2011 has started on a sound advocacy footing. We are presented with a number of opportunities to participate in the discussion of policies, programmes and interventions; promises and plans have been put on the public table through the State of the Nation address as well as the 2011 Budget, to which we can and should hold duty bearers accountable; and of course, there are the upcoming local elections, through which we can raise the political profile of young children at a local level.

The 2011 budget makes significant promises of delivery on infrastructure to improve service delivery and development in South Africa. Notable in this regard are: the focus for example on improved transport and related infrastructure; dedicated infrastructure grants to local government; and tighter anti-corruption procurement processes.

Public participation in the Transport Policy Guidelines

The invitation to submit written comments responding to the Transport Policy Guidelines offers a strategic opportunity to ensure that an emerging policy that has the potential to start making inroads into one of South Africa’s most persistent service delivery barriers takes deliberate cognisance of the transport needs of pregnant women, mothers and their young children, namely transport or, rather, the lack of access to transport. The invitation to comment on the Guidelines is but one opportunity to raise the issue of transport and young children. Once the Guidelines are in place, the obligation created by this body of principles that “Participation of all interested parties, including vulnerable and disadvantaged persons, in transport planning must be promoted” will potentially create numerous opportunities to ensure that provincial and local level transport policies recognise and address the needs of young children and their caregivers – a recognised vulnerable group in South Africa. However, this space will only be meaningful if it is actively grasped and the young child sector and communities use it to engage.

At a glance, the current Transport Policy Guidelines do not identify who or what a vulnerable group is. It would be useful for the Guidelines to expressly identify groups that are especially vulnerable and whose vulnerability makes access to transport difficult and critically important at one and the same time. The Guidelines should identify vulnerable groups, including young children and their caregivers, especially those living in poverty in rural areas. Another requirement in terms of the Guidelines is that Transport plans and programmes must be synchronised with other planning initiatives and must indicate how they are integrated with other integrated development plans. It is unlikely that without strong local and provincial level advocacy that the transport policy developers will consider the National Integrated Plan for ECD and how Transport policies should and can realise the Plan objectives. The young child sector is ideally placed to highlight this intersection and promote discussion about this interplay: especially as to how transport policies and programmes can improve access to basic facilities and services used by young children and their caregivers – another requirement in terms of the Transport Guidelines.

In short, there are a number of opening advocacy spaces to address the transport barrier preventing access to services for young children – these spaces are waiting to be taken up, starting with the invitation to submit written comments on the Guidelines.

Should anyone develop and submit written commentary, please do share this with the broader sector by sending a copy for us to profile in the next issue of the ECDLC Newsflash.

The UN CEDAW Committee requirements to develop a Gender Equality Bill and unified family code

As discussed in this issue, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has given the South African government a two-year timeframe within which to make progress on developing a unified family code and to publish a Green Paper in preparation for a Gender Equality Bill. This creates an important advocacy opportunity for the young child sector to work more actively and closely with the Gender sector to raise the profile and position of pregnant women and, especially their girl children on the national agenda. The Ministry for Women, Children and People with Disabilities is politically mandated to address the cross-sectoral gender/children issues. It is not often that the two sectors work collaboratively to identify and address common issues through common policies and solutions. The Ministry could well be the space through which to facilitate a more active partnership across the sectors; but civil society will have to promote and support any such cross-sectoral fertilisation for it to become a reality and to be sustainable.

We therefore invite discussion on the issue: Should the gender and children’s sector work together more closely in the development of national gender and children’s policies and programmes? If so, how can we facilitate this? Please send your comments, suggestions and ideas to the ECDLC Newsflash (address details are provided on the front page) for publication in the next and subsequent issues of the Newsflash.