Zimbabwe has launched a $75-million plan to protect orphans and vulnerable children over the next three years.
The money will come from the Zimbabwean government and donors, including the United Kingdom, the European Commission and the UN children’s agency, Unicef. About $45-million of the money for a child protection fund has been raised from donors, leaving a $30-million shortfall that will need to be covered before full national coverage can be ensured.
The scheme is part of a national action plan for orphans and vulnerable children that involves education assistance, child protection and cash transfers to the poorest families. Cash transfers have been tried with some success in Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. Zimbabwe is the latest country to adopt this approach. The four-year plan, officially launched on Tuesday, aims to reach more than 80Â 000 households.
With the support of NGOs, at least 25Â 000 children are expected to benefit from access to child protection services. Child-headed households, grandparent-headed households, households with large numbers of dependents, and those with chronically ill or disabled people will receive cash transfers of up to $25 each month for food and healthcare.
Reaching the most vulnerable
“Protecting children from poverty, harm and abuse begins with reducing their vulnerabilities; cash transfers are one of the critical components that will contribute to the realisation of children’s rights,” said Dr Peter Salama, a Unicef representative. “This shows the inclusive government’s strong commitment to addressing equity and reaching the most vulnerable.”
Zimbabwe is led by a unity government after disputed elections in 2008, which left more than 200 people dead. Robert Mugabe remains president after decades in power, while his arch rival Morgan Tsvangirai, a victim of rights abuses under the Mugabe regime, is prime minister.
Badly hit by HIV, Zimbabwe has more than one million orphans, only 527Â 000 of whom currently have access to external support, according to Unicef. Traditional family and community structures to support orphans have been under considerable financial strain, given the poor state of the economy in recent years. As a result, more children face difficulties in receiving healthcare, education and other basic amenities.
“This unprecedented social protection mechanism shows how, as the government of Zimbabwe, we continue to devise meaningful and innovative ways to increase support to orphans and vulnerable children,” said Joice Mujuru, the vice-president. “Through this innovation we are reinforcing and strengthening the traditional role of families and communities in promoting and protecting the wellbeing of children.”
Jayati Ghosh, professor of economics at Jawaharlal Nehru university, New Delhi, who has objected to cash transfer programmes that seek to substitute cash for essential public spending, welcomed the fact that cash transfers in the Zimbabwe plan would be complemented by access to basic social services including health and education.
“I am all for cash transfers and similar redistributive mechanisms as long as they are in addition to — and not substitutes for — the effective public delivery of essential goods and services,” she said. “The successes in Brazil, Mexico and South Africa have been associated with increased social spending by the government to ensure access to more comprehensive and better quality health and education that is publicly provided.” – guardian.co.uk