Our Children Are In Danger
MOST Namibians are aware that our children are in danger.
Increasingly so, and it is not necessary for us to spell out the
reasons why, for they are reported daily in the pages of our
newspapers.
Briefly though, violence, abuse, poverty, HIV/AIDS are just some
of the reasons why our children are increasingly at risk, and it is
high time that we, as a nation, give urgent attention to this.
Unicef's recent State of the World's Children report for 2004,
bears this out.
Appended to the report were supplementary documents on girls'
education and development in Namibia, as well as fact sheets on
alcohol abuse, orphans, and health.
They make depressing reading.
In a positive sense, Namibia is close to achieving gender parity
in basic education by the end of 2005 and universal primary
education is within reach.
But Unicef emphasises that the quality of Namibian education
remains low (this is evidenced by weak performance of Namibian
learners when compared with their peers in other African
countries); and although the country's national literacy rate is
set at 81 per cent, what is crucial, is that far fewer Namibians
are functionally literate and have the skills the labour market
needs.
Disparities persist in basic education, according to Unicef.
Northern regions, such as Kunene, Caprivi and Kavango, reveal
that girls comprise less than 39 per cent of senior secondary
learners.
The proportion of trained teachers and schools with basic
services varied widely, with schools in the south comparatively
better off than those in the north.
Despite these disparities, Unicef noted that education funds
were still spent disproportionately on regions that were already
better resourced and showed higher learner performance.
Unicef warned that unless allocations were focussed on
under-resourced regions, "there is a risk of entrenching, for at
least another generation, apartheid's legacy of an underdeveloped
north".
In addition to the above rather depressing scenario, Unicef
added that Namibia's investments in education were decreasing in
real terms, just as the AIDS pandemic was reaching its peak impact
on the country's society and economy.
"AIDS has already begun to reverse progress made in
education.
Teachers are falling ill and dying and no replacements are yet
available.
The orphan population is ballooning, leaving a growing
proportion of children without the support they need to stay in
school, thus vulnerable to exploitation and a life of poverty.
Already the statistics tell the tale.
After peaking in the 1990s, Namibia's net primary enrolment rate
is steadily declining.
Instead of progressing towards education for all, Namibia is
moving further away from this imperative goal, risking reversal of
the gains made since Independence".
Emphasising that education was an urgent societal and budgetary
priority, Unicef recommended that Namibia redouble its efforts to
provide quality education for all; must substantially increase
spending on education in real terms and provide communities with
the resources and capacity to manage the orphan crisis.
Statistics indicate that there are currently over 130 000
orphans in Namibia, of which AIDS has orphaned about 93 000.
These figures underline the need for Namibia to prioritise
assistance to communities in this regard.
Unicef also illustrated the problems of alcoholism, both amongst
adults and, more importantly, the children they bear.
Nearly half of all Namibians acknowledge they drink too much
alcohol, and most parents who do this are not the best of
caregivers.
This, in turn, impacts negatively on the development of
children, especially when abuse is combined with poverty.
Regarding childhood health, Unicef also reported that nearly 40
per cent of Namibian children under five are underweight.
Add to the above mentioned the increasingly high rates of
violence against children in the form of rape and abuse, and we
have a very serious situation on our hands.
It is therefore imperative that all Namibians at all levels of
society, prioritise the health and well-being of our children, and
act immediately to minimise the manifold dangers that they
face.
Briefly though, violence, abuse, poverty, HIV/AIDS are just some of
the reasons why our children are increasingly at risk, and it is
high time that we, as a nation, give urgent attention to
this.Unicef's recent State of the World's Children report for 2004,
bears this out.Appended to the report were supplementary documents
on girls' education and development in Namibia, as well as fact
sheets on alcohol abuse, orphans, and health.They make depressing
reading.In a positive sense, Namibia is close to achieving gender
parity in basic education by the end of 2005 and universal primary
education is within reach.But Unicef emphasises that the quality of
Namibian education remains low (this is evidenced by weak
performance of Namibian learners when compared with their peers in
other African countries); and although the country's national
literacy rate is set at 81 per cent, what is crucial, is that far
fewer Namibians are functionally literate and have the skills the
labour market needs.Disparities persist in basic education,
according to Unicef.Northern regions, such as Kunene, Caprivi and
Kavango, reveal that girls comprise less than 39 per cent of senior
secondary learners.The proportion of trained teachers and schools
with basic services varied widely, with schools in the south
comparatively better off than those in the north.Despite these
disparities, Unicef noted that education funds were still spent
disproportionately on regions that were already better resourced
and showed higher learner performance.Unicef warned that unless
allocations were focussed on under-resourced regions, "there is a
risk of entrenching, for at least another generation, apartheid's
legacy of an underdeveloped north".In addition to the above rather
depressing scenario, Unicef added that Namibia's investments in
education were decreasing in real terms, just as the AIDS pandemic
was reaching its peak impact on the country's society and
economy."AIDS has already begun to reverse progress made in
education.Teachers are falling ill and dying and no replacements
are yet available.The orphan population is ballooning, leaving a
growing proportion of children without the support they need to
stay in school, thus vulnerable to exploitation and a life of
poverty.Already the statistics tell the tale.After peaking in the
1990s, Namibia's net primary enrolment rate is steadily
declining.Instead of progressing towards education for all, Namibia
is moving further away from this imperative goal, risking reversal
of the gains made since Independence".Emphasising that education
was an urgent societal and budgetary priority, Unicef recommended
that Namibia redouble its efforts to provide quality education for
all; must substantially increase spending on education in real
terms and provide communities with the resources and capacity to
manage the orphan crisis.Statistics indicate that there are
currently over 130 000 orphans in Namibia, of which AIDS has
orphaned about 93 000.These figures underline the need for Namibia
to prioritise assistance to communities in this regard.Unicef also
illustrated the problems of alcoholism, both amongst adults and,
more importantly, the children they bear.Nearly half of all
Namibians acknowledge they drink too much alcohol, and most parents
who do this are not the best of caregivers.This, in turn, impacts
negatively on the development of children, especially when abuse is
combined with poverty.Regarding childhood health, Unicef also
reported that nearly 40 per cent of Namibian children under five
are underweight.Add to the above mentioned the increasingly high
rates of violence against children in the form of rape and abuse,
and we have a very serious situation on our hands.It is therefore
imperative that all Namibians at all levels of society, prioritise
the health and well-being of our children, and act immediately to
minimise the manifold dangers that they face.