A SITUATION ANALYSIS OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN LIBRARY INTERNATIONAL R FOR CGM!VH.!MITY V SANITATION IN NAMIBIA WINDHOEK NISER NAMIBIAN INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL. MARCH 1991 AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH UNICEF UNIVERSITY OF NAMIBIA A SITUATION ANALYSIS OF CHILDREN WOMEN IN NAMIBIA LJN1CEF Namibia and the Namibian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER) University of Namibia in consultation with the Government of the Republic of Namibia Windhoek March 1991 ,-j'V .•.:.!.• ;V . •.giJ» Tel. (070i B; A'i '• i >.-,v.. 141/142 BOTSWANA NAMIBIA Atlantic Ocean 0 160ml SOUTH m. toiMdinbi tnd mm* Mhnum en da IK* *nHr dfkM FOREWORD TO THE NATIONAL PAPER ON "THE CHILDREN OF NAMIBIA" African tradition has largely maintained that children "should be seen and not heard" - an unfortunate disposition which has perpetuated neglect of our children's needs, thereby gravely and irreparably damaging society in its entirety. But a new era has dawned in Africa where political independence has demanded a new consciousness, which clearly recognises that the children of today are the elders and leaders of tomorrow and that practical steps must be taken to ensure that the future lies in competent, trustworthy hands. Physical, emotional, mental and spiritual wellbeing in any individual or society can only develop and evolve with the realisation of such basic necessities as a well-balanced diet, adequate shelter and proper education. Governments, parents and, indeed, all responsible and influential adults are called upon to seriously consider the plight of our children as a matter of utmost priority. The rights of children, as the inheritors and custodians of the future, must be identified and strictly observed to avoid a future doomed to dependency and crisis. It is not enough to put a signature to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: No child should die from a preventable disease, and Governments should strive for a 95% immunisation rate; No child should be cursed with illiteracy, and ultimately unemployment. Therefore primary education should be compulsory; No child should go to sleep hungry and cold, and everything possible must be done to provide sufficient food and adequate shelter for all. As I have previously stated, we must all work together towards creating an atmosphere of peace, mutual trust and understanding, with a clear vision of reaching our ultimate goal - that of social justice for all our people, but especially for all our children. DR. SAM NUJOMA PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA September 1990 REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION FOREWORD BY DR Z NGAVIRUE DIRECTOR-GENERAL "The Government of the Republic of Namibia welcomes the publication of this Situation Analysis of Children and Women by UNICEF and the Namibian Institute for Social and Economic Research (NISER). This document brings together, for the first time, comprehensive and wide ranging important information on the conditions affecting children and women in our nation, and the various factors, historical and present, which determine their wellbeing. The report also points to the considerable gaps in available information, providing useful indications of where future research and information systems development should be focused. The value of this document will lie partly in the basis provided for medium-term programming and collaboration between the Government and UNICEF, within the twin overall framework of policies for National Development and the international Goals for Children and Development in the 1990's. Such collaboration will aim to address the priority problems of children and women, at different levels, as identified in this Situation Analysis. Beyond this, however, it is hoped that the document will provide a convenient reference work for a range of national institutions, NGOs and cooperating partners in Namibia, who are concerned with the issue of poverty and unequal access to resources in this country, and their effects on the most vulnerable groups. The Government is pleased to have been closely associated with the compilation of this document, and the process of analysis, throughout the period of its formulation. We commend the efforts of UNICEF and NISER in this regard, and trust that the Analysis will be of assistance to many of our friends and partners, as it will be to ourselves". unicef PREFACE This Situation Analysis of Children and Women, undertaken during the period October 1990 - March 1991, forms part of the process of joint programming at country level between UNICEF and the Government of Namibia. This will result in the formulation of a detailed Strategy and Collaborative Programme to address the priority needs of children and women, to be implemented during 1992 - 96. In addition, however, it is anticipated that this document, and the process initiated during its formulation, will have a broader impact. Firstly, the analysis contained herein was undertaken directly following the World Summit for Children held in New York in September 1990, which was attended by His Excellency the President of Namibia, Dr Sam Nujoma, and members of his Cabinet. At this Summit, it will be recalled, Heads of State and Government from around the world adopted the world Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children, and committed their Governments to the formulation and implementation of national Plans of Action as a follow-up to the Declaration. As part of the Global Plan of Action, seven Major Goals and over twenty Supporting/Sectoral Goals for Child Survival, Protection and Development (CSPD) were endorsed. In the context of the commitments made at the Summit, therefore, this Situation Analysis is a first attempt to systematically assess - using the limited data and information available - the "baseline" condition of the children of Namibia, and their mothers and families; and to analyse the main factors causing problems of illness and malnutrition, and threats to their survival. This "baseline" undertaken at the beginning of the Decade, although requiring considerable future updating and elaboration as more vital information becomes available, provides a starting point for the measurement of progress towards the Goals for CSPD for the 1990's in Namibia. The Analysis also provides, in its final chapter, an outline of a range of policy options and strategic choices to be considered in taking action to achieve these Goals. Given the magnitude of problems still facing children and women in Namibia, the implications of these options and choices go well beyond UNICEF's own programming of resources in joint activities with the Government of Namibia. The Analysis and the discussion of policy options will, we hope, be of use in decision-making for the Government more generally, particularly for the formation of the medium-term national Plan of Action on CSPD, as well as for other collaborating partners in Namibia, for Namibian Non-Government Organisations (NGO's) and for individuals dedicated to the wellbeing of the most vulnerable groups in society. UNICEF Namibia would like to acknowledge the central contribution of the Namibia Institute for Social and Economic Research (NISER) of the University of Namibia in the preparation of this document, as well as in undertaking some of the supporting research. The work of Professor Chris Tapscott, as leader of the NISER Situation Analysis team, and of Researchers Bernadette Menyah-Artivor, Annalie Odendaal, Akiser Pomuti and George Eiseb, is gratefully acknowledged. Extensive contributions to the analysis and preparation of the document were also made in particular by Frances Chinemana (Consultant to UNICEF and NISER), as well as by Lourens Erasmus (Health Sector Consultant), Richard Morgan (Household Food Security and Economic sections), Diane Hubbard (Consultant on Women's Legal Issues) and by the entire Programme staff of UNICEF Windhoek. Assistance in preparation of the Conceptual Framework was given by Roger Hay of the Food Studies Group, University of Oxford, Dan Toole, UNICEF New York, and Misrak Elias and Aaron Lechtig of UNICEF Regional Office, Nairobi. Invaluable contributions and comments were provided by a wide range of officials in various Ministries of the Government of the Republic of Namibia, at several stages of the analysis; by representatives of major Namibian NGO's; and by members of the United Nations agencies represented in Namibia. Detailed consideration of and comments on the draft of this Document were made by these partners at a Workshop held in Windhoek on 5th - 6th March, 1991, and helped greatly in its finalisation. We at UNICEF Namibia hope that the committed efforts of all those who contributed to this Analysis will prove worthwhile in the coming months and years, in terms of assisting a better understanding of the situation and needs of Namibian children and women, leading to effective and sustained action to meet those needs. Shahida Azfar Representative // ; / UNICEF Windhoek 7 Namibia "v •••;•->. Windhoek, March 1991 A Note on Terminology A feature of Apartheid colonial rule in Namibia was the adoption of racial/ethnic nomenclature in virtually every sphere of social, economic and political life. As a result, the usage of racial/ethnic terminology in this Analysis proved unavoidable in portraying the extent, particularly as inherited at independence, of differential access to resources, income, services etc., between different sectors of society. These terms are, however, in no sense endorsed as politically valid or acceptable social categories. As a