Child Poverty in Mozambique. A Situation and Trend ... - Unicef

I. Introduction
All children have the right to protection from violence, mistreatment, exploitation and
abuse, including sexual abuse, as enshrined in articles 19, 34, 35 of the International
Convention on the Rights of the Child. The physical and psychological effects of
violence, abuse and exploitation affect a child’s well being and development and
are likely to influence the child’s behaviour and attitudes throughout their childhood
and into adulthood. The terrible psychological impact on children of watching their
parents die as a result of AIDS is also widely recognised. Whilst the direct impact of a
society’s failure to adequately protect its children is difficult to quantify and the impact
on poverty not directly documented, the physical and emotional security of children,
especially in being protected from abuse or mistreatment by those in positions of
trust and authority, contributes to the emotional health and stability of a society, as
well as to its individual members’ capacities to lead useful and productive lives.
Over the past two years significant steps have been taken by the Government of
Mozambique to improve both the policy and legal instruments for the protection of
children from violence, abuse and exploitation and to ensure access by the most
vulnerable of these children to basic social services. In 2004, a legal review was
conducted, with an analysis of gaps in existing legislation and areas in need of urgent
reform in order to make Mozambican legislation an effective framework for the
protection of children. On the basis of this analysis, the Ministry of Justice initiated
the drafting process for a Comprehensive Children’s Act, expected to be finalised and
approved in 2006.
The Ministry of Women and Social Action has also developed a National Action Plan
for Children (2006-2010), which was approved by the Council of Ministers in March
2006. The National Action Plan for Children (NAPC) is a compilation of priority actions
for children identified in the line ministries’ sectoral plans. The NAPC is intended as
a road map to support the development of pro-child Economic and Social Plans (PES)
by the Government. To that effect, the NAPC proposes the creation of a Children’s
Council for the effective monitoring of progress made by each line ministry in
achieving sectoral objectives for children.
Under the overall umbrella of the NAPC, the Government in 2006 also approved a
Plan of Action for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (PoA OVC) in the context of
HIV/AIDS. The PoA OVC is intended to accelerate the response to the emergency
needs of orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC). The costed interventions set out in
the PoA OVC follow two complementary lines of action: firstly, strengthening national
capacities as a pre-condition for expanding the response to OVC and secondly,
providing direct support to the most vulnerable children. A crucial achievement of the
PoA OVC was the adoption of a Mozambican definition of “vulnerable child” (MMAS,
2006:11), essential in informing policy development and creating the basis for the
targeting of social protection interventions.
In Mozambique, vulnerable children are:
• Children affected by HIV/AIDS, or infected by HIV/AIDS;
• Children living in households headed by other children, youth, women or
elderly persons;
• Children living in households headed by a chronically ill adult;
• Children living on the street;
• Children living in institutions (orphanages, prisons, mental health institutions);
• Children in conflict with the law (children being prosecuted under law for minor
crimes);
174 CHILDHOOD POVERTY IN MOZAMBIQUE: A SITUATION AND TRENDS ANALYSIS