Keeping Girls out of Bedrooms: Thoughts on What It Takes to End Child Marriages in Religious Settings in Southern Africa

RIATT-ESA in collaboration with REPSSI and the ACCZ  recently held a series of dialogues with members of the Apostolic Church and the Zion Church. This group of churches is known to accept the practise of child marriages and discourage its members from accessing public medical and educational services. The dialogues and accompanying Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials reached more than 50 000 members in 4 of the 10 provinces of Zimbabwe in April and May 2016. 

Making the Case: Palliative care for children with incurable illnesses - A basic human right

Globally over 21 million babies, children and young people are living with life-limiting conditions and serious, life-threatening illnesses including HIV and AIDS. Most of these children are in the developing world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. These vulnerable children would all benefit from palliative care to relieve their suffering and promote the best possible quality of life. While some developed countries have reasonable access to children’s hospice and palliative care services, globally less than 1% of children needing palliative care actually receive it. In South Africa an estimated 801,155 children are living with life threatening and incurable illnesses but only 4, 76% have access to palliative care services.