Learning Briefs: Inclusive, Enabling Communities
A new model for community-based infant hearing screening … lessons from recent research
Recent national surveys in the private and public health care sectors of South Africa reveal that roughly 90% of newborns have no prospect of having their hearing screened. Undetected hearing impairment can lead to persistent language, speech and cognitive delays with serious social and economic consequences for the individual. Here, a new model for community-based […]
Tags: Hearing loss in children, Infant hearing screening, Newborn hearing screening
Posted on 19 Feb 2015
Preparing for an Ageing Population – Policy Implications for South Africa
South Africa’s fertility rate is declining and it is projected that this trend will continue. When persistent low fertility leads to a decline in the size of successive birth cohorts, it means that the population will start ageing. In this learning brief, HelpAge International considers what this means for the demands that will inevitably be placed on […]
Tags: Ageing population, Enabling Communities, Inclusive
Posted on 11 Sep 2014
Facilitating the registration of Child and Youth Care Centres in South Africa
The new Children’s Act 38 of 2005 requires that all existing Child and Youth Care Centres in South Africa re-register with the Department of Social Development by April 2015. For many of these Centres, the registration process is proving to be difficult and costly to navigate, thereby potentially preventing them from continuing to offer a vital service […]
Tags: Child and youth care centres, Enabling Communities
Posted on 11 Sep 2014
How can we strengthen Primary Health Care for children with Cerebral Palsy in rural areas?
Worldwide, the assessment and diagnosis of children with Cerebral Palsy is a complex and contested area, as it relies on access to specialised medical and rehabilitation personnel. In South Africa, these resources are in short supply and usually not available in resource-constrained public health settings. In this learning brief, the Disability Action Research Team (DART) […]
Tags: Cerebral Palsy, Disability, Enabling Communities, Inclusive
Posted on 3 Jun 2014
Introducing Child Death Review Teams in South Africa: learning from international models
South Africa’s first national child homicide study conducted in 2009, established for the first time the relationship between child homicide and fatal child abuse in the country. This finding has increased efforts to promote the introduction of child death review teams in South Africa, so as to ensure that a comprehensive review is automatically done […]
Tags: Enabling Communities, Inclusive, Violence against women and children, Violence and abuse of women and children
Posted on 2 Jun 2014
Transitional Support for Youth Leaving Care
Mamelani Projects, based in Cape Town, has developed a programme of support for young people transitioning out of state care. Recently, Mamelani has been engaging with key stakeholders in this sector, in an eff ort to articulate practice guidelines for a transitional care model that could be utilised by the sector more broadly. In this […]
Tags: Enabling Communities, Inclusive, Transitional support
Posted on 7 Oct 2013
Towards a more inclusive Special Needs Group Housing Programme in South Africa: Addressing a Situation of Crisis
Despite South Africa’s progressive constitution which enshrines the right to adequate shelter for all, those who are most vulnerable and in special need are seldom able to access state housing assistance. An urgent and concerted response is therefore required in order to address this situation and to enable improved access to housing for those in […]
Tags: Special needs housing
Posted on 31 May 2013
Using international policy instruments to address gender-based violence and abuse in South Africa
Gender based violence, often expressed as sexual abuse of both women and children, is rampant in South Africa, but is seems as though the political will to seriously address the problem is lacking. In the absence of any impact after local advocacy efforts, it has been imperative to look at the international community as a […]
Tags: Enabling Communities, Inclusive, Violence against women and children
Posted on 1 Feb 2013
Tackling the registration issues experienced by unregistered child care facilities
The South African Children’s Act regulates the registration of what it terms child and youth care centres. Children in unregistered facilities often lack social work services, and thus miss out on opportunities to be reunified with their families, or to be fostered or adopted. Despite the undeniable benefits of registration, there are concerns that the […]
Tags: Child and youth care centres, Enabling Communities, Inclusive
Posted on 31 Jan 2013
Assessing the ability of loveLife goGogetters to improve outcomes for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children
loveLife’s goGogetter programme aims to assist Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) by changing the circumstances that add to their vulnerability. This is done by establishing and drawing on social networks and building social capital through elderly women called goGogetters. In 2011 a series of three case studies was done to establish whether the structured social […]
Tags: Enabling Communities, Inclusive, Orphans and Vulnerable Children
Posted on 31 Jan 2013
