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Social welfare
RSS FeedCongo: More children on the streets
2008-07-25, Issue 390
According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), Congo has continued to feel the effects of a decade-long brutal civil war that ended in 2003, displaced millions of people and ravaged the economy. The war left in its wake thousands of children without b...
South Africa: Measures needed to reduce inequality
2008-07-18, Issue 389
Special measures may have to be taken to reduce growing inequality in South Africa, despite the fact that the standards of living of all South Africans have risen over the past few years. According to Head of the Policy Coordination and Advisory Serv...
Kenya: New law could raise food prices further
2008-07-05, Issue 385
Prices of food in Kenya, which have already risen by 50 percent since the start of 2008, could increase further following a new government regulation, a consumer watch group has warned. From October, all food products sold in Kenya will have to bear ...
South Africa: MPs urged to consider wage subsidies for unemployed youth
2008-05-30, Issue 376
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has appealed to Members of Parliament to give due consideration to the matter of a wage subsidy for young people, who comprise the bulk of the country's unemployed. Delivering his Budget Vote on Thursday, the minister s...
South Africa: Water wars move to Cape
2008-05-23, Issue 373
In the same week that the Johannesburg High Court declared prepaid water meters to be "unconstitutional and unlawful", the City of Cape Town indicated it intends to roll out more than 20 000 water meters within the next year. Previously, Judge Moroa ...
Global: Death and Taxes - New report by Christian Aid
2008-05-13, Issue 371
Christian Aid's new report seeks to expose the scandal of a global tax system that allows the world's richest to duck their responsibilities while condemning the poorest to stunted development, even premature death. The situation is stark and urgent....
South Africa: High food prices cripple orphan feeding programmes
2008-05-16, Issue 371
Elizabeth Kineelwe, the cook at a drop-in centre that provides meals and support to orphans and impoverished families in Soweto, Johannesburg's largest township, is on the frontlines of a nationwide struggle to cope with rising food prices. The cost ...
Africa: Now Zambia suspends maize exports
2008-05-08, Issue 369
Barely some two months after Malawi and Tanzania suspended maize exports to avoid hunger, Zambia has followed suit suspending white maize exports due to a decline in output after the country was hit by floods, a minister said on Wednesday....
Global: The US role in Haiti’s hunger riots
2008-04-24, Issue 365
Riots in Haiti over explosive rises in food costs have claimed the lives of six people. There have also been food riots worldwide in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivorie, Egypt, Guinea, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Senegal, Uzbekistan and Yemen. The...
Kenya: Government to embrace a social protection strategy for the poor
2008-04-18, Issue 363
Still in its nascent stages, the Kenya National Social Protection Plan is an ambitious government project that proposes far-reaching policies and actions for the poor and vulnerable that will enhance their capacity to cope with poverty and equip them...
South Africa: Home Affairs standing in the way of kids getting grants
2008-04-11, Issue 361
Social grants are out of the reach of many of the poorest South Africans because they cannot afford to get the necessary identity documents from the Department of Home Affairs. Some of the biggest barriers are money for transport to the Home Affairs ...
Côte d’Ivoire: Protests force tax cuts
2008-04-04, Issue 359
Ivory Coast has slashed the taxes on imported staple foods after two days of violent protests in the commercial capital Abidjan over rising prices. At least one man died in the demonstrations during which police fired live ammunition and tear gas to ...
Africa: African ministers to tackle rising food prices
2008-04-04, Issue 359
African ministers on Wednesday agreed to tackle rising food prices that have threatened the continent's fledgling stability and economic growth. Although the hike "presents opportunities for increased food production in some of our countries", the ph...
South Africa: Study highlights impact of social grants
2004-12-16, Issue 187
South Africa's system of social grants has reduced poverty and is playing a developmental role in uplifting poor households, according to a new study. The research was commissioned by the Department for Social Development and focused on the social an...
Angola: Concern over mounting social tension
2004-12-16, Issue 187
The end of a devastating civil war and substantial oil wealth have done little to develop Angola or improve the lives of its 13 million people, the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said on Tuesday. Speaking at the Angolan launc...
Kenya: Juvenile justice in Kenya
2004-12-16, Issue 187
This report from the Consortium for Street Children looks at the situation of Kenyan street children in general and those in conflict with the law in particular. It examines the status of the Kenyan juvenile justice system and the reasons behind chi...
Africa/Global: Hunger costs millions of lives
2004-12-09, Issue 186
Hunger and malnutrition cause tremendous human suffering, kill more than five million children every year, and cost developing countries billions of dollars in lost productivity and national income, according to FAO's annual hunger report, 'The State...
Zimbabwe: NGO de-registration stalls aid for 90,000 kids
2004-12-02, Issue 185
An international NGO involved in a school feeding programme has had to leave Zimbabwe because the authorities refused to renew its registration and work permits for expatriate staff. International aid agencies and NGOs must register with the governme...
South Africa: The BIG discussion: Social security in post-apartheid SA
2004-12-02, Issue 185
In 2000 a South African government committee recommended the introduction of a basic income grant (BIG), consisting of a grant of R100 per month for every South African citizen, regardless of age or income level. The idea of basic income emerged as ...
Lesotho: Abuse of child domestic workers uncovered
2004-12-02, Issue 185
The preliminary findings of a study on child domestic workers in Lesotho, forced onto the job market by poverty and HIV/AIDS, has uncovered the sometimes "highly abusive nature" of their relationship with employers. Commissioned by the UN Children's ...
South Africa: Tutu slams political enrichment; voices concern about poverty
2004-11-25, Issue 184
Former Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu was a thorn in the flesh of successive apartheid regimes in South Africa until the demise of white rule in 1994. Now, with apartheid gone, Tutu is directing his desire for social justice elsewhere. "We were i...
South Africa: Poverty deepens
2004-11-18, Issue 183
New estimates of poverty show that the proportion of people living in poverty in South Africa has not changed significantly between 1996 and 2001. However, those households living in poverty have sunk deeper into poverty and the gap between rich and ...
South Africa: Protest at pre-paid metres
2004-11-18, Issue 183
Hundreds of people from a diversity of backgrounds came together this week to protest the installation of pre-paid water meters in Soweto and other townships. The march was organized by the coalition Organizations Against Prepaid Water that included ...
A new way to secure children and parents
2004-11-18, Issue 183
The City of Johannesburg has been presented with an innovative programme to address child poverty and early childhood development - that would also regenerate local economies by enabling poor communities and thus parents to earn money in the process....
South Africa: Child welfare system leaves many AIDS orphans stranded
2004-11-11, Issue 182
With an increasing number of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS seeking foster care, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is placing enormous pressure on South Africa's child welfare system. An estimated 18 percent of the country's children are orphans. According to the...
Zimbabwe: Escalating prices restrict access to food
2004-11-11, Issue 182
Estimates of food aid needs in Zimbabwe should be revised as maize prices have climbed well above anticipated levels, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) has warned. "Due to much higher than expected maize prices, and no evidence of c...
Southern Africa: Infant and child mortality rates rising
2004-11-11, Issue 182
Gains in reducing infant and child mortality in Southern Africa are being eroded by the impact of HIV/AIDS, the 40th Regional Health Ministers' Conference for East, Central and Southern Africa was told. A paper by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) regi...
East Africa: Positive outcomes from Child-Centred Approaches to HIV/AIDS
2004-11-11, Issue 182
The results of a HIV project focusing on children in East Africa indicates that the project has contributed to lessening the impact of HIV/AIDS on children, their families and their communities. For example, school authorities have reported that the ...
Africa: A guide to child justice in Africa
2004-11-04, Issue 181
This manual produced by the Community Law Centre at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa presents innovative examples of applied local practices of child justice in Africa. The topics mainly relate to programme delivery, to the expansi...
DRC: UN civilian accused of sexual abuse
2004-11-04, Issue 181
UN authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have handed over a French UN civil servant to French authorities following allegations that the person sexually molested children. Last week, two Tunisian UN peacekeepers were sent home following...
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