2nd National Conference on Orphans and Other ... - FHI 360

have start-up support. We need to make the most
of these start-up efforts to show evidence of
reaching those most in need, we need to get all
the key actors on board to work together and
not in parallel, and we need to trigger sustained
local action that is replicable in other regions.
In closing I would like to assure you that
UNICEF’s commitment to this issue is for the
long haul, and that we will be there to support
efforts especially in this time of transition of focalpoint
responsibility from the MoHSS to the
MWACW. We join everyone in this hall in the
hope that the momentum gained in the past year
will be maintained and taken to new heights to
meet the massive challenges.
Let us make the most of this investment of
bringing the stakeholders together for three days
so that next year we can say we have really come
a long way in touching the lives of many many
OVC by helping to build community caring
capacities and by planting the seeds that will regenerate,
year after year, the collective energies
in this hall down to where they will really make
a difference, i.e. in the communities. Thank you.
Statement by
Ms Rose De Buysscher
Country Director, FHI
Ms Chairperson, Hon. Minister Libertina Amathila, Honourable Minister Netumbo Nandi-
Ndaitwah, Dr James Tjibeba of ELCRN, Ms Khin-Sandi Lwin, Honourable Regional
Governors, Members of Parliament, Your Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Members
of the UN System and Development Partners, Members of the Media, Young People, Ladies and
Gentlemen –
It is a great honour for FHI to have been asked
to speak at the opening of this conference and
I thank you most sincerely.
Throughout our 30-year history FHI has
focused on improving lives through highly
diversified programmes of research, education
and services to the family. With funding and
support from USAID and in partnership with
many stakeholders, we are continuing our work
and support in Namibia.
Our philosophy is to work directly with the
Government (especially line ministries), NGOs
and communities to build their capacity and work
to achieve their identified needs. One of our key
partners has been the DDSWS in the MoHSS.
During the last two years we have been working
with the DDSWS and other development partners
in the development of the national OVC
programme.
The impact of OVC in Namibia has strained
traditional coping mechanisms to a crisis stage.
An increasing number of communities and
government structures are struggling to harness
the impact on children and their families. The
challenges faced by children, families, communities
and government in managing the impact
of OVC are and will continue to be enormous.
In the absence of support there will be long-term
developmental impacts on children and on the
nation. Therefore, comprehensive and costeffective
approaches, coupled with co-ordinated
partnerships and community mobilisation, are
needed.
Insights gained from research conducted in
Namibia (SIAPAC, 2001) and South Africa
(Loening-Voysey & Wilson, 2001) show the
most common issues facing OVC to be the
following:
34 <strong>2nd</strong> <strong>National</strong> <strong>Conference</strong> on Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children – Windhoek, Namibia, 25-27 June 2002: Full Report