‘Mankind owes to the child the best that it has to give’: Prison conditions and the health situation and rights of circumstantial children incarcerated in Sub Saharan African prisons.

Background: In recent times, sub-Saharan African (SSA) prisons have seen a substantial increase in women prisoners, including those incarcerated with children. Methods: A scoping review mapped what is currently known about the health situation and unique rights violations of children incarcerated with their mothers in SSA prisons. A systematic search collected and reviewed all available and relevant published and grey literature (2000-2018). Following application of exclusion measures, 64 records remained, which represented 27 of the 49 SSA countries. These records were charted and thematically analysed. Results: Four main themes were generated as follows: 1) the prison physical environment; 2) food availability, adequacy and quality; 3) provision of basic necessities and 4) availability and accessibility of health services for incarcerated children. Conclusions: The review highlights the grave situation of children incarcerated with their mothers in SSA prisons, underpinned by the lack of basic necessities, inadequate hygiene, sanitation and safe drinking water, exposure to diseases in overcrowded cells, inadequate nutrition, lack of provision of clothing and bedding, and difficulties accessing paediatric care. Reported paediatric morbidity and mortality associated with such prison conditions is deeply concerning and contrary to international mandates for the rights of the child, right to health and standards of care

Factors that enhance intrapersonal wellness of orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC) in institutions and community-based settings in Zimbabwe

The study sought to determine and explain factors that enhance the intrapersonal wellness of orphans and other vulnerable children (OVCs) in institutions and community-based settings in Zimbabwe. The study was conducted in three different settings in Harare Province and its environs. A sample of 204 children from the three settings was selected using the probability sampling method. The Psychosocial Well-being Quality Assessment Tool for children was used to collect data. The study findings indicated that intrapersonal wellness of orphans and other vulnerable children was determined and enhanced by factors like age, sex, type of home, physical ability, stigma and safety at home. The study noted that enhancement of intrapersonal wellness of orphans and other vulnerable children is crucial because this affects the children’s feelings of being accepted, loved, cared for. In addition, intrapersonal wellness also affects levels of confidence, happiness, and the child’s full development. The paper recommends that the key stakeholders, including government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), families and society at large should do everything in their power to uphold the rights and best interests of vulnerable children through promoting child-focused programmes that have the scope to mould the children into socially acceptable members of the global village.Keywords: Intrapersonal, wellness, children, vulnerable, institution, society, orphan, Zimbabwe.

Innocent inmates: The case of children living with incarcerated mothers in Zimbabwe’s Chikurubi Prison

In Zimbabwe, as elsewhere across the world, convicted nursing mothers are often incarcerated jointly with their young children. This joint incarceration is justified on the grounds that it ensures social protection of the children who are inadvertently caught up in the incarceration process. However, whether joint incarceration of this nature really facilitates the social protection of the child is a matter that has not been adequately interrogated by researchers. This paper is based on a study on this theme, which was conducted at Zimbabwe’s Chikurubi Female Prison. At the time the research was conducted, 15 of the prison inmates were nursing their babies, and all 15 of them agreed to participate in the study. The study utilised the qualitative research design. The findings of the study revealed that the physical and social environment in the prison settings constituted a major challenge in regard to the realisation of the goal of social protection of such children. The study concluded that the deleterious effects of joint incarceration of young children with their mothers far outweighed the benefits as perceived by the state and other proponents of the policy. The paper recommends a reconceptualisation of the contemporary structure of prisons and indeed a revisit of the philosophy informing the joint incarceration of young children and their mothers.Keywords: Social protection, joint incarceration, children, mothers, prison, Zimbabwe

A comparative analysis of impact of alternative care approaches on psychosocial wellbeing of orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC) in Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe the AIDS pandemic and various other macroeconomic challenges have resulted in the creation of large numbers of orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC). Systems of care and psychosocial support for the 0VC common in Zimbabwe include the dormitory, the community-based and the household models. Utilising a comparative approach, the study sought to assess the impact of these alternative care and support approaches on the psychosocial wellbeing of OVC in Zimbabwe. The study utilised a structured questionnaire to gather data from three institutions that were using the three different models of children care. Institution A used the household model; institution B, the dormitory approach, while setting C promoted the community-based model. Data were collected using the ‘Ask the Expert Psychosocial Wellbeing Quality Tool’. The results indicated that the community and household-based models were more effective alternatives in respect of enhancing the psychosocial wellbeing of orphans and other vulnerable children, when compared with the dormitory model. The two approaches provided a social environment which was more conducive for the vulnerable children to lead happier, less stigmatised lives in which they more easily made friends and felt safe and secure. The dormitory model, on the other hand, provided an environment detrimental to promotion of the children’s psychosocial wellbeing.Keywords: Psychosocial, dormitory, community-based approach, household, children, Zimbabw