No. Other countries have their own NPA for children, but in most of those countries the NPA tends to take the form of stand-alone programmes that are not integrated into the regular system of government.
In South Africa, the NPA is a unique entity because here a consensus was reached that the NPA would be part of the broader system of governance and development.
One unique component of South Africa's NPA is the extensive involvement of NGOs and civil society. Only after initial development by these groups, was the NPA handed over to government for further development.
Because the process came from the mass democratic movement, and because South African children during the liberation seized space and demanded that they be heard, the NPA strongly encourages the participation of children. Thanks to their outspokenness, children's voices were listened to during the transition period, and children continue to play an important role throughout South African society, and in the NPA.
The basic principles which guide the NPA are derived from South Africa's Constitution and from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). (The CRC provides the standards and principles against which to test laws, policies and practices affecting children. The CRC ensures non-discrimination, promotes the best interests of the child, and supports the child's right to participation in decision-making.) When the NPA was established, it did not want to duplicate or replace places for reconstructions and development that were being created in South Africa. Rather, it worked to provide a holistic framework in which all government departments put children's issues on their agendas and in their budgets. This integrated framework is called "mainstreaming."