Members of the Dutch parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee visit households headed by grandparents
MAPUTO, Mozambique, 23 August 2011 – Yesterday, seven members of the Dutch parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee made a field visit to the Inhamizua community outside Beira, where they met with members of the local child protection committee and visited households headed by grandparents benefiting from the Government's food subsidy program (PSA). After a briefing by the Provincial Director for Women and Social Action (DPMAS), Mr. José Diquissone, and UNICEF Chief of Child Protection, Ms. Mayke Huijbregts, the members of the parliamentary delegation were able to meet and interact with members of the child protection committee as well as with members of the community. Accompanied by two social workers, the delegation then made household visits, where the politicians were able to learn more about the situation of families headed by grandparents. Many of the grandparents were exhausted, with too little income to meet the basic needs of the children in their care, and many of the children were deprived of basic parental care.
During the visit to the community, the parliamentary delegation also received a detailed briefing on the birth registration program, which has been consistently supported by the Dutch government. Under the program, more than 8.8 million children and adults have been officially registered, thus gaining an identity, the rights of citizenship and access to services. The members of the delegation were touched by the level of poverty they encountered and expressed concern for what would happen to the children when their grandparents die. For more information, please contact: Arild Drivdal, UNICEF Mozambique, tel. (+258) 21 481 100; email: maputo@unicef.org Gabriel Pereira, UNICEF Mozambique, tel. (+258) 21 481 100; email: maputo@unicef.org
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