Plan Mozambique Annual Progress Report 2009

A YEAR IN

MOZAMB09IQUE SUMMARY REPORT

NCENT & NADINES BARBADOS

3

GOOD REASONS why Plan works in Mozambique

GRENADA TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

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• Life expectancy for a Mozambican child born today is just 42 • Mozambique has very high levels of maternal and child mortality, caused by malaria, malnutrition, HIV/AIDS and diarrhoea

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Maputo

• Protecting children’s rights • Helping to make community decision-making fairer and more effective • Enhancing economic security

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Country Office Programme Unit

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MOZAMBIQUE

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AFRICA

MADAGASCAR

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BRAZIL SOUTH

• Improving standards of education

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• Improving the health of mothers and small children

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ZIMBABWE

Our priorities in Mozambique

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COMOROS

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• Only 7% of children progress as far as secondary school

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TANZANIA

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GUYANA

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Community members help with Gre at a under construction.

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FRENCH GUIANA

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MOZAMBIQUE

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MOZAMBIQUE FACTS

BOLIVIA

Solar powered water tanks have been installed for some schools.

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PARAGUAY

Country Office Capital: Maputo Programme Unit

Population: 21.3 million Language: Maputo Portuguese, 16 African languages Climate: Mozambique has a tropical climate with two seasons, a wet season from October to March and a dry season from April to September. Climatic conditions, however, vary depending on altitude. Rainfall is heavy along

the coast and decreases in the north and south.

Economy: The country is still one of the world’s poorest and most underdeveloped.

Mozambique remains dependent upon foreign assistance for much of its annual budget, and a large majority of the population remains below the poverty line. Subsistence agriculture continues to employ the vast majority of the country’s workforce.

“We are grateful for continued support and invite you to join us in our quest to realise Plan’s vision of a world in which children enjoy their rights and realise their full potential.”

– Habte Woldemariam, Plan’s Country Director

A YEAR IN

MOZAMBIQUE SUMMARY REPORT

09

FOCUS ON: PROTECTING CHILDREN’S RIGHTS One reason for the violation of children’s rights in Mozambique is the low level of birth registration. Not only does a birth certificate prove the right to schooling and other services, but it also encourages children to think of themselves as citizens.

Another reason for the violation of children’s rights is the general lack of knowledge of child protection issues.

So Plan is supporting birth registration initiatives and at the same time training staff and communities on children’s rights and child protection.

THE RIGHT TO BE REGISTERED

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n some parts of Mozambique, a birth certificate is a rarity. In fact, it’s common to meet adults who do not know their real age or even their place of birth.

As part of this school construction project a teacher’s house was built.

The Bigger Picture

Plan began operations in Mozambique in 2007, and it takes time to build up the strong relationships with communities and partners that are needed for success. But in the last year, we have: • Built or rehabilitated four schools, helping to give Mozambique’s children a better standard of education • Trained forty people in two communities on vocational and business skills that will help them provide for their families and their futures • Trained 50 community members and volunteers on child protection issues – making them aware of children’s rights and what constitutes abuse.

Your support as a sponsor is crucial to achieving these positive results. So on behalf of the communities, partner organisations, and most of all the children we work with – thank you!

“Only around two million children from the total of 9.4 million Mozambican children have birth certificates.”

To learn more about Plan’s work in Mozambique visit www.plan.org.au/ourwork/southernafrica/mozambique

Produced for Mozambique by the Australian National Office.

The extent of the problem can be illustrated by Joaquina. Mother of three Joaquina thinks she is 45, but she can’t be sure, because she has never had a birth certificate. Neither, until recently, did her children. “I could not register my children when they were born,” says Joaquina, “because the registration post is very far from where we live and the cost of transport is very high.”

Joaquina’s children aren’t alone. Only around two million from the total of 9.4 million Mozambican children have birth certificates. This creates a big problem when they want to demand their right to an education, because enrolment into secondary school depends on taking grade five exams, and that isn’t possible without registration. What’s more, without a birth certificate to prove a child’s age, it’s impossible to prosecute unscrupulous employers who hire children as workers, or to challenge under-age marriage effectively.

Fortunately, Joaquina knows about the value of registration. And when local community leaders told her about the Plan-supported birth registration programme, she brought her children along. She took the opportunity to register herself as well.

Registered for school Another person benefiting from registration is Francisco. He was accompanied by his grandmother, Maria, to get registered. She says: “Francisco could not be registered before because his parents died before they could register him.”

The opportunity to register given by the project came at the right time for Francisco, as Maria explains: “Francisco failed to be enrolled for grade five because he does not have a registration certificate, but now that he has got a registration certificate he can be enrolled.”

“Francisco could not be registered before because his parents died before they could register him.”

Many others were equally positive about the project, and expressed their thanks to Plan for supporting their children. Take Delfina, 28, who had three children to register. Again, Delfina’s problem was the distance between her house and the closest birth registration centre (21 miles away) and the cost of travel.

“I know that it is important to get a birth certificate for all children,” says Delfina. “(But) for my children it was quite difficult to get the documentation due the lack of money.”

Despite the project having achieved 99% of its target, Plan’s programme left very many children still missing out on registration. Lots of people queued for hours, even days, to get their children registered, and they were still waiting after the registration workers had moved on to the next community.

To stop these people missing out, the community asked for the project to be extended, and Plan agreed to support this. Now a total of more than 40,000 people have been registered.

Yet there are still millions more without birth certificates. Delfina was one of many who emphasised that projects like this one must continue: “Birth registration campaigns are very good,” she said, “because they give children the opportunity to have a document that proves their existence and provides a life in the future.”

That proof of existence could also be a vital step to turn Mozambique’s children into the active citizens of tomorrow, and so lead the country out of poverty in the long term.

Some names have been changed for child protection and privacy purposes.

plan.org.au