By Gertrude Tumusiime
A situational analysis report carried out in 2010, by the ministry of Gender, Labour and social development (MGLSD) indicates that Over 96% of all children in Uganda are in a state of vulnerability. According to the analysis, the children in this state are either critically or moderately vulnerable, as specified by the National Orphans and other vulnerable Children (OVC) policy.
Research also asserts that children make up 57 % of Uganda’s total population of over 30 million. This adds up to an estimated number of over 17 million children below the age of 18 years.
The national OVC policy specifies the critically vulnerable children as the orphans whose rights are not fulfilled, children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, children with disabilities, those in child labour, children experiencing various forms of abuse and violation, street children, those in contact with the law, in child headed households, those in armed conflicts and finally those assessed to be in need of immediate care and protection.
On the other hand, the moderately vulnerable children are noted as the out of school, child mothers, children in poverty stricken areas, those involved in hazardous work, children living with the elderly or guardians with disabilities and those in hard to reach areas like war tone areas and remote villages.
These children according to the report, live with their full potentials underutilized for example majority of them live under despicable conditions of improper care, neglect, without education, in poverty and other dire conditions such as sickness.
The magnitude of the problem has been accelerated by orphan hood status, with the number of orphans increasing over the years, from 11% in 1999/2000 to 13% in 2002/2003 and 14% in 2006 although it slightly reduced in 2010 according to the report.
Orphan hood has been majorly blamed on death of parents to HIV/AIDS and Malaria leaving children in the hands of relatives who are either unable to give them proper care, or abuse them. And as a result, most children end up in a state of helplessness.
Other than orphan hood, other causes have been blamed for the problem of vulnerability include difficult socio-economic circumstances such as poverty, domestic violence, low incomes, household food security and poor child care practices.
Cultures practices in some areas are also blamed for accelerating the problem citing an example of those that permit early marriages leading to child mothers. Inadequate adoption of family planning methods, which increases the numbers of children produced while their parents are not ready to take care of them, is also a cite cause.
While children’s vulnerability is wide spread in all parts of the country, the report shows that the problem is highest in the post-conflict areas, especially the northern Uganda, presenting more unique categories of vulnerability like child motherhood, children living in Internally Displaced People’s camps, children who after being abducted were forced to marry rebels, former child rebels and children in conflict with the law among others.
The same report ndicates that only 115 of the children in great nee had been reached by external support, with greatest support coming through education and health while social economics, food and nutrition interventions were poorly managed.
What has being done to address the problem?
According to Magall Moritz, the head of the OVC national implementation unit, despite all the previous responses made by the different stakeholders in solving OVC matters, Child vulnerability remains a major
The unit under the MGLSD has recently launched the second National strategic program plan of intervention to guide all people in providing comprehensive services to the OVCs, with an aim of improving situations of children in Uganda.
Different from the previous one, this programmed plan is designed to reach the vulnerable child from the grass roots. This plan also takes a multi-sectoral approach, bringing together all the stakeholders to play different roles in handling the problem of OVC.
“We are working with the office of the Prime minister, the ministry of education, the ministry of water, UNICEF and other stakeholders, in order to address the problems of children for example, to improve conditions in Karamoja to reduce the numbers of children coming to Kampala.” Says Mondo Kyateeka, the commissioner for Youth and children, MGLSD
The ministry is also investing in other strategies to address the causes of the problem such as sensitizing people to produce children they can take care of in order to reduce the problem.
“What causes the problem is because people just produce without any planning, we want them to stop unwanted pregnancies, this way they will be addressing the problem at hand.” Says Kyateeka
However, all set aside, the best solution to the problem according to Kyateeka is to rejuvenate the historical values of love and care existed in communities long ago, in that when a parent dies, a relative or guardian can take care of the orphans as the parents would have.
tumusiimetrudy@yahoo.com
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