Upholding the Rights and Well-Being of Children in South Africa

I recently traveled with UNICEF USA partners on a program visit to South Africa. With 45 percent of the population under age 24, South Africa is a land of rich diversity, dynamic growth and complex challenges.

While classified as upper-middle-income, the country grapples with deep-seated inequality rooted in its apartheid history. Today, 6 in 10 children are trapped in long-term poverty, a rate that is much higher in rural parts of the country (88 percent) compared to urban areas (44 percent). 

Within this context, we saw firsthand how UNICEF delivers on its promise to uphold the rights and well-being of children through critical areas including child protection, maternal and child health and safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services.

Creating safe spaces for high-risk youth

We explored UNICEF-supported Safe Parks, which serve as child-friendly spaces where young people living in high-risk communities can access nutritious meals, mental health and psychosocial support, life skills training and other services.

At the Risiha program in Johannesburg, we went on a tour led by adolescents who had established the Youth Forum. They knew the facilities well, having visited the park regularly since they were little. Now, these adolescents serve as mentors to the younger kids coming to the park.

In our conversations, the Youth Forum leaders shared aspirations as varied as their personalities — becoming a software engineer, a musician, a doctor, a teacher. Although they faced many obstacles, including poverty and violence in their neighborhoods, the Risiha program-supported Safe Park provided a haven where they could dream of what’s possible.

Keeping children safe at home

UNICEF also protects children at risk by investing in parenting programs through community-based organizations like Mfesane and Beautiful Gate in Cape Town. In meetings at both organizations, we met social workers who aimed to strengthen the capacities of caregivers to create nurturing homes.

The social workers explained how they take a case management approach — caregivers are equipped with positive parenting skills while families participate in group and individual counseling sessions. I joined one of the adolescent groups where some of the youth affirmed that since participating in the sessions, they have been communicating better with their parents at home.

For the social workers working with families through trauma, joblessness, health problems or other crises, burnout was a real concern. But, as they find ways to deal with the demands of their work, one social worker shared that seeing progress in the way parents and children relate to each other keeps her going.

Providing health services and emotional support for young mothers

Across the country, UNICEF works with the government and community partners to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates and set children up for a better start in life.

In Johannesburg, I saw this work in action at the Maria Rantho Clinic, which seeks to improve maternal and child health and nutrition as well as reduce HIV transmission. Supported by UNICEF for many years, the clinic became so effective that it was transitioned to and is now funded by the national government.

Its work is all the more critical given that South Africa has one of the highest HIV burdens in the world. Yet, in our meetings, the health workers revealed how they have kept mother-to-child HIV transmission rates consistently at 0 percent.

Alongside the medical care provided, one factor contributing to these results is a peer mentor program that trains young mothers aged 15-25 who have received care at the clinic. As peer mentors, these mothers provide health education and psychosocial support services, including sexual and reproductive health, to empower other pregnant adolescent girls and young mothers.

These relationships are a lifeline. One mother told us that when she had experienced depression during her pregnancy, her peer mentor connected her to the services and provided the emotional support she needed to deliver her baby safely. She continues to attend sessions today with her peer mentor, bringing along her son, who remains healthy at age 2. 

Innovating for safe water and sanitation

In rural areas like the flood-prone provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, communities lack access to safe water, hygiene, and sanitation (WASH). In these regions, UNICEF crosses the last mile to develop WASH infrastructure and climate-adaptive solutions.

In Mthatha and East London, we toured two junior schools where UNICEF is working with partners to deliver safe water and sanitation while introducing innovations like low-pressure toilets to conserve water and promote sustainability.

In talking with school officials on our visit, Irfan Akhtar, UNICEF South Africa’s Deputy Representative and Chief of Programs, proposed creating a locally-led water management committee. Based on a model that worked well in similar contexts, UNICEF staff would train committee members to operate the water system so they could maintain it over the long term.

Making gains for all children in South Africa and around the world

Support from donors and partners is what makes UNICEF’s impact in South Africa and around the world possible. It is what allows UNICEF to scale what works and reach millions of children and adolescents with essential services.

Threaded across the programs we experienced were interactions with collaborating organizations, community leaders and ministry officials. In these meetings, Irfan Akthar listened as local leaders discussed barriers and best practices to serving families and children, chiming in to offer effective interventions he has observed or relevant UNICEF data. He also identified opportunities to incorporate their feedback in UNICEF’s conversations with governments and multilateral institutions at global forums. In this way, UNICEF advocates for governments to adopt a child-centric approach in their policies, plans and budgets.

This strategy has resulted in many achievements across South Africa, including:

• reaching millions of children through national campaigns addressing violence against children, strengthening child protection systems and expanding mental health support services
• reaching 1 million children through immunization drives, expanding maternal and child health and reducing infant mortality
• introducing child-focused water conservation systems into schools and advocating for child-centric perspectives in national climate policies
• helping 200,000 young learners access early childhood development (ECD) programs, leveraging digital learning solutions to improve literacy and numeracy skills and upgrading school infrastructure
• expanding the Child Support Grant to reduce child poverty and supporting caregiver economic empowerment programs to boost income generation and resilience in vulnerable families

These are just some examples of how, through multi-sector partnerships and strategic advocacy, UNICEF is helping to make children a priority at all levels of government, thus ensuring that governments invest in more and better services that benefit them.

Whether in the townships of the inner cities, settlements near the coast or in rural villages, with the help of valued donors and partners, UNICEF won’t stop working on the front lines to safeguard the lives and futures of children in South Africa and around the world.

Learn more about UNICEF programs for children in South Africa

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Dadjie Saintus is a Senior Director of Philanthropy for UNICEF USA