Yes. There are four other issue areas that will be addressed by all priority area groups. These four areas are: HIV/AIDS, Disability, Gender, and Peace and Non-Violence
HIV/AIDS is having a devastating impact on South Africa. The epidemic is growing rapidly, with over 1500 people becoming infected each day.[1] Projections indicate that within three years almost a quarter-of-a-million South Africans will dies of AIDS each year, and that this figure will have risen to half-a-million by 2008.
HIV/AIDS places great stress on families, households, and children. The impact of AIDS on mortality rates among children and infants is rising, and the epidemic will produce a large number of orphans. By 2006, there will be nearly a million children under the age of 15 who have lost their mothers to AIDS.
Addressing the impact of HIV/AIDS on children calls for a multi-faceted approach that involves all government departments, and civil society.
It is estimated that five to 12 percent of South Africans are moderately to severely disabled.[2] More than 80 percent of black children with a disability live in extreme poverty, and have poor access to appropriate health care facilities, or early childhood development opportunities. Children with disabilities are less likely than their siblings to attend school. Youth with disabilities are less likely than their peers to access youth development programmes. They often face difficulties in finding employment.
It is estimated that almost 70 percent of children with disabilities of school-going age are presently out of school, Learners with disabilities and special needs must be included in a single, equitable education system. Early childhood development should be multi-sectoral, community-based, and integrated to enable young children with disabilities to benefit from a learning environment.
Addressing issues of disability also includes issues like accessibility, access to communication, and collecting data on the status of disabled persons in South Africa. Children who live in a household in which a parent is disabled also feel the repercussions of a society which does not care for, or assist its citizens who are disabled. Their needs should also be addressed.
In pursuit for better and improved living conditions for women and girls in South Africa, gender issues must be part of all priority area groups in the NPA.
The girl-child suffers from shockingly high incidents of rape, child abuse, gender-based violence, and femicide. In some areas, the girl-child is withdrawn from school at an early age in order to prepare for marriage.[3] For those who do remain in school, the chances of sexual abuse or sexual assault are high.
The NPA will work to improve the conditions for girl children.
Although Peace and Non-Violence is already an area group, the impact of violence in South Africa is wide-reaching and affects all priority area groups.
In South Africa's violent past, thousands of people were killed, and thousands others displaced. In the province of KwaZulu-Natal alone, of the 75 000 children displaced because of violence, almost 50 percent were under the age of five, 11 percent unaccompanied or abandoned, and nine percent were orphans.[4]
The impact of violence on children in South Africa has had direct and indirect effects. Direct repercussions include displacement, being orphaned, physical trauma, sexual abuse, rape, hunger and malnutrition, and forced recruitment into fighting forces. Indirect repercussions include continuous traumatic stress syndrome, disruptions of education, loss of respect for members of the community, disease (particularly among children under the age of five), depression and anger.
Dealing with the impact of violence must be a focus of the NPA. Social services, including trauma counseling, have not been able to deal with the magnitude of the problem. The NPA needs to advocate for the widespread mental health support for children, youth and their families. The issue of trauma needs to be integrated into any peace and non-violence work, so they can be addressed.
1 HIV/AIDS statistics from HIV/AIDS in South Africa: The Impacts and the Priorities. Anthony Kinghorn and Malcolm Steinberg, 1998.
2 Information on Disability is from Integrated National Disability Strategy White Paper. Office of the Deputy President, November 1997.
3 From A Situational Analysis on the Girl Child, 1998.
4 Voiceless Victims: The Impact of Political Violence on Women and Children. An Assessment of their Urgent Survival and Humanitarian Needs. Part 1 and 2, Dr. John Byaruguba. NCRC/UNICEF. Pg. iii. 38