By Nicholas Aribino and Mrs Jenneth Musiyiwa
Children by nature are vulnerable. The vulnerability of children comes as a function of intersecting variables such as age, limited social experiences and exposure to life circumstances, gender, child poverty and lack of tangible and intangible resources that would be critical for creating a fertile ground for expanded capabilities and opportunities that would enable them to enjoy life to the hilt. The definition of a child as given by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), 1989 classifies every person under the age of 18 as a child. The Constitution of Zimbabwe has since adopted this understanding of a child and is using it as a measuring scoop for targeting purposes where social protection for children is concerned. The definition of a child as given above is indicative of the assertion of the vulnerability of children. It is the intent of this opinion piece to talk about the need for social protection that is comprehensive for Zimbabwean children.
Social protection by definition implies a set of public and private policies and programmes that focus towards reducing and eliminating economic and social vulnerabilities related to poverty and deprivation. Arguably, comprehensive social protection would entail programmes, projects, public and private policies that are bent on addressing the multidimensional rights and needs of children. Comprehensive social protection realizes that children do not live in a social vacuum and to that effect they can be implemented only after a tooth-pick assessment of the child ‘s social and economic circumstances has been done. For example, a school feeding programme for Early Childhood Education (ECD) children would not make sense for a child who is coming from an indigent (poor) family because all the efforts to ensure the nutritional needs of the child are met will be frustrated when the child goes back to his or her family of no means where he or she will be met with hungry and angry guardians / parents who can easily turn him or her into a unit of labour in order to improve the household economy. A comprehensive social protection programme for children should ensure that the global needs (emotional, physical, intellectual, moral, social, spiritual) of children that intersect to develop a full being are universally met.
Pursuant to the above, it can be intimated that comprehensive social protection systems are out and out child sensitive in outlook. To that effect, comprehensive social protection programmes cannot tell the entire story about safeguarding and protecting children if they can neither mitigate the ramifications of poverty on families, strengthen families in their child safeguarding and protection role, enhance access to basic services for the poorest and most marginalized nor provide special services to children who live outside of a family environment. Zimbabwe has put in place the Assisted Medical Assistance Order (AMTO) as a social protection measure where it pays health fees for very poor households through the hospital referral system. The beneficiary populations of AMTO are only treated at public hospitals and are given bus warrants which are only accepted by the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO). For example, a child with a disability from Nembudziya, Gokwe North may be in need of medical services that are only on tap at the Parirenyatwa hospital in Harare, the said child will need to travel to Harare with his parent or guardian who has no economic resources to meet the access costs (bus fare) for private transporters. ZUPCO has no capacity to cover all corners of Zimbabwe. Inability of the government to help beneficiary populations of AMTO with access costs to access any form of available mode of transport would further complexify the situation of beneficiaries of AMTO. Comprehensive social protection measures in the above scenario would entail the government providing bus fare, food, and accommodation for beneficiaries of AMTO where and when necessary, that is depending on where the services are being provided.
Another social protection programme that falls short of being comprehensive in outlook, is the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM). While this programme is gendered in that 50% of BEAM funding should go towards the education of vulnerable girl children, it does not cover ECD children. 100% of BEAM also covers children with disabilities for fees and boarding facilities in special schools. A close analysis of this safety net for orphans and vulnerable children shows that it caters only for school and examination fees. A poor child will not only need school fees or examination fees, he or she will need a gamut of things like clothing, uniforms, shoes, food, water and stationery, among other things. Abraham Maslow’s Theory of the Hierarchy of Needs says that a child will not be motivated to learn if he or she is hungry and may also not have a sense of belonging if he or she has a poor self-esteem as a result of lack of basics like clothing. BEAM funds are also not disbursed timeously and this is at tangent with the principles of regularity and predictability which are associated with social protection. At one time BEAM funds were abused by way of diversion by the Social Welfare Ministry as it used $500 000 to buy food hampers for its officials (Auditor General’s Report, 2015). Paying only school fees for children who are coming from indigent families without also considering social transfers for them is like expecting a goose to lay golden eggs in the absence of quality food. It is the duty and obligation of the government of Zimbabwe to observe the best interest of the child as enshrined under Article 3 of the UNCRC and also to ensure the growth, survival and development of the child as stipulated under Article 6 of the UNCRC. Above all, the government of Zimbabwe should not lose focus of its three key duties which are to respect, promote and fulfil the rights of children. Above all, Article 26 of the UNCRC is quite instructive, as it lays out the children’s right to social security, when it says;
States Parties shall recognize for every child the right to benefit from social security, including social insurance and shall take the necessary measures to achieve the realization of this right in accordance with their national law.
An investment in social protection for children that is comprehensive is critical from a human- rights as well as a sustainable human and economic development worldview. In-toto, a comprehensive social protection system would require four broad sets of interventions which are transformative, promotive, protective and preventive so as to guarantee a future for children that is awash with expanded capabilities and opportunities.
Dr Aribino Nicholas (Gender and Policy Studies Student-GZU). Writing in own capacity.
Contact : +263715617095
Mrs Jenneth Musiyiwa (ECD Coordinator at the Women’s University in Africa, WUA)
