty seven percent could not cite a single way to prevent sexual transmission of HIV (for example, condom use). Neither were they familiar with their own vulnerability to HIV and AIDS, which makes this age cohort especially vulnerable to risky sexual behaviour.

The age group 12 – 17 had a better knowledge of HIV and AIDS and its transmission, which was largely obtained through the school and peers. Girls and boys started to have sex at about the same age (14 years), with some acknowledgement of concurrent partners by both boys and girls.

Vulnerability to risk of sexual transmission in this age group was reinforced by the fact that over half of the parents (52%) were not aware that their child was sexually active. Sexual and reproductive health for children was primarily accessed through local clinics and hospitals, though issues of stigma and the lack of support of parents in assisting children to access services was notable.

While parents had good levels of knowledge and ways to protect against sexual transmission of HIV, the primary communication between parents and children focused essentially on protecting children from abuse and less with information about sexual risk for HIV and AIDS.

The work is important in charting an approach to sexual education showing that much still needs to be done in providing accurate information and education about HIV and AIDS and ways to promote sexual health among children.

[An executive summary of the report, “Regional Baseline Survey to Establish Children’s KABP In Relation to Sexuality and Gender, Access to Sexuality and HIV Information and Sexual and Reproductive Health Services In South Africa”, Arvin Bhana, Karl Pelzer, Refilwe Phaswanamafuya, Monde Makiwane, Adlai Davids, Gladys Mlambo, Shaneel Bachoo, Mohammed Yacoob Vawda is available on http://saf.savethechildren.se/saf. For further information or interviews, contact Arvin Bhana at abhana@hsrc.ac.za]