Displaying 1 - 10 of 10
Abstract
Children's needs in Botswana received considerable attention in the past three decades owing to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country. These decades of legal and policy practice processes focused on orphan and vulnerable children (OVC), ensured that the needs of the general population of Botswana children are grossly understudied, underestimated, and therefore, remain unaddressed. This study sought to determine the needs of the general population of children. Fifty-two visual arts, six semi-structured interviews, twenty-six in-depth interviews and two focus group discussions were…
Abstract
Family constitutes more than simple living arrangements, and these systems are of pivotal development importance in sub-Saharan Africa. The diversity of family structures and types in sub-Saharan Africa has warranted an examination of the various policies and laws in the region. This paper examines all policy and laws related to families in the South, West, East and Central regions of sub-Saharan Africa. The paper highlights the sundry of policies and laws that are influenced by cultural and religious differences within and across regions. Issues relating to patriarchy and…
This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Committee's recommendations on the issues relevant to children's care are highlighted, as well as other care-related concluding observations, ratification dates, and links to the Universal Periodic Review and Hague Intercountry Adoption Country Profile.
ABSTRACT
Globally, regionally and in national contexts, institutionalised care has been receiving wide scholarship, debates, discourses and criticisms, with some various scholars questioning the relevance, appropriateness and effectiveness of this option to children’s care and protection. South Africa and Botswana are perceived as two success stories in Southern African region in terms of championing children’s rights, especially those relating to the care and protection of OVCs. This study has, through an immense literature review analysis explored: the role of OVC care…
The Minimum Package is a guide to encourage the harmonizing of service delivery for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children and Youth (OVCY) across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. Member States can adopt or adapt these standards and guidelines at the national level. The Minimum Package identifies the basic needs of children and youth and the services they require as well as complementing services needed to deliver basic services. It also identifies the primary and secondary sectors and actors that can respond and how their services can be delivered in a coordinated,…
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The SADC region has an estimated 250 million people among the Member States. In each Member State more than 50% of the population is under the age of 18. These children need care, protection and support. Unfortunately for many, vulnerability does not end when they leave childhood. Many youth continue to be at risk. Poverty is endemic and employment scant. Many youth have limited training, are unable to find work, and potentially engage in risky coping strategies to survive. Certain groups are even more vulnerable. Young women aged 15-24 are three to four…
While the articles presented here bring together research and reflections on children’s issues in Botswana the issues themselves are not unique to Botswana and thus the findings reported in this publication will also benefit children in other countries. The articles in the various chapters of the publication have been structured to follow the life cycle of the child as she or he grows and is faced with different issues that need to be addressed. As such the publication is divided into 5 sections. These are:
- Young Child Survival
- Child Development
- Child…
The papers presented here bring together research and reflections on children’s issues in
Botswana. To complement the analytical papers, the book also highlights a compendium of the most current data available on a wide range of indicators of child wellbeing, drawing mostly from recent household surveys conducted by the Central Statistics Office.
Most particular to alternative care are the child protection related articles, including:
- Seen but not heard: a call for orphans’ voices to be heard in Botswana.
- The urban orphan in Botswana: discarding the homogeneity…
This study sought to assess, analyse and inform the different forms of vulnerabilities affecting children and youth, and their effects and existing strategies and programmes addressing the challenges and vulnerabilities facing orphans, vulnerable children and youth (OVCY) in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region. The study also sought to propose recommendations for improvement, and development of minimum standards for OVCY and the finalisation of the SADC OVCY Strategic Framework.
As the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to be experienced most severely in Southern Africa, 14% of children are now orphans and 48% of these children have been orphaned due to AIDS. These children are often uninformed about their rights and have difficulty accessing the support to which they are entitled, particularly if they do not have the support of a parent or caregiver. This report reviews legal and policy frameworks to protect the rights of vulnerable children, particularly those affected or infected by HIV/AIDS in 10 Southern African countries. The countries included are:…