Vulnerable children receive food and an allowance

Registering and feeding over 100,000 orphans and vulnerable children in the rural areas of northern Namibia is underway, bringing much needed relief to many of these often-neglected youngsters. "They [the children] are very excited about the help that is being provided and that they will be registered," said Linius Kuume, coordinator at a feeding point in the north run by the Catholic AIDS Action (CAA), a WFP implementing partner. "Feeding rations consist of maizemeal, vegetable oil, CSB [corn-soya blend] and beans," he added. Orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in the northeastern Okavango Region, where 7,000 have been receiving food rations since the end of April, were the first beneficiaries. The Caprivi, Oshikoto, Ohangwena, Omusati and Oshana regions will also benefit from the two-year programme, run by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Welfare, NGOs and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). Namibia has a growing number of OVC, mainly as a result of HIV/AIDS - around 23 percent of people aged 15 to 49 are HIV positive. Caprivi is the worst affected region, with an alarming 43 percent prevalence rate. The statistics point to an emerging tragedy, where elderly people lose the traditional support of their children, leaving single parents, elder siblings, grandparents or other caregivers, who are themselves struggling to survive, to take care of children whose parents have died. Constant food insecurity is often a fact of life. According to WFP, some 24 percent of Namibian children aged under five are chronically malnourished, and around nine percent are acutely malnourished, despite the country being classified as middle income. WFP has pledged N$94 million (US$14.2 million) from 2006 to 2008. "The funds provide some immediate relief to the growing numbers of OVC in Namibia, who live on a daily basis with the punishing effects of long-term hunger," said John Prout, the WFP country director for Namibia. "There is a widespread tendency to associate hunger with crises - natural disasters and conflict. The reality is that some 90 percent of deaths related to hunger and malnutrition occur among the chronically hungry, rather than the victims of emergencies," Prout commented. Apart from feeding, the operation also aims to register participating orphans for the Grant Payment System (GPS), a government allowance of N$600 [US$90] per month that provides a small safety net. "Each case is carefully registered and the guardians and village elders must fill in the registration documents with the help of our counsellors," said Sister Margaret-Mary, a Roman Catholic nun and programme coordinator in the town of Rundu near the Angolan border. "We want to avoid doubling up and prevent [putting] those who are not in need ... on our lists." Marlene Mungunda, minister of gender equality and child welfare, said 111,000 vulnerable children had been identified, of which 45,400 had already been registered for the GPS. "Our target is to eventually have all OVCs registered and paid the social grant," she added. The Roman Catholic Church uses its existing network of HIV/AIDS counsellors and volunteers in the villages to select the most needy children, with the help of the Namibia Red Cross Society, the Lutheran Church's HIV/AIDS programme and local headmen and village elders. The Namibian government is trying to increase the public's awareness of social grants for vulnerable children, as many caregivers do not know the money is available or how to apply for it. "It costs about 80 Namibian cents [12 US cents] to feed a child a day," said Father Wayne Weinlader, who runs a soup kitchen at the Roman Catholic Church in Kehemu, the poorest suburb in Rundu. "We feed 250 children each day of the year and it costs us N$6,060 [US$919] per month."