About 13 million children in South Africa live in poverty, despite the estimated R700 billion a year investment made by the government, private sector and NGOs to tackle this.
About 13 million children in South Africa live in poverty, despite the estimated R700 billion a year investment made by the government, private sector and NGOs to tackle this.
Government spending on child poverty alleviation programmes constitutes about 97% of the total direct spending on child poverty, while the NGO sector accounted for 0.05% to 3% and the private sector less than 1%, according to a study by the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, launched at the weekend.
NGOs spend between R2 billion and R21 billion on child poverty-related programmes, with most of their income coming from the private sector (27%), followed by individuals (14%), foundations and trusts (14%) and the government (13%). Other donors include the National Lottery (2%).
The study estimated the direct cost of child poverty at about 9% of South Africa’s GDP and the indirect cost or loss of economic potential at 18% of GDP or about R1.3 trillion.
“Despite spending 10% of GDP on addressing child poverty, progress is slow given the continued challenges faced by children,” it said. “These challenges compromise their development and overall well-being.”
Studies in the United States, Canada and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member countries estimate that the direct and indirect cost of poverty is 3.5% to 5% of their respective GDPs, significantly lower than in South Africa.
The higher direct and indirect costs of child poverty are indicative of the country’s higher rate of poverty, inequality and its relatively smaller economy, the study notes.
Another issue in South Africa is a murder rate of 5.5 per 100 000 children — four times that of the global rate of 1.6 per 100 000 children. Nearly half of all child homicides in South Africa are related to abuse and neglect occurring at schools or in homes.
“Factors that determine violence in South Africa span across the past and the present … the legacy of colonialism, apartheid race-based social control policies, civil unrest, the armed struggle and the violent oppression of social justice movements still linger,” the report said.
South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world with 20% of the population holding 68% of the wealth, according to a 2020 report by the International Monetary Fund.
Responding to queries from the Mail & Guardian, former Gauteng children’s parliament member Donald Mkhwanazi said more investment and participation needs to happen for South Africa to solve its child poverty crisis.
“[We need to] promote backyard gardens — this is a community inclusive approach — investment in the education sector, primarily the schools feeding scheme programme, and increase participation of the private sector in alleviating child poverty,” he said.