The Girl-Child and Government Service Provision.pdf - Tanzania ...

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constrained by low funding; the national health budget representsonly 1 per cent of the GDP, and most of that goesto pay staff salaries.Cambodia is experiencing a serious HIV/AIDS epidemic.The estimate for cumulative HIV infections in 1999 wasslightly over 24,000, representing 3.75 per cent of the sexuallyactive population (15–49 years), and new infections in2000 were estimated to be just under 50,000. Significantrates of infection were initially present in populationgroups such as commercial and indirect sex workers, policeand military, but there are signs that the wider populationis increasingly affected. Currently 2.4 per cent of marriedwomen have tested HIV-positive.Although extensive education campaigns about preventionof the spread of HIV/AIDS are being conducted by the governmentand NGOs, it is expected that the number ofcases will continue to rise. An increasing number of peoplewill be seeking care and support for HIV/AIDS, and becausemany people with AIDS cannot afford hospital care, theburden of caring for them and their orphans will place significantstress on extended families and communities overthe coming years. In 1998 there were an estimated 50,000children who had lost both parents in Cambodia, with thatnumber expected to increase significantly due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The epidemic will result in a significant lossof human life and also of social and economic capital. 10Information from the survey (see Appendix) shows thathigh rates of immunisation were recorded for both malesand females, with only 8 per cent of families indicating thattheir children were not immunised. A gap of 20 per centemerged between the first and second girl in a family to beimmunised compared to a gap for boys of 10 per cent.All families surveyed indicated that there was no differencein access to health services for boys and girls. However, 5per cent said there was a difference in access to education.Health workers were known to 20 per cent of the targetgroup and there was no difference in the number of urbanand provincial visits. Health was the most visible of governmentservices listed.The first of 27 reasons that families listed as barriers toservice access for girl children was that regular access tohealth care and treatment was not possible. Access wassporadic and subject to factors the families could not control:staff not in attendance, the distance to a health centre,lack of supplies at the health centre, lack of money to payfor service and transportation problems due to floods.Actions to remove these barriers would include increasingthe number of health centres with trained medical staff andsupplies; providing free health care and treatment; and increasingcommunity education on health care, sanitationand clean water.Child protectionThe government in Cambodia is unable to recognise andrespond to the scale of issues children experience. Countryreports indicate that the following areas are most frequentlyreported to the Cambodian National Council forChildren:• Children’s treatment by the juvenile justice system;• Child abuse, neglect and exploitation, including corporalpunishment in schools;• Child labourers and child migrants;• Discrimination against girl children, children born outsideof marriage and non-nationals who are displaced;and• Children in welfare institutions.In Cambodia 70 per cent of working children are not inschool. Child labour is widespread, often hazardous andhidden. More children are working away from their homeand outside of the family environment, which greatly increasestheir risk of being exploited. Child workers areyounger as more children under 10 are being involved inwork. The sex industry is a leading employer of children.Some 30–35 per cent of the prostitutes surveyed werebetween 12 and 17 years of age. These children are at riskof contracting STDs and HIV/AIDS and of suffering violentphysical and/or psychological abuse. Many children are furtherexploited by being trafficked.As well as being victims, children are themselves also inconflict with the law. Juvenile delinquency, which has beenincreasing in Cambodia, is partly fuelled by the increasingavailability of amphetamines. The number of children inadult prisons increased from a monthly average of 10 in1995 to 111 in 1999.Some progress has been made. In 1996 the governmentintroduced laws to suppress trafficking. Greater application16 The Girl-Child and Government Service Provision
of laws to protect children from sexual exploitation, traffickingand hazardous child labour has been visible since2000 as the result of its increased priority among the donorcommunity. Joint initiatives between NGOs and keygovernment departments have also assisted. While theseinitiatives are valid, they are not for the most part fundedby government revenue. The department with most responsibilityfor the protection of children is weak andpoorly funded. The government endorses policies to advancechild protection but does not commit budget ortrain staff to improve standards. 11The government does not, in the opinion of 10 per cent ofthose surveyed, provide clean water, but it should. Roadconstruction, sanitation and ambulance services were alsofeatured in the services needed.Twenty-one government services were identified as potentiallyhelpful to girls. Trained and available teachers wererequested by 86 per cent of those surveyed. Health careand non-formal education (80 per cent each), vocationaltraining (66 per cent) and clean water (60 per cent) followed.Visits from local authoritiesInformation from the survey shows that local authoritieswere visible to only 5 per cent of the surveyed groupthrough visits.Health workers were the most visible in both rural andurban locations of the survey (20 per cent). The Ministry ofSocial Affairs, the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry ofVeterans are visible to 13 per cent. In the urban area familieswere more likely to receive a visit by a factor of 5 comparedto rural areas. All visits of education workers wereto provincial areas, where 7 per cent knew of their workin the community. Only 1 per cent of those surveyed wasaware of Ministry of Women’s Affairs work, and thisper cent was recorded in a provincial location where thereis an active campaign to counter trafficking of women andchildren. Fifteen per cent of families were also aware ofWorld Vision’s activities and concern for children’s interests,mostly those in provincial areas.Government servicerequestsFHOHs identified 32 different areas of service that shouldbe provided by the government but are not. The most frequentrequest from the 60 FHOHs was for children’s clubslinked to schools. This was supported in all the areas surveyed,receiving 60 per cent approval in provincial areasand 95 per cent approval in urban areas. The need for moralityeducation for children was identified in the urbansurvey and supported by 25 per cent of this survey group.This issue did not emerge in discussion with the provincialgroups surveyed. Other significant requests were for educationand health facilities, school materials and uniforms.Child protection servicesChild-protection services provided by government wereknown to 10 per cent of those surveyed, with 8 per centsaying they were visible in the community and able to beaccessed by children. These responses were all from theurban location of the survey; there was no awareness ofchild-protection services in the province.Gender differencesOnly 8 per cent of those surveyed indicated any differencebetween the genders in regard to access to education services;no difference registered for health services. Thirtyper cent reported that boys need better access to educationto help them get jobs and to be better providers in thefuture. This view received stronger support proportionallyin the urban centre surveyed; others indicated support tothe concept of equal access to services mostly as a principle.This view was proportionally supported morestrongly in the province (37 per cent) than in the urbanarea (28 per cent). One area where there was greater supportproportionally in the urban area (65 per cent) thanprovincial (45 per cent) was health care.Equal accessThe parents listed 23 occupational roles they believedwould be open equally to males and females in the future.Teachers and doctors rated the highest roles for childrento aspire to, with 84 per cent of respondents naming them.They were followed by police (48 per cent), communechief (38 per cent) and politician (30 per cent). Differencesin urban and rural locations were in the weight given toroles and activities that are more common in each location.The Girl-Child and Government Service Provision 17
Page 2 and 3: Copyright 2004 by World Vision Inte
Page 5: ContentsIntroduction ..............
Page 8 and 9: identified in the case studies that
Page 10 and 11: Approximately 53 per cent of the po
Page 12 and 13: facility but also with staff member
Page 14 and 15: Literacy and educationAdult literac
Page 18 and 19: Policewoman, for example, had 100 p
Page 20 and 21: EducationA deputy principal of a pr
Page 22 and 23: ObservationsThis study has focused
Page 24 and 25: Regulation and taxation neededCorru
Page 26 and 27: 7. What reasons does the family giv
Page 29 and 30: Girl-Child Accessto Government Soci
Page 31 and 32: class. According to a 1996 TDHS sur
Page 33 and 34: there is governmental inconsistency
Page 35 and 36: ole models. Other educational barri
Page 37 and 38: was collected face to face. The stu
Page 39 and 40: • Consultations: Institutions con
Page 41 and 42: Secondary schoolsTwo of the five vi
Page 43 and 44: This finding is consistent with nat
Page 45 and 46: Case story 3Mercy John, a 14-year-o
Page 47: Health workers’ viewsAll the heal
Page 50 and 51: Annex 2: Questions forinterviews wi
Page 52 and 53: Annex 6: Questions forfocus-group d
Page 54 and 55: Sepehri, A. 1992. ‘Balance of Pay
Page 56 and 57: equires the generation of condition
Page 59: Table 3-3. Interviews, April 28-May
Page 62 and 63: Table 3-5. Working adolescentsLos C
Page 64 and 65: Table 3-6. Household chores and lac
Page 66 and 67:
per cent of the population. However
Page 68 and 69:
Figure 3-7. Access to services in t
Page 70 and 71:
Annex 1Interviews, Stage 1, April 2
Page 72 and 73:
Education1. Who likes attending sch
Page 74 and 75:
3. What are the main reasons why bo
Page 76 and 77:
7. What do you think are the main p
Page 79 and 80:
World Development Report 2004and Gi
Page 81 and 82:
power and wealth. But it fails to d
Page 83 and 84:
economies of scale of setting up wa
Page 85 and 86:
Services and the girl-childThe serv
Page 87:
5The World Bank Annual Report 2003,
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