2. Introduction
Vulnerability refers to people who are at a higher
risk and have reduced ability to cope with negative
impacts. This could be based on socio-economic
conditions, gender, age, disability or ethnicity.
Classifying vulnerable people is always contextual,
and must be assessed in the context of a specific
situation and time1. Under the "vulnerable people"
sector, SASIX covers the following groups of people:
orphaned children; children affected by disease,
poverty and abused people with disabilities.
“Vulnerable people” often refers to orphaned or
vulnerable children. These are children who have lost
their prime caregivers whether it is parents, family or
guardians. They have been deprived of essential
guidance and care that impacts on their overall well
being and development. They become vulnerable to
violence, exploitation, discrimination and abuse. They
face malnutrition, illness, lack of education and even
death. Internationally, orphaned and vulnerable children
are seen as a prime focus area for development policies
and action.
An estimated 300 million children worldwide are
subjected to violence, exploitation and abuse including
the worst forms of child labour in communities, schools
and institutions; during armed conflict; and to harmful
practices such as female genital mutilation/cutting and
child marriage. Children are at increased risk of losing
opportunities for school, healthcare, nutrition, shelter
and ultimately, the right to their childhood.
Disability cuts across all sectors of society. It can be a
barrier to development and a cause of poverty.
Disabled people have been largely marginalised from
mainstream development and are typically among the
very poor in developing countries. With little support,
they have fewer opportunities to escape poverty.
Facts
• There are an estimated 133 million children
who are orphan worldwide (children aged
0 –17 who have lost one or both parents).
• Of the 133 million children, 15 million were
orphaned by AIDS, more than 12 million of
whom are in sub-Saharan Africa.
• There are approximately 46 million orphans
in Sub Saharan Africa.
• One in six children (5–14 years old) in the
world, or 158 million children, is involved in
child labour.
• 10% of the world population is disabled.
• 82% of disabled people live below the
poverty line.
• 98% of children with disabilities do not
attend school.
Source: UNICEF Facts on Children and World Bank 20082
International
In 1990 global leaders came together for the World
Summit for children to undertake a committed effort
to give every child a better future. The premise was
to reinforce the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of Child agreed the previous year. Specific
references were made to diminishing the suffering of
children, promoting their full development and making
them aware of their rights and opportunities. The
convention explicitly gives children the right to
education, health and protection from abuse and
economic exploitation3.
The Special Session of the United Nations General
Assembly in May 2002 was an opportunity to discuss
and agree action on children’s issues exclusively. In
the resulting outcome document, heads of state and
government’s committed themselves to building ‘A
World Fit for Children’ and set targets in vital areas of
children’s well-being and development, to be achieved
during the decade ending in 2010. While this
incorporates issues regarding orphaned and vulnerable
children, no specific international agency, convention
or body exists solely for this group. With global
estimates of 15.2 million children having lost one or
both parents to AIDS, growing to 20 million by 2010,
the international community’s focus has been largely
on AIDS orphans4. Other areas of international concern
are children affected by war, child labour, child
prostitution and other forms of exploitation. UNICEF’s
“State of the World’s Children” 2006 report focused
on those children specifically suffering from poverty,
exploitation and abuse. It estimated that tens of millions
of children spend a large portion of their lives on the
streets, 171 million are working in hazardous conditions
and 8.4 million are working in the worst form of child
labour, including prostitution.
The United Nations estimates that some 600 million
people worldwide have a disability and that the vast
majority of them, live in low and middle income
countries. Disability is increasingly recognised as a
human rights issue. This recognition is based on
discrimination towards people with disabilities, which
creates barriers to inclusion and equal rights. These
rights are recognized in the UN Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which specifies
measures to ensure that disabled people can equally
access all of the fundamental rights already
acknowledged in previous international conventions.
Persons with disabilities experience higher rates of
poverty than do persons without disabilities. In addition,
an estimated 98% of children with disabilities worldwide
do not attend school. Educational facilities are often
inaccessible, and teachers may lack adequate training
to provide appropriate instruction. This often
results in exclusion from any form of education5.
1 World Bank http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/library/162495/howknow/definitions.htm
2 http://www.unicef.org/media/media_45451.html; http://go.worldbank.org/IVW69BGNC0
3 Convention on the rights of the Child
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm
4 http://www.childinfo.org/files/worldfit_progress_for_children.pdf
5 Implementation of the World Program of Action concerning Disabled Persons: the
Millennium Development Goals and synergies with other United Nations disability
instruments. Report of the Secretary-General. July 2007 http://www.acfid.asn.au/news-
media/docs_news- items/UN%20World%20Prog%20of%20Action%20for%20
Disabled%20Persons.pdf
VULNERABLE PEOPLE
3. Vulnerability, the susceptibility to harm, results
from an interaction between the resources
available to individuals and communities and the
life challenges they face.
- David Mechanic and Jennifer Tanner,
Vulnerable People, Groups, And Populations: Societal View
“
“
Addressing the needs of orphaned and vulnerable children as well as
people with disabilities is a cross-cutting issue incorporated in Millennium
Development Goals (MDG)
1 Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2 Achieve universal primary education;
3 Promote gender equality and empower women
4 Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
The World Bank believes that unless the rights of disabled people are
mainstreamed in development sectors, the MDG’s will never be
achieved. Disabled people have been largely left out of the
development arena. Disability is not, for example, explicitly mentioned
in any of the eight MDGs or related documentation. It has been left
to disabled people's organisations to campaign to get disability onto
the agenda. In 2002, however, the World Bank set up a Disability and
Development Team to support research into disability and poverty
and to push for disability issues to be recognised as essential for
achieving the MDGs.
South Africa
The 2005 South African General Household Survey (GHS) indicates
that there were approximately 3.4 million orphans, defined as children
who had lost a biological mother, father or both parents. This is equal
to 18.6% of all children in South Africa6.
In a country with the world’s highest HIV prevalence rates, the multiple
effects this has on the individual, the family and the community is
enormous. This is most obvious in terms of children. The risks of
mother–to-child transmission as well as the possibility of children being
orphaned by one or both parents are a reality of hundreds of thousands
of South African children. Not only is there a real risk in terms of death
from AIDS related illnesses, but also the effects of a parent too ill to
look after their child.
In South Africa, as in other African countries, it is common for extended
family members to step in and care for orphans. This has further
consequences for family members and the broader community,
stretching already limited resources. In addition, many children
themselves end up looking after their younger siblings. As the HIV/AIDS
infections rise, the number of orphans who become heads of households
will also increase7.
Orphans in child-headed households face particular challenges and
exclusion, including lack of education, difficulty in obtaining food and
shelter, and threats of child abuse, prostitution and child labour.
Beyond the threats to their physical well-being is the psychological
trauma of having lost one or both parents. This trauma could involve
having to deal with a parent’s illness, absence of guidance and lack
of love and security.
The 2006 GHS indicates that there were approximately 122,000
children living in an estimated 60,000 child-headed households across
South Africa at the time of the survey. This is equal to 0.7% of all
children, and equal to 0.5% of all households in the country. Almost
all (89%) of these were located in only three provinces: Limpopo,
KwaZulu-Natal, and the Eastern Cape8.
Grandparents
Many orphans or vulnerable children end up living with their
grandparents. According to UNICEF, 38.2 % of young children are
living in households where a grandparent or a great-grandparent is
the head of the household. In KwaZulu-Natal, this number reaches
45.7 %9. This burden of care on the elderly, who are likely to be on
a small pension or stipend support, has huge financial, physical and
emotional costs. Physically and mentally weaker, many elderly people
are putting their own health needs aside whilst caring for their
grandchildren. They experience a loss of freedom, anxiety about
caring for the children or their own trauma from having lost a family
member.
Extended families and even the community will often step in where
a direct family member, such as a grandparent, is not available. The
community will care for the needs of the children and this is a common
occurrence in South Africa. This can also drain resources and be a
over burden for impoverished communities.
6 Data from Children Count http://www.childrencount.ci.org.za/pdf/orphan_all_age_table.pdf 7 http://www.childrencount.ci.org.za/content.asp?TopLinkID=6&PageID=19
8 Data from Children Count
http://www.ci.org.za/depts/ci/pubs/pdf/general/gauge2007/part_three/demography.pdf
9 Young Lives. Statistical Data on the Status of Children Aged 0–4 In South Africa. UNICEF, June 2007.
VULNERABLE PEOPLE
4. maltreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation. Examples of this are
the New Children’s Act (2008) and the Children’s Amendment Bill, the
New Sexual Offences Act (2007) and the Child Justice Bill. The package
of laws is progressive in introducing community-based services that
support children and their families to prevent child abuse and neglect.
These services should also serve to lessen the socio-economic drivers
of crime committed both by children and by adults against children.
In addition, Sexual Offences Courts are being rolled out across the
country to assist children during court proceedings. However, these
courts are under-resourced, which often results in delays and children
not being adequately prepared for criminal proceedings13.
The challenge now is to make sure necessary budgets are allocated,
provincial departments’ capacity for delivery is improved, the human
resources challenge is prioritised and sustainable funding is provided
to non-profit organisations, which provide the bulk of social services
to vulnerable children14.
Alcohol
As a country-specific example of children being the most vulnerable
among high risk communities, research has found that prevalence
rates of foetal alcohol syndrome in localised communities in South
Africa are higher than reported anywhere else in the world. Foetal
alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) is the most severe effect of drinking
during pregnancy. It is a lifelong condition that causes physical and
mental disabilities. People with FASD might have problems with
learning, memory, attention span, communication, vision, hearing, or
a combination of these. A study of Grade 1 children undertaken in
(the wine producing region) of Wellington, Western Cape, found that
9% of children suffered from full-blown or partial FASD. Studies
conducted in 2001 and 2002 in the cities of De Aar and Upington in
the Northern Cape Province, found an overall prevalence of 67.2/1000
of FAS, and partial FAS of 20.8/100015.
While there are many reasons for children to become orphaned or
vulnerable, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is by far the largest. Other causes
are abandonment, abuse, disability and chronic illness. It is imperative
to care for these children now to nurture and promote self-
empowerment as well as to encourage development, so that they
can contribute to the broader South African society.
The government’s Care Dependency, Child Support and Foster Care
Grants have and will continue to positively influence the challenges
faced by families and their children. It has been extended to cover
children up to the age of 14. However, more support is needed in the
form of integrated action in order to address the multi-dimensional
aspects of children’s poverty, neglect, and vulnerability.
Violence
Children in South Africa are exposed to extremely high levels of
violence in various forms. There are no accurate statistics on children
exposed to violence. However, statistical comparisons in data between
1997-1999 and 2000-2002 reflected an average increase of 78% in
reports of physical and sexual abuse of children as well as child
neglect10. Children suffer from street violence, school insecurity in the
form of gangsterism and also sexual abuse, at home and in the schools.
According to Humans Rights Watch in 2001, “...teachers’ engaging
in serious sexual misconduct with underage female students is
widespread”11. Data has shown that children living in impoverished
environments are more at risk. Some of the structural and personal
features of poverty environments, which raise the risk of violence, are
overcrowded households, lack of recreational activities for youths,
unsafe neighbourhoods, intra-family stress due to poverty, as well as
high levels of alcohol abuse.
The growth in reports of sexual crimes against children indicates that
this type of crime is either on the increase or is being more widely
reported and spoken about12. Legislation has recently been reviewed
in order to strengthen children’s rights and protect them from
10 UNICEF: Mapping & Review of Violence Prevention Problems in South Africa, 2006
http://www.unicef.org/southafrica/SAF_resources_violencecasestudies.pdf
11 Child Protection Sheet 2003: Fact Sheet Nr 4: Crimes Against children
12 Idem 11
13 Children’s Institute, UCT: South Africa Child Gauge 2007/2008
http://www.ci.org.za/depts/ci/pubs/pdf/general/gauge2007/ChildGauge2007.pdf
14 Idem 13
15 UNICEF South Africa: Foetal Alcohol syndrome situational and gap analysis, 2008
VULNERABLE PEOPLE
5. The dop (or “tot”) system, which involved the part
payment of farm workers in poor quality wine, is
thought to have contributed to the high prevalence
of FAS described in agricultural communities in the
Western Cape. Although formally banned in 1961, the
practice persisted in various permutations into the
1990s. Government controlled beer halls and illegal
“shebeens” were central to social networks and
featured strongly as a means of both control and
resistance in both pre-apartheid and apartheid South
Africa. For women, the brewing of and trade in alcohol
was an important source of income and conferred
social status. According to UNICEF, a woman at risk
of having a FASD child is also at risk of HIV infection
due to similar risk-taking behaviours, and contextual
factors.
The National FASD Task Team led by the Department
of Health was created to address the complex needs
of adults and children living with FASD, especially in
the education, health and social services sectors.
However, more efforts are needed to improve capacity
and service provision, as well as enhance the integration
of the most vulnerable into society.
Disabilities
Stats SA recorded 2,657,714 disabled people in 1996
compared to 2,255,973 in 2001. However, the General
Household Survey of 2007 indicates that in 2005,
1,512,000 individuals identified themselves as disabled.
This represented 3.2% of the total population at the
time. This gap shows the different data recording
methods available. Over time, reported disability rates
have fluctuated annually between 2.4% and 3.3%, with
the 2006 and 2007 figures stable at approximately 3%
of the population.
While the country has some of the most comprehensive
legislation and policy protecting and promoting the
rights of disabled people in the world, there remains
a lack of funding to implement policies. The inextricable
link between disability and poverty remains a challenge.
79.4% of the disabled population live in households
where the average annual per capita income is below
R10 000 and where the maximum educational level is
below Grade 12. A disabled person with no education
has a 60% likelihood of being in the lowest income
category, versus 44% for non-disabled people16.
Another obstacle faced by people with disabilities at
community level is stigmatisation, especially in the
case of people with mental illness, due to a lack of
information and awareness17.
Why support vulnerable people?
Providing support to vulnerable people is essential for
the growth of any country. In South Africa, where the
HIV/AIDS epidemic has had a tremendous toll on all
aspects of society, it is imperative to implement
programmes that will provide orphans with a chance
for education, good health and most importantly,
survival. Protecting and promoting the rights of children
and people with disabilities requires collaborative effort
from government, non governmental organisations
(NGOs), community based organisations as well as
corporations.
Successful sector practices
Research on the impact of projects targeting vulnerable
people, both in South Africa and internationally, points
out to some key elements for achieving higher impact
in the sector.
Among others, SASIX highlights:
• Mobilising and supporting community-based
responses to provide support to households
caring for HIV/AIDS orphans, has proved to
be non-disruptive for the children and also
cost effective, specially, since local and
regional evidence indicates that the majority
of children who have been orphaned do not
find themselves without any adult care, and
usually live with relatives.
• Education has an important role not only in
shaping the lives of people with disabilities,
but also in shaping the perception of those
around them.
• Integrating child protection into the
community by among others, creating a
place of safety within the community for
children, who cannot stay at home; enabling
support from positive figures such as
“aunties”; promoting community action by
providing accessible, informal, child-friendly
protection systems.
16 The role and effectiveness of disability legislation in South Africa
http://www.disabilitykar.net/research/small_sa.html
17 South Africa Health Review 2008, pg. 110.
http://www.ci.org.za/depts/ci/pubs/pdf/trauma/facts/chprotect4.pdf
VULNERABLE PEOPLE
6. Links
International
State of the World's Children Annual Reports
www.unicef.org
Childs Rights Information Network
www.crin.org
Disability and Poverty. A Survey of World Bank Poverty Assessments
and Implications, World Bank. February 2008.
siteresources.worldbank.org/DISABILITY/Resources/280658-
1172608138489/WBPovertyAssessments.pdf
Orphaned an Vulnerable Children Support Toolkit,
www.ovcsupport.net
Eldis – Insitute of Devlopment Studies, Sussex
www.eldis.org/go/topics/resource-guides/children-and-young-people
South Africa
Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town
ci.org.za
Independent Living Institute
www.independentliving.org
Disability and Social Change, HSRC PRess
www.hsrcpress.ac.za/product.php?productid=2151
The Policy Framework for Orphans and Other Children made
Vulnerable by HIV and AIDS (South Africa) (Department of Social
Development, 2005)
www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0002008/index.php
Strategy for the Care of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC).
S.A.H.A.R.A. www.sahara.org.za/index.php/Activities/Strategy-for-
the-Care-of-Orphans-and-Vulnerable-Children-OVC.html
National Plans of Action for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in
sub-Saharan Africa. Bernard van Leer Foundation.
www.bernardvanleer.org/publication_store/publication_store_pub
lications/national_plans_of_action_for_orphans_and_vulnerable_c
hildren_in_sub-saharan_africa_where_are_the_youngest_children_/file
On the basis of these practices, SASIX supports projects
that:
• Provide services which strengthen the ability of families and
communities to care for children.
• Promote the capacity of families and communities to respond
to the psychosocial needs of orphans, vulnerable children
and their caregivers.
• Link HIV/AIDS prevention activities, care and support for
people living with HIV/AIDS and efforts to support vulnerable
children.
• Focus on the most vulnerable children and address gender
discrimination.
• Encourage and facilitate broad collaboration among key
stakeholders in all sectors.
• Promote education on disability, in particular around anti-
discrimination and addressing stigma.
• Provide inclusive work opportunities for people with
disabilities.
• Address the needs of all vulnerable children in a community
not just AIDS orphans.
• Support caregivers’ needs, helping children remain in family
care.
• Strengthen the capacity of families to protect and care for
vulnerable people by providing economic, psychosocial
and other support. This includes mitigating threats to basic
survival – food, housing, education, health care – as well as
the threats to security, protection from exploitation and
abuse.
• Ensure vulnerable people’s access to essential services
including education, health care, birth registration, social
grants etc.
• Have a rights-based approach to the care and protection
of children and disabled people.
• Provide for the psychosocial and development needs of
caregivers, including counselling and training.
• Encourage and facilitate the involvement and participation
of vulnerable people in the planning and implementing of
efforts to address issues related to them.
• Help uplift the poorest, most vulnerable members of
communities through long-term intervention.
VULNERABLE PEOPLE
