REPSSI counsels vulnerable children
By PATRICIA MUYUNDA
SOCIETY is today grappling with a swelling number of orphans and vulnerable children who have continued enduring the pain of growing up without adequate parental care.
The sufferings of such children, who are commonly referred to as OVCs, however, does not begin with the death of their parents. A good number of them start suffering even while their parents are still alive.
Some children do not only lose their parents but even their siblings, homes and perhaps most tragically, contact with extended family members.
This new phenomenon of multiple loss is quite devastating to the children and leaves many of them highly traumatised -- they suffer from various mental problems in addition to their economic and social woes.
It, therefore, remains indisputable that such children need both psycho-social and material support if they are to grow up into responsible citizens.
And this is the need that the Regional Psycho-Social Support Initiative (REPSSI) is fighting hard to meet in the lives of all OVCs.
REPSSI is a technical resource network established in 2001 by representatives from five Southern African countries to address the issue of psycho-social support for children affected by HIV/AIDS.
REPSSI regional director Noreen Huni said the project, which has a partner base of nearly 30 organisations in the region and providing technical support programmes beyond Africa, has evolved into an active regional programme to reckon with.
“We have already started producing and disseminating materials as well as undertaking skills-building activities to empower the youth,” Ms Huni said, adding that her organisation had also supported advocacy efforts to integrate practical psycho-social support into the regional programmes.
But working on psycho-social activities is not something that can be concluded in a day. It is an ongoing process of meeting the physical, emotional, social, mental and spiritual needs of victims.
These needs are all essential elements of meaningful and positive human development. For children who experience trauma, it is important to examine the impact of HIV/AIDS on the psycho-social well-being.
The situation of children affected by HIV/AIDS is especially acute in the sub-Saharan region which has been declared the epicentre of the pandemic.
The crisis requires a rapid and large-scale response which is only possible through a network of strategic partnerships that can scale up current successful community-based programmes and expand the programme coverage.
With this need in mind, REPSSI was established with financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development (NFSD).
The overall goal of the programme is to improve psycho-social assistance for children affected by HIV/AIDS in Eastern and Southern Africa.
Ms Huni said to achieve such a mammoth task, REPSSI had so far established three core objectives to enhance existing psycho-social support programmes and service delivery to children affected by HIV/AIDS in the region through strategic partnerships among the NGOs, governments, UNICEF, UNAIDS and SADC.
The other core objective is to scale up psycho-social support activities for children affected by HIV/AIDS by adapting current pilot programmes and supporting new community models with additional partner organisations.
It will also seek to promote an enabling environment for other organisations dealing with the welfare of children affected by HIV through advocacy at regional, national and local levels.
Already, REPSSI has launched an electronic forum on psycho-social support for the targeted children which aims at stimulating debate and discussion on issues concerning the mental, physical, emotional, spiritual and social needs of OVCs in the SADC region and beyond. The problem of OVCs, however, is not only endemic in Zambia. Other nations are also affected.
UNAIDS estimates that by the end of 2001, there were 14 million children orphaned by AIDS, of which 80 per cent (about 11m) are found in sub-Saharan Africa.
The increasing number of orphans means not only greater burdens for the affected children at individual, family and community levels, but also increased psycho-social problems that call for child-friendly interventions to address their well-being.
Children have needs too. They grieve, they experience trauma, pain and loss and they even face stigma and discrimination as a result of HIV and AIDS.
They, therefore, need support that goes beyond food and shelter -- love, care and understanding of their needs, including related issues such as protection, rights and entitlement to education.
REPSSI encourages people to contribute to the e-forum discussions, and share their side of the story news and experiences through the forum.
The dedicated team of moderators will keep members abreast with information on strategies, policies, publications, success stories and, most importantly, highlight the voices of children to sustain healthy debate on the need for ongoing psycho-social support.
Youth, Sport and Child Development Minister Gladys Nyirongo said levels of vulnerability of children had increased due to the HIV/AIDS and the high levels of poverty prevailing in the country.
She called for the spirit of commitment from Zambians to ensure vulnerable children had access to psycho-social support as enshrined in Article 65 of the United Nations General Assembly special session goals of June 2001.
In view of this particular UN declaration, Government has embarked on a number of initiatives at policy level to promote the well-being of children.
The State is also reviewing legislation pertaining to children to offer maximum protection against child abuse and exploitation.
“My ministry is spearheading the review of the national child policy so that, among other things, the issue of psycho-social support is incorporated at various programming,” the minister said.
Reverend Nyirongo said Government was working on a process of domesticating all UN conventions pertaining to children of which Zambia was part to increase protection of vulnerable children.
With psycho-social support, it is hoped that the needs of the children will be met in a much more holistic and effective way.
