Comprehensive OVC policy unveiled

Swaziland has launched a comprehensive policy to deal with its rapidly expanding population of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). The US $234.7 million National Plan of Action (NPA) seeks to address the health and education needs of OVC and coordinate the efforts of NGOs and government agencies, to prioritise resources and prevent duplication. "We seek a nation fit for children; we are committed to that vision," said Prime Minister Themba Dlamini when the plan was launch recently in the capital, Mbabane. According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), by 2010 Swaziland will have over 120,000 orphans, about one-sixth of the mountain kingdom's population of just over a million. Officially more than 42.6 percent of the adult population is HIV-positive. "We shall also strengthen the capacities of those bodies in government which have a duty to implement the different aspects of this strategy, and we shall put in place means to coordinate their work," said Dlamini, who called for support by UN agencies and other international partners. Creating a nurturing environment for OVC in their communities is part of the plan. "These ideas are not foreign to us [Swazis] - they were a part of our traditional inheritance, which in too many ways is being eroded away. Because we have lost this inheritance, many of our children have grown up in a world without adequate guidance, support and protection," Dlamini observed. Ben Nsibandze, chairman of the National Disaster Task Force, said changing societal circumstances had necessitated a government strategy to deal with OVC. "As a result of the sudden increase in OVC, our traditional extended family structure has failed to cope. Payment of schools fees [for OVC] is essential, not forgetting unavailability of adequate health facilities, counselling and psychosocial support - all these require a coordinated national plan," he pointed out. An aspect of the plan directed at traditional Swazi sensibilities, and accepted by officials at the launch, was the reference to OVC as "bantfwana bendlunkhulu", the SiSwati term for orphans. "Many Swazis, particularly in rural areas, do not understand this term 'OVC' - it is foreign to them. 'Bantfwana bendlunkhulu' means 'children of the big house,' and it's a reference to the way the headman's hut in any Swazi homestead - the main house - is responsible for needy children of the homestead. The chief's kraal is the main house for a community: children without parents were always brought up in the big house," Nsibandze explained. NGOs have welcomed the plan and lauded its strategy of integrating modern solutions with traditional structures. "The chiefs and local councils of elders were consulted on the NPA and they are key to its implementation. They know their communities better than administrators in the central government in Mbabane, and they are the ones who will identify the OVC in their area so they can get assistance," said Joe Mamba, director of the Catholic relief agency, Orphanaid, based in the commercial hub of Manzini, 35 km east of Mbabane. "Because the problem of OVC has mushroomed so suddenly we have been running around, sometimes bumping into each other in our haste to deal with the emergency. The national strategy comes at a time when we need direction," he commented. The NPA's first priority is to ensure places for OVC in schools. "I hope, in discussing this with the teachers, that an amicable solution will be found to address the outcry that fees in our schools are very high, yet we need to accommodate the plight of OVC," Dlamini said. Critics of the government's "white elephant" projects noted that the OVC action plan addressed a national crisis and was less expensive than the controversial idea of replacing Swaziland's Matsapha International Airport with another one, currently being constructed as part of a $1 billion Millennium Project investment initiative. "Government is correct to address the OVC problem, but it needs to channel preciously small resources to where they are needed," said Mfanakhona Gumedze, a youth counselor in Manzini. At the policy's launch, Peter Bhembe, of the Federation of Swaziland Employers and Chamber of Commerce, said the government should spend less on luxury items for officials and devote more resources to address the needs of OVC. "We seem to be spending a lot of money trying to be like the next-door neighbour driving a Jaguar." Bhembe, who is also part of the Business Coalition on HIV and AIDS, called on the private sector to help raise funds to meet the cost of the national plan. "How many of us have a budget in their salaries to devote to the OVC?" he challenged.