Protecting orphaned and vulnerable children
Growing numbers With 500 Mozambicans getting infected every day, it is evident that the number of adults living with HIV and AIDS or dying from AIDS-related diseases will continue to rise. In the next decade, an increasing number of children will be living with chronically sick parents or will become orphaned. In 2006, there were already more than 380,000 children who have lost parents to HIV-related illnesses. Orphaned children face a number of vulnerabilities and risks, such as sexual exploitation and abuse, hazardous child labour, early sexual debut and marriage, poor school attendance and performance and psychosocial problems. Orphaned children, especially those that have lost their mother, are also more likely to be malnourished and unhealthy. Children living in child-headed households are the most at risk. Creating a protective environment The Government, national institutions and civil society are supported by UNICEF and other partners to increase access to basic services and social protection for orphaned and other vulnerable children in provinces most affected by HIV and AIDS. Building government capacity, mobilizing communities to support orphaned and vulnerable children and delivery of essential services are the main strategies used for this objective. Institutional capacity building is a pre-condition to improving the lives of vulnerable children.
UNICEF and partners support the Ministry for Women and Social Action in implementing the Plan of Action for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children. The plan aims to reach an estimated 1.3 million children with basic social services such as education, health, nutrition, psychosocial support and social protection. The Government, UNICEF and other partners have developed a Basic Package of household items, including mosquito nets, clothes, soap, blankets and cooking utensils to the most destitute families with orphans. Working with the community is the most effective way of getting essential services to the people that need them most. UNICEF works with local government authorities to strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations and community social activists so that they can reach households headed by children, women and the elderly with psychosocial, educational, health and nutritional support as well as assistance with birth registration. Vulnerable families are helped to set up income-generation projects to enhance their economic independence. The Government is looking at ways of expanding social protection for orphaned and vulnerable children. UNICEF and other key partners are supporting the Government to develop a long-term strategy for this critical area. Social protection includes mechanisms such as food subsidies or cash transfers that lift vulnerable families above the poverty line and give them the opportunity to look for work and become selfreliant
|
