Child rights activists say whilst government has made progress in ensuring that children benefit from social grants, much needs still needs to be done to improve access to education.
This is as the world commemorates the International Children’s Day which also marks the end of child protections week in the country.
According to statistics, South Africa’s child homicide rate is double the global average, nearly half of all child homicide cases are due to abuse and neglect.
Senior Researcher at the University of Cape Town based Children’s Institute, Lucy Jamieson, says whilst child mortality has decreased substantially there is a need to improve literacy levels amongst children.
“South Africa has reduced the number of children that dies within the first year. We have increased levels of immunisation. But there are areas where we are struggling like in education. We need to invest and ensure that children are able to read.”
