This study demonstrates the negative impacts of child marriage and their associated economic costs. The report suggest that investing to end child marriage is not only the right thing to do, but also makes sense economically.
Latest Developments in ECD Research and Programme Experiences
February 2017 Dr Marc Aguirre from HOPE worldwide presented the Latest Developments on ECD Research and Programme Experiences at the Regional Learning and Linking Forum for Accelerating Delivery of Comprehensive Services for Orphans and Vulnerable Children & Youth, 9th – 10th February 2017 Johannesburg, South Africa
The presentation describe how access to good-quality care and education programmes outside the home are important in providing children with the basic cognitive, language and social skills they need to flourish in school and later life. The impact not only affects the current generation but also risks trapping families and children in poverty for generations. The presentation highlighted sub-Saharan Africa as disproportionately affected due to poverty, stunting and only 25% of eligible children attending preschool.
Click here to download the full presentation
Click here to download the Lancet series on Advancing Early Childhood Development: From Science to Scale
How governments are failing on the right to education
Schools that care: A review of linkages between children’s education and care
This report by Family for Every Child suggests that a lack of access to quality education is a key cause of inadequate care. Some groups of children are more vulnerable than others to inadequate care caused by a lack of access to education. These groups include children with disabilities, girls, children living in poverty and displaced, refugee, migrant and minority groups.
The report presents the key findings of a scoping study on the links between education and children’s care. The study involved a literature review in English, French and Spanish; key informant interviews; and consultations with 170 children, carers, teachers and other stakeholders in Guyana, India, Russia and Rwanda
Click here to download the full report
Exposure to violence predicts poor educational outcomes in young children in South Africa and Malawi
Research by: L. Sherr, I.S. Hensels, S. Skeen, M. Tomlinson, K.J. Roberts, and A. Macedo.
Methods: This study assessed child violence experiences (harsh punishment and exposure to domestic or community violence) and school enrolment, progress and attendance in children attending community-based organisations in South Africa and Malawi (n=989) at baseline and at 15 months’ follow-up, examining differential experience of HIV positive, HIV affected and HIV unaffected children.
Discussion: This data revealed some important findings.
First, there are high rates of violence exposure in this population. A report on the use of corporal punishment in LMICs found that corporal punishment was very prevalent in several sub-Saharan African countries, with more than 80% of children in the region reporting being beaten at home. In both Malawi and South Africa there are also high rates of community and domestic violence. In South Africa, rates of perpetration of physical violence against a partner are as high as 40%, while in Malawi 28.5% of women report being exposed to abuse by their partners. Children in these countries are also witnesses to violence; in South Africa, 45% of children have witnessed their mother being beaten.
Second, this research found that this exposure to violence has an impact on education outcomes. Specifically, we found an impact of harsh punishment on school enrolment and performance. Research into children being out of school in South Africa has identified costs of transport, child labour in the home or elsewhere, illness, disability and poor school performance as drivers of dropout. In Malawi, reasons for non-enrolment include long distances to school and poor quality of available schooling and infrastructure. And violence againt girls was also noted as having a negative impact on girls attending and perfoming well in school.
Finally, the findings also highlight that children who are HIV positive in particular appear to be most at risk of poor educational outcomes in the context of high exposure to violence. This is likely to be due to a range of inter-related risk factors that affect educational outcomes. We know that many of the risk factors for violence against children are prevalent in families and communities affected by HIV/AIDS. Children who are HIV positive have been shown to perform more poorly than their peers on a range of cognitive tests and are also more likely to have mental health problems. Further, other factors such as parental death, shifting care arrangements, change in school, illness-induced poverty and increased caregiving responsibilities might affect a child’s ability to access schooling and perform well in the context of HIV.
Conclusion: Violence experiences were associated with a number of educational outcomes, which may have long-term consequences. Community-based organisations may be well placed to address such violence, with a particular emphasis on the challenges faced by children who are HIV positive
Policy Brief: Pathways from parental AIDS to psychological, educational and HIV risks for children
The questions:
• Evidence shows that parental AIDS-illness and death have severe negative impacts on children. However, we need to understand why AIDS hasthese effects.
• This study aims to identify these pathways, and thus identify important targets for interventions.
• Three key outcomes are examined: psychological, HIV-infection risks and educational.
The research:
• Cross-sectional survey of 6,002 children aged 10–17.
• Rural and urban sites in the Western Cape, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
• Validated scales and symptom checklists were used. Structural equation modelling in AMOS 19 identified pathways of risk. AIDS-orphanhood and parental AIDS-illness raise risks of poverty and parental disability. Through these linkages, AIDS-affected children are more likely to be stigmatised outside the home, and exposed to physical, emotional and sexual abuse or rape. It is these ‘interlinking factors’ that cause psychological distress such as depression, anxiety and suicidal behaviour. And it is psychological distress that leads to higher rates of HIV infection risks (such as transactional sex and low condom use) amongst AIDS-affected adolescents.