Development Talk

Check out this interesting article from The Times following a report made by the UN and the SA Human Rights Commission. The article discusses South Africa continues to neglect its most vulnerable, in particular, children, as they are negatively impacted by a lack of a proper home, health care and schooling.

Some of the report’s troubling findings include:

• 64%, or 11.9million, of the country’s 18.6million children live in poverty. Many of them are Aids orphans – about 5.5million people have HIV/Aids in South Africa, more than in any other country

• Only 54% of the HIV-positive children who should be on antiretroviral treatment are receiving it;

• More than 270 babies and their mothers die after birth on average a day, mainly due to HIV/Aids, and the maternal mortality rate has increased by 80% since 1990;

• 582000 children who should be attending high school are not – 28% don’t have the money for fees and 15% because “education is useless”;

• Of 56500 children who were victims of violent crime in 2009-2010, 27417 were raped or molested. Of those, 29% were aged between 0 and 10.

Read the full article below:

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The Times: Young,hungry,helpless

http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article986417.ece/Young-hungry-helpless

UN,USA

More people seek help from the clinics.Photo: US Army Afrika,Flickr

Denial and a lack of  education are some of the factors that increase a person’s chance of contracting diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

In this same regard, people stray from health clinics as they fear the stigma that may be associated with their health concerns.  Behaving this way causes people to miss the opportunity to get information about HIV/AIDS and how support groups can change their behaviour.

To further investigate this topic, DKT International, a well-known organisation, conducted door-to door surveys in Khayelitsha to find out why people refused to visit clinics. Some of the responses included: a lack of privacy and confidentiality, and people felt uncomfortable being treated by a person of the opposite sex.

Focusing on similar components, a partnership between De Beers Fund and Humana People to People was formed and aimed to erase a mentality of fear and distrust.  Their efforts linked health facilities and people in the Limpopo province.

These two organisations created the initiative, “Connecting People to the Clinics,” a programme that encourages people to get involved in health services.

 According to ngopulse.org, the programme mobilised the community through door-to door campaigns, showing locals the importance of going to clinics for screenings, as well as for patients to get  sufficient ARV’s.

Through this campaign, people’s attitudes and behaviours have changed as they take control of their lives and see the importance of getting help.

Matshidiso Ramokgadi, project leader, was quoted as saying, “a definite impact has been noted, especially in the clinics where before the nurses would see 5 people a day and now the numbers have risen to 35 patients a day.”

Educational programmes are very important to our community. Counselling and adequate education serve as a source of information and change people’s mindsets on life-threatening issues.

Everyone has a responsibility to support people living with HIV and AIDS. Photo: Development Works via Flickr

Everyone has a responsibility to support people living with HIV and AIDS. Photo: Development Works via Flickr

Currently there are more than 33 million people in the world living with HIV and AIDS, according to avert.org. This website also reports that 605,480 people died of HIV and AIDS related causes in South Africa in 2006 (although this is sometimes difficult to calculate). Many people have relatives, friends, and partners who have died of HIV and AIDS.

In the past few years a lot has been done by governments, health organisations and researchers to develop medication and preventative measures for this incurable disease. But this is also a disease that requires personal responsibility from those affected by it. (more…)

Why are our children violent?

 

November 17, 2010

Children need to be loved and protected from violence to stop them from becoming perpetrators of violence themselves. Photo: Thetravellinged via Flickr

Children need to be loved and protected from violence to stop them from becoming perpetrators of violence themselves. Photo: Thetravellinged via Flickr

South Africa was recently shocked by the gang-rape of a school girl by three of her fellow pupils. The girl was drugged and raped while other pupils watched and filmed it on their cellphones. Why are some children in South Africa so violent and what can be done about it?

Some people have spoken about a “culture of violence” in South Africa, but implying that violence is inherently South African is not helpful. The cause of the problem needs to be found and addressed.

South Africa is not the only country that struggles with violent and dysfunctional youth. Safe Families Safe Children, an international group of renowned child rights organisations, including ACER Brasil, The International Children’s Trust, JUCONI Ecuador, JUCONI Mexico, New Life (South Africa) and Railway Children (UK, India and East Africa) “promote access for highly excluded children from violent homes around the world to the support and services they require to recover from their traumatic life experiences and gain sustainable access to their rights”.

In this organisation’s “Manifesto of Change” they site the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study which “found a clear link between the adverse experiences in childhood (including physical, emotional or sexual abuse and living in households with domestic violence) and a range of physical, emotional and social problems, including: heart disease, obesity, depression, alcoholism, sexual promiscuity, substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, rape and poor job performance”. (more…)

Patricia de Lille was appointed as Minister of Social Development in the Western Cape. Photo: Carolyn Meads via Flickr

Patricia de Lille was appointed as Minister of Social Development in the Western Cape. Photo: Carolyn Meads via Flickr

Premier Helen Zille has reshuffled her cabinet in the Western Cape and Patricia de Lille has been appointed as the new Minister of Social Development.  It will now be interesting to see what the impact will be on the social development sector in the province.

Polity.org reports that De Lille said: “Social development is my passion. For 24 years I’ve been fighting for the poor and the downtrodden. You won’t find me in an office, I will be out there dealing with the problems on the ground.”

This follows after the ID, the political party formed by De Lille in 2003, joined the DA on 15 August this year. According to Who’s Who of Southern Africa De Lille was the first woman to form a political party in this country.

South African History Online says De Lille has been vocal on “sensitive issues such as corruption, HIV/AIDS, women and child abuse, children in prison, xenophobia and poverty”.  She also serves on the boards of the following organisations:

The new appointment might mean new energy in the sector. Whatever happens, the most important thing is the impact on the poorest communities. Will a new appointment make a difference to them?

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