The African report on child wellbeing: How child-friendly are African governments? - Zambia

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The African report on child wellbeing: How child-friendly are African governments? - Zambia

The African Report on Child Wellbeing provides an insight into the wellbeing of children in Africa and assesses the extent to which governments meet their obligations, through a ground-breaking Childfriendliness Index – developed by The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF). The Government of Zambia ranked 27th in the Child-friendliness Index, out of the 52 African governments covered in the assessment. This was mainly for two reasons: first, as a result of the Government of Zambia’s fair commitment in putting in place appropriate legal provisions to protect children against abuse and exploitation; and secondly, because of its effort and relative success in achieving fair outcomes as reflected on children themselves. Zambia did however perform poorly in allocating national budget to provide for the basic needs of children.

Zimbabwe Sexual and Reproductive Health Sign Language Dictionary

The HIV and AIDS Management and Support Organization (THAMASO-ZIMBABWE), in collaboration with the Disability HIV & AIDS Trust (DHAT), realized the existence of a knowledge gap on HIV and AIDS and sexual and reproduction health and rights (SRHR), among the deaf communities of Zimbabwe. The absence of signs for many of the technical terms related to HIV and SRHR has created serious disadvantages for
hearing impaired people and increased their vulnerability to HIV, and made it difficult for them to claim their sexual and reproductive health and rights. Consequently, THAMASO-ZIMBABWE and DHAT decided to produce a Dictionary for people with hearing impairments that includes HIV and SRHR related signs.

The Dictionary includes an illustrated guide to signing and signing for individual letters, along with illustrations and descriptions for common words and for those new HIV/SRHR signs that have been developed, making it an invaluable reference for both those with hearing impairments and those without hearing challenges. The dictionary is suitable for use in educational institutions (schools, colleges and universities) as well as in health institutions such as hospitals, clinics and VCT centres. Counsellors and all staff working directly and indirectly in the HIV and SRHR sectors will find the dictionary most useful.

The production of the dictionary was sponsored by the Open Society for Southern Africa (OSISA) and the Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAFAIDS). In respecting the adage “nothing for us without us” people with hearing impairments, drawn from all the provinces of Zimbabwe, developed this dictionary. We are proud of those who represented the deaf community in producing meaningful and helpful signs that will go a long way in helping those with hearing impairments and the nation at large to communicate on HIV and SRHR in a way that has previously been impossible.

THAMASO-ZIMBABWE and DHAT wish to express their gratitude to OSISA, SAFAIDS, the National AIDS Council, the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, Ministry of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture, the National Council for the Hard of Hearing, the Zimbabwe National Association of the Deaf, the Zimbabwe Open University and the University of Zimbabwe, for their contributions.

RIATT-ESA feedback on UNAIDS HIV Strategy 2016-2021

RIATT ESA feedback on UNAIDS virtual consultation final.pdf

RIATT-ESA's input into global consultation for the developing of the UNAIDS HIV strategy 2016-2021.

Stop AIDS Alliance brief on Social Protection

SAA_brief_on_Social_Protection.pdf

Achieving social protection for people and households affected by HIV is a critical step towards the realisation of universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support. Evidence shows that HIV-sensitive social protection can reduce vulnerability to HIV infection, improve and extend the lives of people with HIV, and support individuals and households. Social protection plays a critical role in helping people overcome the structural inequalities that drive the HIV epidemic and that serve as barriers to treatment, testing, schooling and other essential services.Achieving social protection for people and households affected by HIV is a critical step towards the realisation of universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support. Evidence shows that HIV-sensitive social protection can reduce vulnerability to HIV infection, improve and extend the lives of people with HIV, and support individuals and households. Social protection plays a critical role in helping people overcome the structural inequalities that drive the HIV epidemic and that serve as barriers to treatment, testing, schooling and other essential services.

Young People’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Information and Services Advocacy (YPISA) SRHR Champions Flipchart for Community Sessions

YPISA

This Flipchart forms part of SAfAIDS’ Young People’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Information and Services Advocacy (YPISA) resource kit. YPISA is a set of initiatives designed to train and empower young people on sexual and reproductive health and rights and HIV services and to become champions, for adolescent sexual and reproductive health rights in their communities.

The YPISA Resource Kit consists of a Training Manual for training young people, caregivers and service providers and a Flipchart for use by the sexual and reproductive health and rights champions to train their peers.

SRHR champions are also provided with an identity badge, a notebook and pen, and a referral slip book, so that they can refer young people to the relevant service providers for further assistance.

Note for SRHR Champion - not all young people are alike. It is important to think about the individuals you are speaking to and consider their key health information needs. You need to consider the range of issues they may have about their sexual and reproductive health and select which sections of the Flipchart to spend more time on.

The African report on child wellbeing: How child-friendly are African governments? - United Republic of Tanzania

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The African report on child wellbeing: How child-friendly are African governments? - Tanzania

The African Report on Child Wellbeing provides an insight into the wellbeing of children in Africa and assesses the extent to which governments meet their obligations, through a ground-breaking Childfriendliness Index – developed by The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF). The Government of Tanzania ranked 23rd in the Child-friendliness Index out of the 52 African governments covered in the assessment. This was for three reasons: first, as a result of the Government of Tanzania’s fair commitment in putting in place appropriate legal provisions to protect children against abuse and exploitation; secondly because of its mid-level allocation of national budgets to provide for the basic needs of children; and thirdly because of its better than average effort in achieving outcomes as reflected on children themselves.

UNICEF Children and AIDS newsletter

UNICEF is pleased to announce the new and improved online global Children and AIDS Newsletter. This interactive, dynamic and user-friendly format has been created to better support you in your daily work on HIV and AIDS issues.

In each issue you will find the following sections:

• News: Launches, highlights, new funding initiatives and opportunities
• Programmatic Updates: New information on major initiatives
• Innovations and experiences: Contributions from Regional and Country Offices, which focus on innovative approaches and projects
• Recent events: Conferences, workshops, round tables, etc.
• Tools and Resources: New publications, policy briefs, research findings, etc.

The redesigned newsletter also offers some new features, including:

• Redesigned branding, in line with the Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS Campaign
• A format with a commenting ability for the readers
• An archiving feature, allowing readers to easily search and access articles from previous editions
• A subscription feature, which notifies readers when a new issue is available

Regional workshop on supporting effective aid responses to children affected by AIDS: Draft workshop report

Regional workshop on supporting effective aid responses to children affected by AIDS: Draft workshop report

The regional workshop on supporting effective aid responses to children affected by AIDS was aimed at stakeholders involved in channelling resources to vulnerable children and their carers, affected by HIV and AIDS in Southern and Eastern Africa to discuss the results of three regional studies undertaken in 2010.  The goal was to discuss the lessons from these studies to both improve their practises at country level and to provide an advocacy agenda of how to work collectively to improve aid effectiveness to children affected by AIDS.

Status of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

The General Assembly, by its resolution 44/25, adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. As at 1 July 2012, the Convention had been ratified or acceded to by 193 States, and 2 States had signed but not yet ratified the Convention. By its resolution 54/263, the Assembly adopted two Optional Protocols to the Convention. As of 1 July 2012, the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict had been ratified by 147 States, and the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography had been ratified by 158 States. Pursuant to resolution 66/141, safeguarding the rights of indigenous children is the focus of section IV of the present report, which highlights issues relating to the human rights of indigenous children; cross-cutting issues such as respect for cultural identity; protection from discrimination and the implementation of the rights of indigenous children; education; health; protection; participation; and perspectives on ways forward.

Young 4 Real: Sexual reproductive health (SRH) materials for young people

For good sexual and reproductive health (SRH, young people need the knowledge, ability and services to make positive, informed, safe and responsible decisions about sex and sexuality. These leaflets and posters offer information and suggestions to help youth on sexual and reproductive health and related services.

Too costly to ignore – the economic impact of gender-based violence in South Africa

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Too costly to ignore-Violence against women in SA.pdf

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a significant challenge in South Africa. Not only does it have devastating physical, psychological and social effects, but it also has a sizeable economic impact- costing the country at least 1% of the GDP in 2012/2013.

The report by KPMG estimates costs associated with violence against women and their children that may be anticipated if governments and communities do not take action; and the cost reductions that could be achieved with reductions in the levels of violence as a result of implementing national, coordinated action.

 Assuming 1 in 5 women experience violence, the minimum annual cost to the economy is $28.4 billion. This money could be used to pay all child support grants for 8 years until 2022.

The loss of the middle ground: the impact of crises and HIV and AIDS on 'skipped-generation' households

Series title: 

Poject briefing no 33

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The loss of the middle ground: the impact of crises and HIV and AIDS on 'skipped-generation' households

HIV and AIDS has led to an increase in ‘skipped-generation’ households (SGHs) – households made up of the old and the young (Box 1). Such households as a result of negative shocks that fuel demographic changes by raising mortality and migration among the middle generation, including conflict, war, epidemics and natural disasters. With emergencies, particularly those associated with climate change, expected to increase and intensify, particularly in Africa, the concern is that the existing vulnerability of SGHs as a result of their structure/ composition, may increase. However, relatively little is known about a) the livelihoods and coping strategies of such households, b) how they are affected during emergencies, c) the role of community based support structures in assisting these households and d) how emergency preparedness and response could better address their needs.

To address these gaps in knowledge, HelpAge International (HAI), the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS), carried out a study to improve understanding on how these households cope during emergencies, and to provide recommendations on how emergency preparedness and response can better meet the needs of such households in the East and Southern African region. A literature review was followed by country case studies in Northern Uganda and Zimbabwe (Box 2) in which members of SGH households, both older people and children, and organisations involved in the emergency response were interviewed. This Project Briefing presents some key findings and policy recommendations from this study.

THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2015: Executive Summary

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The State of the Worlds Children.pdf

As the world marks 25 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, The State of the World’s Children calls for brave and fresh thinking to address age-old problems that still affect the most disadvantaged children. In particular, the report calls for innovation – and for the best and brightest solutions coming from communities to be taken to scale to benefit every child. #EVERYchild

SOURCE:
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) The State of the World’s Children 2015: Reimagine the Future: Innovation for Every Child digital report is available at www.data.unicef.org

The African report on child wellbeing: How child-friendly are African governments? - Swaziland

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The African report on child wellbeing: How child-friendly are African governments? - Swaziland

The African Report on Child Wellbeing provides an insight into the wellbeing of children in Africa and assesses the extent to which governments meet their obligations, through a ground-breaking Childfriendliness Index – developed by The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF). The Government of Swaziland ranked 45th in the Child-friendliness Index, out of the 52 African governments covered in the assessment. This was mainly for two reasons: first, as a result of the Government of Swaziland not putting in place appropriate legal provisions to protect children against abuse and exploitation, its fair commitment to achieving favourable wellbeing outcomes for children. It did however perform well in its commitment in allocating adequate share of the national budget to provide for the basic needs of children.

Social protection in the context of HIV and AIDS

Social protection in the context of HIV and AIDS.pdf

Each bout of illness presents a range of negative economic consequences for households and loss of productivity for the sectors in which the sick and their caregivers are involved. The poorest households are most likely to resort to non-reversible coping strategies including the sale of land or livestock or withdrawal of children from school. 

“AIDS-sensitive” rather than “AIDS-specific” social protection instruments, including cash transfers, protect vulnerable households from the impoverishing effects of HIV and AIDS, while potentially encouraging pro-poor growth. 

Transformative social protection supports the promise to realise the rights of women and girls. Social protection instruments that incorporate a transformative agenda may empower women to access their rights and entitlements in terms of inheritance, education and labour market access, both protecting and mitigating against HIV and AIDS.

RIATT-ESA Evidence for policy and programming is now in Portuguese

Apoio financeiro directo reduz comportamento de risco ao VIH em meninas adolescentes..pdf

Educação e abuso de substâncias em crianças órfãs e vulneráveis.pdf

Evidência para melhoria dos resultados psicossociais para criança afectada pelo VIHSIDA.pdf

Mobilidade dos agregados familiares e abandono escolar em crianças órfãs e vulneráveis..pdf

Serviço de cuidado e tratamento do adulto como ponto de partida para o bem-estar da criança.pdf

Vectores de riscos psicológicos, educacionais e VIH para crianças devido a doença de SIDA afectando os pais..pdf

Não deixe as crianças cairem do mapa: Nova evidência para a política e programação para crianças vulneráveis

Southern Africa community systems strengthening (CSS) framework

Southern Africa community systems strengthening (CSS) framework

In May 2010 the Global Fund (GF) finalized a Community Systems Strengthening (CSS) framework that provides a meaningful guide to strengthening community systems, including definitions, principles, service delivery areas, activities and key indicators.

However, the GF CSS framework falls short of regional contextualization and the elaboration of strategy to address the many competing interests and power imbalances at play in communities across the region.

The Southern Africa CSS Framework uses the Global Fund CSS framework as its foundation but argues for an appreciation of the challenges, nuances and peculiarities of the Southern African region since this is the region at the epicentre of the epidemic. Implicit within the regional CSS framework are four core elements: community systems; CSO capacity development and sustainability; integration agenda; philanthropy and social entrepreneurship.

This Framework is a resource to be used to address the unique and individual needs of communities in the Southern African region and is intended to compliment the resources developed by the Global Fund, WHO, UNAIDS and others at various levels.

The African report on child wellbeing: How child-friendly are African governments? - South Africa

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The African report on child wellbeing: How child-friendly are African governments? - South Africa

The African Report on Child Wellbeing provides an insight into the wellbeing of children in Africa and assesses the extent to which governments meet their obligations, through a ground-breaking Childfriendliness Index – developed by The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF). The Government of South Africa emerged in the top ten most childfriendly governments of Africa. This was mainly for three reasons: first, as a result of the Government of South Africa putting in place appropriate legal provisions to protect children against abuse and exploitation; secondly, because of its commitment in allocating a relatively higher share of the national budget to provide for the basic needs of children; and thirdly, as a result of the effort and success in achieving relatively favourable wellbeing outcomes as reflected on children themselves.

Social protection in southern Africa: Scoping study key findings

Social protection in southern Africa: Scoping study key findings.pps

Dr Samantha Yates RIATT Partnership Meeting 29 April 2010

Objectives and Approach

• To identify and assess entry points for support to accelerate action on social protection in Southern Africa through regional programming
• In depth semi-structured interviews with 22 key informants
• 11 citizens of the region, 17 based in the region
• Interviews October 2009
• Report represents a synthesis of views

Working paper: Strengthening child protection system in sub-Saharan Africa

Working paper: Strengthening child protection system in sub-Saharan Africa

The inter-agency working paper consolidates current thinking, examples and lessons learned about child protection system strengthening in sub-Saharan Africa and suggest a way forward. The focus is on concrete actions that reflect country narratives and is followed by recommendations for continuing and sustaining the work.

There is a growing interest in applying the systems approach to strengthening child protection efforts. Guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the systems approach shifts attention to a larger systemic framework that includes legal and policy contexts, institutional capacity, community contexts, planning, budgeting and monitoring and evaluation subsystems.

This approach differs from child protection efforts that focus on single thematic issues, such as HIV/AIDS, disability, child trafficking, street children, child labour, emergencies and institutionalization. These single-issue approaches often result in a fragmented and unsustainable child protection response.