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.