DFID Minister views poverty and inequality at first hand in South Africa
26 March 2008
Gillian Merron,
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development, recently
visited Johannesburg, South Africa. She gained a first hand view of the depth of
poverty and inequality in the country's wealthiest province.
First she stopped at Vukuzenzele, an informal settlement of over 8,000 people. Almost 80%
are unemployed, and many live with HIV/AIDS and TB. Houses are constructed from
any available material, mostly metal sheets, and there is no electricity, nor
any water-borne sewerage. Within the
whole settlement, there are only six taps.
The Minister met
some of the children from the Kwasa Pre-primary and Day Care Centre. The centre
cares for 120 children – 36 of whom are HIV positive. More than a half of
the children have
lost both parents to AIDS and are being raised by their grandmothers.
As well as the
school, the Anglican Church of Southern Africa runs a support group for
people affected and infected by HIV/AIDS. With DFID resources, the church
directly supports 87 projects providing home-based care, thereby meeting the needs of
orphans and vulnerable children in over 600 dioceses and parishes.
Going on set at Soul City soap opera
The Minister's next stop was to meet the cast and management of the soap
opera Soul City, South Africa’s equivalent to EastEnders and Coronation Street.
Watch a clip about domestic violence from Soul City.
180,000 calls
to the Stop Women Abuse helpline were answered while Soul City was on
air.
Watched by more than 34 million South Africans, Soul City, and the youth
spin-off Soul Buddyz, are dramas with a heart. They tackle serious issues such
as condom use, domestic violence, maternal health and xenophobia head-on. In a
country where 5.5 million of the population have HIV/AIDS, "edutainment"
(education + entertainment) plays a huge role in encouraging people to change
their behaviour.
The
Minister announced a further £14 million to fund Soul City's ongoing work in other Sub-Saharan Africa
countries, including Mozambique, Lesotho, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Swaziland,
Namibia and Zimbabwe, where the adapted Soul City material is already reaching
more than 60% of all young people.
The rest of the Minister’s visit was spent talking to project partners about DFID South Africa’s regional work in Southern Africa, and European Union
development counsellors about
joint working between EU countries in
South Africa. She also met representatives of all UK Government Departments in
South Africa and chatted about how we could build on a relationship that is already very
strong.
Gillian Merron left DFID South Africa with a clear idea of how the UK Government can
continue to make a real impact both in South Africa itself and the wider region.
Directgov |
Gillian Merron,
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development, recently
visited Johannesburg, South Africa. She gained a first hand view of the depth of
poverty and inequality in the country's wealthiest province. 
The
Minister announced a further £14 million to fund Soul City's ongoing work in other Sub-Saharan Africa
countries, including Mozambique, Lesotho, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Swaziland,
Namibia and Zimbabwe, where the adapted Soul City material is already reaching
more than 60% of all young people. 
