Although care reform is well established in some parts of the Eastern and Southern Africa, many countries in the region are just beginning their care reform journey. This short paper is aimed at these contexts. It explains what care reform is, the different components of care reform, why care reform is important and how to start a care reform process. 

Key lessons learnt on how to carry out effective care reform in Eastern and Southern Africa from the COVID 19 pandemic.

COVID-19 led to widespread disruption of services that promote family well-being. Families impacted most were those already experiencing disparities due to structural and systemic barriers. Existing support systems faded into the background as families became more isolated. New approaches were needed to deliver evidence-based, low-cost interventions to reach families within communities. The authors adapted a family strengthening intervention developed in Kenya (“Tuko Pamoja”) for the United States.

This is the monthly update of the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Learning Platform published in September 2022. 

In this video, Anne Kinuthia, shares how social work practitioners from Kivuli, a residential care service provider in Kenya, used a simple, fun, and non-threatening activity called My Say to help children, families and staff, surface and process their emotions during the organization’s transition.

Why is it so important to consider mental health and emotional well-being in child care and child protection? How can we address mental health needs in a non-clinical environment?

The escalating human trafficking menace across the Horn of Africa region should be tackled as a matter of urgency to avert social turmoil and instability, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said in a statement during World Day Against Trafficking of Persons.

Children are increasingly involved in sand mining in East Africa. The illegal sand trade occurs in mostly remote areas, hidden from sight and out of reach of anti-child labour advocacy campaigns. That makes it hard to determine the exact number of youngsters involved.

My father left my mother while she was pregnant – she gave birth when he had already left. People call me “daughter of a bitch”. They disturb and hurt me so much. They say they will chase me because I am a foreigner. I am suffering. These are the words of Emma* – a 13-year-old girl from Beni, a city in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) near its border with Uganda.

There exists a gap in care leaving literature about the extent to which the labelling and stereotyping of care leavers during their time in residential care facilities affects their transitions into adulthood. This paper presents an analysis of interviews conducted with care leavers from six childcare facilities in Zimbabwe (n = 30).