Children and young people (5 documents)

BLUM, R. W. (2007) Youth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41, 230-238.
Sub-Saharan Africa is going through rapid social, political, and economic transformations that have a profound impact on youth. The present review explores trends and outcomes as they relate to education, family formation and sexual and reproductive health and the interrelationships among these areas. It is based on both published and unpublished reports. Over the past 20 years, school enrollment has increased for much of the subcontinent; although the gender gap has narrowed, females remain educationally disadvantaged. Likewise, marriage is occurring later today than a generation ago, posing new challenges of out-of-wedlock births, clandestine abortions, and an increased likelihood of engaging in premarital sex. So, too, although there has been a slowing of the population growth in much of the region, in many countries of sub-Saharan Africa, the population is doubling every 30 years. Although acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is the predominant cause of death among youth, maternal mortality remains a major risk of death for youth—in some countries 600 times greater than that of peers in the industrialized world.  (Abstract by author/s)

LALOR, K. (2004) Child sexual abuse in sub-Saharan Africa: a literature review. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28, 439-460.
This article reviews the English-language literature on child sexual abuse in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The focus is on the sexual abuse of children in the home/community, as opposed to the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
Document available online

UN (1989) The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The UNCRC was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 20 November 1989. The Convention has been ratified by 191 out of 193 countries, territories and states, making it a truly global bill of rights. The UK ratified the UNCRC on 16 December 1991. On ratification, a country becomes a State Party to the Convention, obliged to review its national law to ensure full compliance with the articles of the Convention. Compliance is monitored by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, based in Geneva. State Parties must submit a national report two years after ratification and thereafter every five years.

The Convention consists of 54 articles. A “child” is defined as every human being below the age of 18. The key provisions of the Convention are that:
All rights apply to all children without exception or discrimination of any kind (article 2).
That the best interests of the child must be a primary consideration in all actions concerning children (article 3).
That States have an obligation to ensure that as much as possible every child’s survival and development (article 6).
Children’s views must be taken into account in all matters affecting them (article 12).
Document available online

UNICEF (2006) The State of the World's Children Report 2006: Excluded and Invisible. New York, UNICEF. Document available online

UNICEF (2007) The State of the World's Children Report 2007. New York, UNICEF. Document available online

Parents, Home and Community (3 documents)

LLOYD, C. B. & BLANC, A. K. (1996) Children's Schooling in sub-Saharan Africa: The Role of Fathers, Mothers, and Others. Population and Development Review, 22.
Document available online

ROSE, P. (2002) Community Participation in school policy and practice in Malawi: balancing local knowledge, national policies and international agency priorities. Compare: a journal of comparative education, 33, 47 - 64.
Community participation has become increasingly formalised in international and national educational policy-making in recent years. The concept has, however, been interpreted in particular ways in the context of the post-Washington consensus, with implications for the success of its implementation. Drawing on research in Malawi, the article explores the extent to which publicly-stated policy commitments towards community participation are realised in practice. In particular, it finds that the main motivation for 'participation' is extractive rather than a genuine attempt to encourage local ownership and accountability. Furthermore, marketisation of com munity participation is evident, signifying the entrenchment of individual responsibility for meeting social needs which was previously associated with advocacy for user fees during the Washington consensus era. (Abstract by author/s)

ZIMMERMAN, F. J. (2003) Cinderella Goes to School: The Effects of Child Fostering on School Enrollment in South Africa. Journal of Human Resources, 38, 557-90.
Effects of the common practice of fostering were examined for 8,627 South African children.  Foster children were not less likely to attend  school;  they tended to move from homes where they have difficulty enrolling to those where they can. Net effect of fostering is to reduce the risk of nonattendance by up to 22%.