Budget Hearings: Social Development Committee By Macharia Kamau Representative, UNICEF South Africa 28 February 2007

UNICEF South Africa The Context of children 1.Poverty and outcomes: Absence of an agreed poverty line problematic; 2.Death/illness of caretakers: 2.5 million children have lost one parent; number will grow to 5.7 million without intervention. 70% of orphans are less that 14 years old (STATS SA); 3.Crime, violence and protection: 40% of reported rapes are against children; 4.Quality of services: too few health and social workers; psychosocial issues neglected; quality of health services/education; 5.Lack of access to services: distance to clinic and schools from end users.

UNICEF South Africa 55% (9 million) of children live in households under R800/month

UNICEF South Africa Government continues to invest well in Social Development Summary allocations: Health: R60.3bn Social Services: R89.6bn Education: R104.4bn Justice: R8.88bn The Challenge: Targeting and prioritization of resources for children

UNICEF South Africa The Social Development budget has increased Department% expenditure by National Vote (MTEF 07/08) Social Development22.7 Housing2.97 Provincial & Local Govt.9.64 Correctional Services3.59 Education5.35 Defense8.66 Public Enterprises0.36 Transport5.30 Health4.23 Safety and Security12.01

UNICEF South Africa The Nation’s Commitments to Children (State of Nation Address, 2007) South Africa is making progress in achieving the MDG’s; To enhance and expand strengthened social security and safety nets for the poor and vulnerable; To explore means to expand the child support grant from 0-14 to 0-17 years; Recognition of the importance of Early Childhood Development (ECD) and investing through the Extended Public Works Program (EPWP); Resolution to expand non-fee paying schools, in order to expand the opportunities for all children; To fight the scourge of crime in South Africa in no uncertain terms, specifically its impact on women and children.

UNICEF South Africa The Millennium Development Goals 1.Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; 2.Achieve Universal primary education; 3.Promote Gender equality and empower women; 4.Reduce Child mortality; 5.Improve Maternal health; 6.Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; 7.Ensure environmental sustainability; 8.Develop a global partnership for development.

UNICEF South Africa Analyze the Budget in Terms of Achieving MDGs Despite Progress for Children, South Africa still has must make major investments if it is to reach the MDGs by MDG 4: Reduce child mortality by 2/3 from 60 to 20; SA U5MR still at between 58/1,000 (DHS) and 75/1,000 (Demographic Impact). Target: 15/1,000 MDG 5: Reduce by ¾ maternal mortality: SA was at 150 in 1990 and is currently at 124/10,000. Target: 38/10,000 MDG 6: Reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS: SA prevalence has stagnated at around 30%. MDG7: Improved access to water and sanitation: SA has improved access to water supply from 59% in 1994 to 83% in Target: 80%

UNICEF South Africa 2007 Budget Allocations for Children Increased Government spending in all sectors: Social Services: Government implementing a comprehensive Social Welfare system include: cash transfers, pensions, support to families and care for indigent. Targeted at total of 12 million beneficiaries. Specific investments in social workers. Inflationary increase of CSG. No allocations for 15 to 17 year olds to receive CSG; Education: Increased allocations to M&E will assist utilization of resources and public accountability. R8.1bn allocated for additional teachers and improved salaries; Health: Maternal and Children’s Health allocation is low, though there is a notable increase in M&E.

UNICEF South Africa Budget shortfalls for children The problem is targeting; Education includes appropriate amounts, but the challenge lies in full expenditure. (MDG 2). Targeting is critical in rural and peri-urban areas. Health: The Minister of Finance pledges funds to double the people on ARVs by 2010, but the number of children on ARVs can double in U5MR has stagnated. (MDG 4 and 6). This is an urgent goal. Social Security: The President pledged to identify ways for 2.6 million 15 – 17 year olds to access the CSG, but the budget allocates no funds for them. ECD allocations to be spelt out more clearly. (MDG 1). Child protection: Allocations should be more clear, and need to be compared with Children’s Bill costings, which allocate R7.7bn for Child protection in 07/08 FY.

UNICEF South Africa Only R29 million allocated for maternal and child health (MDGs 4 and 5) Allocations for 07/08: Maternal/Child Health: R29m HIV and AIDS: R2.4bn Communicable disease: R38m TB control &mgt. : R12m

UNICEF South Africa Conclusion South Africa has the resources to meet the MDGs: –Contingency reserve of R3 billion. –R5.6 billion under spent in 2006/07 (high in social sectors). –R534 billion allocated in 2007/08 budget. Is there political will and domestic accountability to prioritize national and provincial resources for children? The challenge lies in how to allocate and spend these funds: –Prevention, treatment and care to overtake infection, illness & deaths; –Maternal and child health should receive more than R29 m; –Double the number of children on ARVs in 2007; –Child Support Grants for 2.6 million 15 – 17 year olds; –Include clear cost drivers for child protection and ECD.

UNICEF South Africa Thank you