IS SOCIAL PROTECTION A RIGHT?
AN EXAMINATION OF SOCIAL PROTECTION POLICIES AND STRATEGIES FOR HIV/AIDS ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN WA AND JIRAPA TOWNSHIPS OF THE UPPER WEST REGION OF GHANA
©2015
Academic Paper
155 Pages
Summary
Social protection involves choices about whether the core principle behind social provisioning will be universal or selective through targeting. Extreme poverty is regarded as the world’s greatest human rights issue. The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights starts from the idea that all human beings are born free and equal in status and rights. Under the international human rights law, States are legally obligated to establish social protection systems for their citizens, especially the vulnerable and at risk. Social protection in Ghana assumes three main targets for poverty reduction; the first target looks at labour market interventions in terms of employment services, job training, and direct employment generation. The second target deals with social insurance that targets risk mitigation, disability, ill health, old age, health insurance, and the third target is social assistance that provides welfare and social services, cash or in-kind transfers, and subsidies. The interventions under these targets are either universal or targeted. This study is concerned with the right base of social protection for OVC and examines the impact and challenges of some social protection interventions. For this purpose, three categories of participants made up of 53 OVC, Caregivers, SP interventions and institutions as well as Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) were selected across the two townships of Wa and Jirapa for the study through systematic random sampling. Close ended questionnaires were administered to the OVC and their care-givers, while open ended questionnaires were administered to managers of some selected SP interventions, SP institutions and NGOs. Cross-sectional design was used and purposive sampling technique was employed to sample out the two townships. Methodologically, the study applies qualitative and quantitative instruments of data collection.
Excerpt
Table Of Contents
iv
DEDICATION
I dedicate this work to my dear wife Noella Benongle and my lovely daughter, Ellis
Zunuo Dalinpuo for their support and encouragement. And also to my late father Mr.
Wilfred Dalinpuo.
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... iii
DEDICATION ... iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... vi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ... ix
LIST OF TABLES ... xi
LIST OF FIGURES ... xii
LIST OF PLATES ... xiii
CHAPTER ONE ... 1
1.0 Background of the Study ... 1
1.1 Problem Statement ... 5
1.2 Research Questions ... 7
1.3 Research Objectives ... 7
1.4 Delimitation and scope of the Study... 8
1.5 Relevance of the Study ... 9
1.6 Operational Definitions of key Concepts ... 11
1.6.1 Social Protection ... 11
1.6.2 Orphan ... 13
1.6.3 Vulnerability ... 14
1.6.4 Orphans and Vulnerable Children ... 15
1.7 Organization of the work ... 16
1.8 Summary ... 18
CHAPTER TWO ... 19
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ... 19
vi
2.0 Introduction ... 19
2.1 The Theory of Social Rupture ... 19
2.2 The Theory of Social Resilience ... 25
2.3 A Right-Based Approach to OVC Social Protection ... 28
2.4 Social Protection in Ghana ... 34
2.5 Challenges of Social Protection Programmes ... 38
2.6 Summary ... 40
CHAPTER THREE ... 41
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ... 41
3.0 Introduction ... 41
3.1 The Study Region ... 41
3.2 The Upper West Region ... 41
3.3 The Study Districts ... 43
3.4 Methodological Approach of the Study ... 44
3.5 Methods of Data Collection ... 46
3.6 Samples ... 47
3.7 Sampling Procedures ... 48
3.8 Selection of the Study Areas ... 49
3.9 Selection of the Research Participants ... 52
3.10 Sources of Data Collection ... 53
3.11 Data Collection Procedure ... 54
3.12 Data Management and Methods of Data Presentation and Analysis ... 55
3.13 Challenges Faced in Data Collection ... 55
3.14 Summary ... 56
CHAPTER FOUR ... 57
ANALYSIS, DISCUSSIONS AND PRESENTATION OF MAIN FINDINGS ... 57
4.0 Introduction ... 57
4.1 Socio-Demographic Characteristics of OVC Respondents ... 57
4.1.1 Sex of Caregivers and OVCs ... 57
4.1.2 Age of Respondents ... 60
4.1.3 Educational Background of Respondents ... 61
vii
4.1.4 Employment Background of Caregivers ... 63
4.2 Perceptions, Conditions and understanding of Vulnerability of OVC ... 64
4.2.1 Vulnerability ... 64
4.2.2 The conditions of OVC in Wa and Jirapa townships ... 69
4.3 The Care and Support Needs of OVC ... 72
4.3.1 Addressing the non-material needs of OVCs ... 75
4.3.2 Psychosocial support need ... 75
4.4 Succession Planning ... 77
4.5 Family Care versus Institutional Care for OVCs ... 78
4.6 Is social protection a right? ... 81
4.7 The impacts and challenges of SP interventions on OVC ... 83
4.7.1 Livelihood Empowerent Against Poverty (LEAP) ... 83
4.7.2 Conditions for Selecting Beneficiaries on the LEAP program ... 84
4.7.3 Selection of beneficiaries and how the services are rolled out ... 85
4.7.4 The Impact of LEAP program ... 88
4.8 Challenges of LEAP ... 91
4.8.1 Delay in release of funds ... 92
4.8.2 Pressure from communities to enrolled on the LEAP programme ... 92
4.8.3 Interference by "Politicians" ... 93
4.8.4 Inadequate resources for DSW ... 94
4.8.5 Targeting of beneficiaries ... 96
4.9 The Impact of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) ... 98
4.9.1 Challenges of NHIS ... 100
4.10 Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) ... 102
4.10.1 Background ... 102
4.10.2 The Impact of SFP... 102
4.10.3 Challenges of SFP ... 105
4.11.1 The Impact of Capitation Grant ... 107
4.11.2 Challenges ... 108
4.12 Impact of NGOs on the care and support of OVC ... 109
4.13 Challenges faced by NGOs in implementing strategies ... 110
4.11 Capitation Grants ... 107
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4.14 The need for harnessing synergies and institutional collaboration for SP provision ... 112
4.15 Avenues for improving Social Protection interventions in Ghana ... 114
CHAPTER FIVE ... 118
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ... 118
5.1 Introduction ... 118
5.2 Summary ... 118
5.3 Methodology ... 119
5.4 Key Findings ... 1 20
5.5 Conclusions ... 122
5.6 Recommendations ... 124
5.7 Implications for further research ... 130
REFERENCES ... 132
4.16 Summary ... 116
ix
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AIDS
Acquire
Immune
Deficiency
Syndrome
CRC
Convention on the Rights of the Child
DSW
Department of Social Welfare
GAC
Ghana Aids Commission
GHS
Ghana Health Service
GLSS
Ghana
Living
Standard
Survey
GNPA
Ghana National Plan of Action
GPRS
Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy
GSFP
Ghana School Feeding Programme
HIV
Human
Immune
Virus
IDS
Institute of Development Studies
ILO
International
Labour
Organisation
LEAP
Livelihood
Empowerment Against Poverty
MESW
Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare
MMYE
Ministry of Manpower Youth and Employment
MOWAC
Ministry Of Women And Children
NGO
Non-Governmental
Organisation
NHIS
National
Health
Insurance
Scheme
NSPS
National Social Protection Strategy
NYP
National Youth Policy
ODI
Overseas
Development
Institute
OVC
Orphans and Vulnerable Children
x
SAP
Structural Adjustment Program
SP
Social
Protection
UDHR
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
UNAIDS
United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
UNCRC
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
UNDP
United Nations Development Programme
UNICEF
United Nations Children Fund
USAID
United States Agency for International Development
xi
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1: Brief chronology of social protection in Ghana (selected data)...36
Table 3.1: Distribution of districts interviews...49
Table 3.2: Composition of survey communities...51
Table 3.3: Key stakeholders in the study area...53
Table 4.1: Distribution of OVC Respondents by sex...58
Table 4.2: Distribution of Caregivers by sex...58
Table 4.3: Age distribution of OVC...60
Table 4.4: Age distribution of Caregivers...61
Table 4.5: LEAP communities in study areas...84
Table 4.6: Responses of LEAP impact...88
Table 4.7: Fresh LEAP registration 2012 for Jirapa and Lambussie...99
Table 4.8: LEAP Renewal 2012 for Jirapa and Lambussie...99
Table 4.9: Estimated active members of LEAP 2012 of Jirapa and Lumbussie...99
Table 5.1: Distribution of respondents by gender and techniques used...119
xii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 4.1: Level of education-Caregivers...62
Figure 4.2: Level of education-OVC...63
Figure 4.3: Responses of LEAP impact...89
xiii
LIST OF PLATES
4.1 Beneficiary forum in LEAP Community...87
4.2 LEAP Cash payment in one community...90
4.3 Educational support to some OVC under LEAP...91
1
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Background of the Study
Social protection over the years involves choices about whether the core principle
behind social provisioning will be universalism, or selectivity through targeting
(Mkandawire 2005). Under universalism, the entire population is the beneficiary of
social benefits as a basic right, while under targeting; eligibility to social benefits
involves some kind of means-testing to determine the truly deserving.
According to Mkandawire (2005), Policy regimes are hardly ever purely universal or
purely based on targeting, however; they tend to lie somewhere between the two
extremes on a continuum, and are often hybrid, but where they lie on this continuum
can be decisive in spelling out individuals' life chances and in characterizing the social
order
The subject of social protection throughout the world has gained prominence in the
international policy-making and developmental circles over the years (Greenblott,
2007). Social protection is widely seen as an important component of poverty reduction
strategies and efforts to reduce vulnerability to economic, social, natural and other
shocks and stresses (Jones, Ahadzie and Doh, 2009)
Omwa and Tetica (2011) note that social protection for children was initially developed
in the 1970s and as response to changes in family structure, composition, and gender
roles that have drastically increased the vulnerabilities and social risks experienced by
children in recent decades. In the 1980s, discussions emerged about Social Protection
as a right and this is cemented in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
2
Child. It has since been recognized as an effective strategy to mitigate the effects of
globalization, structural adjustment, and the HIV/AIDS crisis.
Extreme poverty is regarded as the world's greatest human rights issue and the United
Nation (UN) Universal Declaration of Human Rights, starts from the idea that all
human beings are born free and equal in status and rights. Under the international
human rights law, States are legally obligated to establish social protection systems for
their citizens.
Social protection within the traditional systems was based on kinship, through the help
and support of the extended family (Abebrese, 2011, Al-hassan and Poulton, 2009).
However, Chirwa (2008) notes that the traditional family system that used to be the
base for care and support is broken down and can no more take in orphans and other
vulnerable children and this transcend the obligation for care and support of OVC to
the state and this is what Chirwa terms "social rupture theory"
The Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) (2008) has indicated that there is no single "right"
model of social protection and as such, each society must determine how best to ensure
the social protection of its members and these choices will reflect a society's social and
cultural values, its history, the structure and capacity of local institutions and overall
level of economic development.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) affirmed social security or social
protection as a "basic human right" Considering the extensive human rights obligations
which States possess by virtue of the multitude of international human rights treaties,
and given that all UN agencies have committed to mainstreaming human rights
throughout the UN system, the lack of a systematic discussion of social protection from
a human rights perspective is problematic. States are subject to legally-binding
3
domestic and international obligations to ensure that human rights guide the design,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all public policies, and these obligations
must be applied to social protection programmes (Sepúlveda and Nest, 2012).
There is no doubt that the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, has resulted in policies,
services, programmes, and adult behaviour being more focused on the best interest of
the child. This focus on rights, and their enforcement, stems from a shift in
developmental ethos away from the traditional trickle-down approach of external
assistance from rich to poor, to an approach focusing on empowerment and
participation. Rights-based programmes support rights-holders, who are often the poor,
marginalised, and most vulnerable in society, to lay claim to their rights (Richter and
Rama, 2006).
Africa countries including Ghana after independence pursued social protection
measures which were not sustainable. This was in line with the `developmental state'
agenda after independence. These were found in area of education, health, housing,
transportation and public utilities. The debates on the provision of sustainable state
social protection often been fueled mainly by discussions within developing countries
where poverty and vulnerability are endemic (Greenblott, 2007).
According to Adesina (2010), policy attention focused on social protection instruments
after independence was to mitigate the impact of the adjustment - the so-called "social
dimensions of adjustment" issues. But in recent years, social protection focus has turned
to cash transfer (conditional and non-conditional) as policy instrument of choice for
addressing poverty and vulnerability.
Ghana has made some significant strides in the introduction of some social protection
measures for the protection of the poor in the Ghanaian society. The Ghana Poverty
4
Reduction Strategy (GPRS I) was introduced in 2002, the National Health Insurance
(NHIS) in 2003, Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) in 2005, Ghana Growth
and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II) in 2006 and the Livelihood Empowerment
Against Poverty (LEAP) in 2008.
The issue of social protection for OVC in the context of HIV and AIDS is not only an
emerging issue but also an urgent one. Children made orphans due to HIV/AIDS are
often over burdened with the responsibility of caring for siblings or sick relatives. They
are engaged as casual labourers in order to earn incomes. Some also drop out of school
in order to provide income for the family. The spread of the disease itself, with growing
illnesses and deaths in many families, tend to increase morbidity and mortality among
AIDS orphans (Ministry of Women and Children, Ministry of Youth and Employment
& Ghana Aids Commission, 2006).
Children who have lost one or both parents due to AIDS suffer not only from
psychological trauma, but often from poverty and discrimination as well.
According to Richter and Rama (2006), all children in AIDS-affected countries must
have increased access to government-provided social protection in all sectors, including
health, education, and welfare provision. Some strategies implemented in Ghana
included the National Plan of Action for OVC, the National Social Protection Strategy
(NSPS), and the National Youth Policy (NYP) all providing social protection support
for orphans and vulnerable children. The Ghana SP interventions are heavily depended
on donor funding and donor ideology, thereby not being responsive to local
circumstances. This also underscores the question of sustainability of such programmes
which are key for poverty and social development of the nation.
5
While evidence suggests that, by establishing or strengthening social protection
systems, states could comply with their obligations to provide at least minimum
essential levels of basic economic, social, and cultural rights for those living in poverty,
the human rights framework also requires States to design, implement, monitor and
evaluate such programmes in accordance with human rights standards (Sepúlveda M.
and Nyst C 2012).
Substantial agreement exists amongst child-rights advocates that what is most needed
is a set of collective governmental and community responses to strengthen the
commitments of caregivers and households to the well-being of children. This should
all be supported by constructive national policies and the mobilisation of resources. It
is evident that the focus of programmes and strategic thinking must expand from the
many small, unlinked initiatives to a coordinated approach aimed at long-term,
universal benefits for all children (Richter and Rama, 2006).
1. 1 Problem Statement
In recent times, HIV and AIDS have generated a major livelihood crisis for OVC and
many families in Sub-Saharan Africa than ever. This situation calls for an urgent need
for state social protection (Sabates-Wheeler & Pelham, 2006). The consequences of the
disease have been devastating significantly reduced life expectancy, dramatic
weakening of livelihood systems, and a dramatic increase in poverty and vulnerability
for all categories of people, especially children (Ibid)
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were approximately 35
million people worldwide living with HIV/AIDS in 2013. Of these, 3.2 million were
children under 15 years old. An estimated 2.1 million individuals worldwide became
newly infected with HIV in 2013. This includes over 240,000 children under 15
6
years. Most of these children live in Sub-Saharan Africa and were infected by their
HIV-positive mothers during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding.
The vast majority of people living with HIV are in low- and middle-income countries,
and according to the WHO, sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected region, with 24.7
million people living with HIV in 2013. Seventy-one percent of all people who are
living with HIV in the world live in this region (UNAIDS, 2014)
Ghana's national HIV prevalence has actually declined from 1.37 per cent in 2012 to
1.30 per cent for 2013 (GAC Sentinel Report, 2013). The report estimated that
currently, 224,488 persons are living with HIV in Ghana of which 189,931 are adults
and 34,557 are Children (15%). It explained that the 2013 HIV prevalence dropped
below 2 per cent for the first time in the history of GAC, Health Sentinel Survey;
reinforcing an overall declining epidemic trend in Ghana. New infections of 7,812 were
recorded out of which 2,407 were children under 14 years and 10,074 AIDS deaths of
which 2,248 were children from zero to 14 years. An estimated Children Orphaned by
AIDS is 184,168 (GAC Sentinel Survey Report, 2013).
The GAC (2013) report revealed that Upper West region has HIV infection rate of 0.8%
which is the lowest in the country. The study areas, of Wa and Jirapa townships also
recorded 0.9% and 0.6% respectively. And Jirapa also recording the lowest in Ghana
According to the Ghana statistical Service (GSS, 2007), the region did not only record
the highest incidence of poverty but also an increased from 84% in 1998/1999 to 88%
in 2005/2006. This situation has worsened the safety nets arrangements of households
7
and families for OVC and other vulnerable groups in the study region. Thus, the need
for social protection to address issues of social exclusion, inequalities and poverty
This study therefore seeks to examine the state social protection policy interventions
for OVC in Wa and Jirapa Townships in the Upper West region and also to examine
the human rights-based implications and outcomes of social protection which has over
the years become a significant analytical gap that must be filled.
1.2 Research Questions
The study addressed the following research questions:
(i)
What are the perceptions, conditions and understanding of vulnerability
of OVC?
(ii)
What are the impacts and challenges of SP interventions on OVC?
(iii)
Is Social Protection a right based policy?
(iv)
What avenues exist for harnessing synergies toward a holistic and
improved delivery of Social Protection?
1.3 Research Objectives
The study focused on four objectives which are outlined below:
(i)
To ascertain the perceptions, conditions and understanding of
vulnerability of OVC.
(ii)
To examine the impacts and challenges of SP interventions on OVC?
(iii)
To assess Social Protection as a right based policy.
(iv)
To identify avenues that exist for harnessing synergies toward a holistic
and improved social protection delivery.
8
1.4 Delimitation and scope of the Study
Social Protection in this study focuses on three broad based issues. 1) labour market
interventions such as employment services, job training, direct employment generation.
2) social insurance such as mitigating risk, disability, ill health, old age, health
insurance etc. and 3) Social Assistance as welfare and social services, cash or in-kind
transfers, subsidies.
The subject of the study is to examine social protection interventions as rights for
orphans and vulnerable children in Wa municipality and Jirapa township of the Upper
West region. The study was conducted in particular areas of the two townships such as
Kpongu and Wa municipal as well as Gbare, Duori and Jirapa township. The study
areas were chosen based on available statistics of HIV/AIDS and therefore OVC in the
two districts. Wa Township recording the highest while Jirapa district recorded the
lowest according to the 2013 sentinel survey report. Besides, given the limited time that
was available to do the field work, it was necessary to focus on few
districts/communities so as to be able to get an in-depth understanding of the issues.
Therefore, the conclusions made are based on the findings from the interviews and the
questionnaires administered. I recognize the fact that it could be problematic to
generalize the findings to the entire region.
In selecting the sample population, due diligence was taken to ensure that it covered
the range of respondents that matter in this study. The findings covered the OVC,
caregivers, social protection institutions and interventions. However, there is no claim
that this sample is statistically representative.
9
1. 5 Relevance of the Study
The United Nations Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS
is particularly relevant
to children growing up without families. Articles 6567 of this Declaration clearly
spell out the obligations of states in relation to the care and protection of orphans and
other children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS:
The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the ministry of employment
and Social Welfare, National Development Planning Commission and Non-
Governmental Organizations (NGOs) interested in social protection especially for
children and vulnerable in society would benefit immensely from the findings.
The 1990's saw a number of African countries introduce various forms of social
protection measures to mitigate the effects of the Structural Adjustment Programmes
(SAP) that were introduced in the 80's. The SAP brought untold hardships on the
ordinary people as unemployment was at its peak because a lot of state workers were
retrenched, and poverty was heightened coupled with high inflation rates. The provision
of social protection was not only the duty of the states but Non-Governmental
organisations, (NGOs) as well as the UN agencies. Social protection interventions were
designed by the states however, many of them were not sustainable. Those social
protection systems that were introduced by donors, were just to bring up issues in the
effectiveness in programs.
The current political momentum around social protection provides a unique opportunity
to reinvigorate the development agenda, which, despite the looming deadline for the
achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, has clearly
stagnated. At the same time, there remains a pressing need to further evolve the concept
10
of social protection to ensure that its full potential and impact on poverty reduction and
development is both understood and realized (Sepulveda and Nyst, 2012).
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) recognizes social protection as a
fundamental human right for all citizens. This right is as basic as for example the right
to education, child-oriented health services, and protection from abuse and exploitation,
but as yet far less recognized. According to Taylor (2008), adopting the values and
principles of a human rights framework for social protection implies that if a right
exists, governments have an obligation to make sure it is fulfilled. In a region where
the resources to redress rights are limited and where even material resources such as
food is scarce the political will and commitment to actualise rights to social protection
become critical.
Belonging to a family at risk, in conditions where care environment breaks down,
enlarges the need of a child for (external) care and protection.
Many factors make children vulnerable: poverty, HIV/AIDS, losing one or more
parents, low educational level of parents, age, and gender. All these factors may
increase the vulnerable position of children, putting them at risk such as becoming HIV
infected, living on the streets or being abused.
The United Nation's Children Fund (1998), argues that many HIV/AIDS OVC have
their rights infringed upon and therefore the need for a rights-based approach to
programming for OVC in Ghana, rather than the more conventional needs-based
approach as in the case of some social protection interventions. A key weakness of the
current social protection system in Ghana is the insufficient legal basis of social
protection provisions. Government should take measures to improve administrative
efficiency by enhancing coordination and cooperation among programmes. Synergies
11
could be created among programmes in such areas as communication and awareness
activities, community outreach, membership management, identification and
registration, delivery of benefits, data collection, monitoring and evaluation (ILO,
2014).
In line with these discussions among other things, social protection in Ghana is
universal but however targeted based on needs and so this study seeks to ascertain the
universal rights of OVC to social protection and also to examine the impact of some
current social protection interventions on OVC. The findings will enrich the wealth of
literature on the right to social protection for OVC and the impact of current
interventions on the lives of these orphans and vulnerable children in the Wa and Jirapa
townships of the Upper West region.
1.6 Operational Definitions of key Concepts
Concepts carry different meanings depending on the context in which they have been
used. Some particular concepts that have been used in this study have been given
definite meaning or definition with the view to minimizing ambiguity and
contextualizing meanings. These concepts are; Social Protection, Orphan, vulnerability,
and orphans and vulnerable children.
1.6.1 Social Protection
Existing literature shows that there are many and different understandings of the term,
social protection. Although social protection has recently become mainstreamed in
development discourse, it remains a term that is unfamiliar to many and carries a range
of definitions, both in the development studies literature and among policymakers
12
responsible for implementing social protection programmes (Devereux and Sabates-
Wheeler, 2004).
Sabates-Wheeler and Pelham (2006) describe Social protection as all public and private
initiatives that provide income or consumption transfers to the poor, protect the
vulnerable against livelihood risks, and enhance the social status and rights of the
marginalized; with the objective of reducing the economic and social vulnerability of
poor, vulnerable and marginalized groups. This definition seemed to be more accepted
in the international front as comprising the four pillars of protective, preventive,
promotive, and transformative social protection. This definition was also adopted by
UNICEF and IDS.
Operationally, this study refers to three targets of social protection outlined by ODI and
UNICEF (2009) as the set of all initiatives, both formal and informal, that provide:
· Social assistance to extremely poor individuals and households. This typically
involves regular, predictable transfers (cash or in-kind, including fee waivers) from
governments and non-governmental entities to individuals or households aimed at
reducing poverty and vulnerability, increasing access to basic services and promoting
asset accumulation.
· Social welfare services to groups who need special care or would otherwise be denied
access to basic services based on particular social (rather than economic)
characteristics. Services are normally targeted at those who have experienced illness,
death of a family breadwinner/caregiver, an accident or natural disaster; who suffer
from a disability, familial or extra-familial violence or family breakdown; or who are
war veterans or refugees.
13
· Social insurance to protect people against the risks and consequences of livelihood,
health and other shocks. Social insurance supports access to services in times of need,
and typically takes the form of subsidised risk-pooling mechanisms, with potential
contribution payment exemptions for the poor.
The vision of Ghana social protection programme targets an equitable society in which
ordinary and extremely poor and vulnerable citizens are protected from risks and shocks
and are empowered with improved capability, to overcome social, economic and
cultural challenges in order to realize their rights and responsibilities and to make
meaningful contributions to society.
1.6.2 Orphan
The concept of orphan has attracted several definitions depending on its use. Orphan
can either be defined based on the cultural environment or on social settings. From a
methodological point of view, the definition of the term, orphan, is generally
unambiguous, so that data on orphans can be more easily analyzed and compared across
countries. In contrast, from a substantive point of view, most studies have focused on
orphaned children as the most obvious and most dramatic consequence of the AIDS
epidemic in Africa. According to UNICEF (2004), an orphan is defined as a child under
the age of 18 who has survived one or both parents. UNICEF categorized orphans as
maternal orphans, an orphan with a surviving mother; paternal Orphan has a surviving
father and double orphans survive both parents. Research also revealed a concept of a
"social orphan" which was used by UNICEF to describe children whose parents might
be alive but are no longer fulfilling any of their parental duties, for example drug addicts
who are separated from their children with little chance of reunion, parents who are sick
14
or abusive or who, for other reasons, have abandoned or largely neglect their children,
such a child will best fall under the vulnerable group of children in this regards.
The definition of an orphan has not varied in terms of the cultural environment in
Ghana, especially in the Upper West region from the various definitions established.
1.6.3 Vulnerability
Smart (2003) revealed that vulnerability is a complex concept to define. Due to its
complexity in definition, according to Smart, local/communities have various
definitions of vulnerability, which often include disabled or destitute children; in policy
and support provision definitions, which list categories of children; and in working
definitions, which are used in various documents. The concept of vulnerability is not
only restricted to individuals, such as children, but is often used to refer to households
as well.
In conceptual terms, a vulnerable child is one who is living in circumstances with high
risks and whose prospects for continued growth and development are seriously
impaired. But UNAIDS refer to vulnerable children as children whose survival, well-
being, or development is threatened by HIV/AIDS (UNICEF/UNAIDS, 2004). It is
important to recognize that there is no commonly agreed definition for vulnerability as
indicated early. A common purpose across most definitions is to protect society's most
vulnerable members through the provision of certain goods and services, including
health, education and social services that provide financial, material, social or
psychological support to people who are otherwise unable to obtain it through their own
efforts and that is what this study seeks to establish.
15
1.6.4 Orphans and Vulnerable Children
It is important to note that the concept of OVC is very difficult to define. To some
researchers, the concepts of orphan and vulnerable child or children are social
constructions that vary from one culture to another and from one society to the other
(Kalaba, 2010). Hence, the issue of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) has
become central to the response to HIV because of the impact of the epidemic on
millions of families and children in Sub-Saharan Africa (UNICEF, 2008).
The study therefore conceptualized OVC from the perspective of the National Social
Protection Strategy of Ghana (NSPS) of 2007 which recognizes OVC as children under
the following circumstances:
x
Orphan
x
Children infected/affected by HIV/AIDS
x
Children abused or neglected
x
Children in conflict with the law
x
Children in need of alternative family care
x
Children with disabilities
x
Children in `hard to reach' areas
x
Children affected by worst forms of child labour
x
Children living on the streets
x
Children in need of care and protection.
16
1.7
Organization of the work
The thesis is organized into five chapters. Some details of each chapter are presented
below.
Chapter One: Introduction
This entails the introduction to the entire thesis and presents the context of the research.
It covers the background to the study, the statement of the research problem, the
research questions and objectives and the relevance or justification for undertaking the
research. The chapter also outlined the scope and meaning of some concepts that are
used in the study. These include the concepts of social protection, orphan, orphans and
vulnerable children, and the concept of vulnerability. The chapter therefore concluded
with the organization of the various chapters of the study and a summary of what
entailed in the chapter.
Chapter Two: Literature review
The chapter two is devoted to a review of literature related to theoretical issues
addressed in this study. The literature review covered two theoretical underpinning; the
social rupture and social resilience theories. The related concepts of right based
approach to social protection and social protection in Ghana are also presented. The
chapter looked at the challenges of social protection and concluded with a summary.
Chapter Three: Research methodology and methods
Chapter three first looked at the study region and study districts as well. The chapter
further looked at the methodological approach employed and the methods used to
collect data for the research. These methods included the qualitative and quantitative
17
approaches. The chapter also justified the selected sample and the sampling procedures
of identifying and selecting respondents. The construction of the research instruments,
the sources and methods of data collection for the study and a detailed account of how
the fieldwork was conducted are also reported in the chapter. Issues relating to data
management and methods of data presentation are and analyses have been discussed.
Challenges that were encountered during the data collection are captured in the chapter.
Finally, a summary of the entire chapter is presented.
Chapter Four: Presentation of main Findings and Discussions.
The chapter is in two folds. The first part presented the socio-demographic
characteristics of respondents in terms of gender, age, educational and employment
levels. The second part presented the findings in line with the objectives of the study.
The themes looked at included understanding the perceptions, the context of
vulnerability and conditions of OVC in the study. The right-based approach to social
protection, how to harness synergies for better improved SP as well as the impacts and
challenges of some social protection interventions such as the LEAP, NHIS, SFP and
Capitation grant are examined in the chapter. The chapter is concluded with a summary.
Chapter Five: Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations.
This is the last chapter which summarized the major findings of the thesis. The chapter
revisited the methodology, summary of major findings in the analysis and made
conclusions based on the analysis of the findings. The chapter made some
recommendations and concluded with some implications for further research.
18
1.8 Summary
This chapter provided a general background to the issues of social protection as a right-
based approach, the problem statement, the relevance of the study as well as some key
questions and objectives that need to be answered in the study. The chapter also defined
some concepts such are social protection, orphan, orphan and vulnerable children and
vulnerability in order to avoid ambiguity within the context of the study. The effect of
the 1980's structural adjustment programme saw the implementation of a number of
social protection interventions to ameliorate the hardships that the citizens faced. The
chapter concludes by indicating the contents of each of the five chapters of the thesis
and how they were organized. The next chapter looks at existing related literature that
is relevant to the study.
19
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.0 Introduction
There has been a lot of research on social protection in Ghana but literature on the right
based of social protection for OVC has been scanty. This research looks at social
protection as a right and to examine some of the interventions that have been
implemented. The chapter focuses on a review of related literature on the subject matter
of the research. The study adopted two theoretical underpinnings that explain the care
and support of children especially OVC in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa from the
perspective of the traditional systems or kinship and how the state is mandated at a point
to assume that responsibility. They include the Theory of Social Rupture and the
Theory of Social Resilience. The chapter reviewed literature under the following
conceptual frame work of social protection:
¾ A Right-Based Approach to OVC Social Protection
¾ Social protection in Ghana
¾ Challenges of social protection
2.1 The Theory of Social Rupture
One common observable theme in the OVC literature is the social rupture thesis (Omwa
and Titeca, 2011). The Social Rupture thesis argues about how there is a total
breakdown in traditional family structures and that the traditional social support
systems and safety nets of orphan care is overstretched and eroded and therefore not
able to cope with the burden and caring for orphans (Abebe and Aase, 2007; Abebe
2008). The support systems provided by the family and the communities are collapsing
20
at an alarming rate, due to the strain imposed by the ever increasing number of OVCs.
Consequently, the communities are confronted with an increased burden in terms of
care and support services for orphans (Chirwa, 2002; Omwa and Titeca, 2011).
Writing on social exclusion and inclusion and reacting to challenges of orphan care and
support, Chirwa, (2008) argues that there is total breakdown in social support systems,
safety nets are collapsing and increasing numbers of orphaned children are becoming
destitute. The Theory of Social Rapture understands that various governments should
put in place structures that will ease the plight of OVC in societies. Therefore the issue
of the need for social protection measures comes in that should respond to the situation
of OVC.
According to Richter and Rama (2006), families and communities are the first and
remain the vanguard, to take action against the worsening conditions of children, and
they provide the greatest support system to vulnerable children. Out-of-pocket spending
by households, most of whom are already very poor, is the largest single component of
overall HIV/AIDS expenditure in African countries; a stark reminder that the economic
burden of the disease is borne by those least able to cope. They argue that less than 10
per cent of affected children are receiving assistance from agencies beyond their
extended family, neighbours, church, and community (ibid).
Subsequently, the lack of or the inadequacy of social protection measures for OVC
especially HIV/AIDS orphans in Ghana, has created room for the sporadic orphaned
homes and caregiving centers to fill in. Traditionally, according to Richter and Rama,
the best place to raise a child is the family however, the breakdown of the family support
system led to the establishment of homes and NGOs to operate. Community care
strategies support informal, indigenous and traditional ways of caring for children in
21
need of care, most commonly by extended family or kinship members, usually a granny
or aunt. This form of informal care is widespread and a practice acceptable in most
cultures (ibid 2).
The Social Rupture Theory is best explained by Chirwa (2002) in a presentation from
the point of the organisation of the "traditional" childcare system, presented as
concentric circles of blood and other family relations. Orphan care is understood to fit
into this organization as presented below.
State
Source: Chirwa, 2002: (The "Traditional" Child care System P. 100)
Chirwa (2002) argues that the nuclear family is at the centre of the system, followed by
the extended family and the immediate community: the neighborhood, clan, tribe, and
society at large, indicating that the responsibility for the care of children primarily rests
with the immediate nuclear family but diminishes as the children grow up towards
greater and increasing independence from it. When the nuclear family becomes
incapable of providing care, say through disability, impoverishment, parental
incompetence, poverty or death, the responsibility is increasingly assumed by the
extended family through the "economy of affection" (ibid). Beyond the extended
family, comes the community which also has the responsibility for the care of children,
Society Community Nuclear Family
Details
- Pages
- Type of Edition
- Erstausgabe
- Publication Year
- 2015
- ISBN (Softcover)
- 9783960670056
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9783960675051
- File size
- 1.2 MB
- Language
- English
- Institution / College
- University for Development studies – Department of African and General Studies
- Publication date
- 2016 (February)
- Grade
- B
- Keywords
- Ghana Upper West Region Social Protection HIV AIDS Orphan WA Jirapa Social provisioning Vulnerable Children OVC
- Product Safety
- Anchor Academic Publishing
