Social protection and care: Does the Child Support Grant translate to social justice outcomes for female beneficiaries who receive it on behalf of their children?

No abstract

Social protection and care: Does the Child Support Grant translate to social justice outcomes for female beneficiaries who receive it on behalf of their children?

The book begins by situating the establishment of the CSG within the wider context of South Africa’s political and welfare history, and the global context of social protection. It starts off by making the case for a gendered and feminist perspective of social protection which takes into account the degree to which a given social protection instrument – in this case the CSG – has the potential to be transformative, and the extent to which it fosters or doesn’t, the dignity and freedom of the women who receive it. The author then discusses in detail South Africa’s history of poverty and inequality, correctly identifying and locating both the role of the past (i.e. legacy of apartheid) and the failure of the present in addressing poverty and inequality. In this chapter, the book highlights the delicate tension between the country’s constitutional imperative of and commitment to redistribution, and a neoliberal macro-economic framework which prioritises the market, and how these contradictions continue to shape South Africa’s social protection system

Children, Social Assistance and Food Security

The Child Support Grant (CSG) in South Africa, which is the smallest of all the grants, is currently R460 per month after being increased from R450 in April 2021. This grant needs to cover many basic needs for a child – not least nutrition. However, the reality is that the grant is primarily used to buy food; food that is insufficient in quantity and quality to contribute to adequate nutrition. The grant for each child is paid out to a designated caregiver, who manages the funds on a child’s behalf. Based on the understanding that even though poverty and hunger are economic issues, they are also deeply social and psychological, this study is grounded on twelve case studies in which caregivers of children on CSGs were interviewed in depth about the ways in which the cash transfer is managed by households in terms of food and other basic needs

“I’m suffering for food” : Food insecurity and access to social protection for TB patients and their households in Cape Town, South Africa

Background Tuberculosis (TB) is a major health concern and the number one cause of death in South Africa. Social protection programmes can strengthen the resilience of TB patients, their families and households. This study aimed to get a better understanding of the role of social protection and other forms of support in relation to the burden of TB on patients and their households in South Africa. Methods This is a cross-sectional exploratory qualitative study using a phenomenological approach to focus on the lived experiences and perceptions of TB patients and healthcare workers. We interviewed 16 patients and six healthcare workers and analysed data thematically. Results The challenges faced by participants were closely related to household challenges. Participants reported a heavy physical burden, aggravated by a lack of nutritious food and that households could not provide the food they needed. Some needed to resort to charity. At the same time, households were significantly affected by the burden of caring for the patient—and remained the main source of financial, emotional and physical support. Participants reported challenges and costs associated with the application process and high levels of discretion by the assessing doctor allowing doctors’ opinions and beliefs to influence their assessment. Conclusion Access to adequate nutritious food was a key issue for many patients and this need strained already stretched households and budgets. Few participants reported obtaining state social protection support during their illness, but many reported challenges and high costs of trying to access it. Further research should be conducted on support mechanisms and interventions for TB patients, but also their households, including food support, social protection and contact tracing. In deciding eligibility for grants, the situation of the household should be considered in addition to the individual patient.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Falling through the cracks : Increased vulnerability and limited social assistance for TB patients and their households during COVID-19 in Cape Town, South Africa

publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Social Protection in a Time of Covid

The Covid-19 Social Relief of distress Grant (Covid-19 SRD) was introduced in South Africa in May 2020 to mitigate the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. It provided for people between 18 and 59 years of age, who had no income nor access to any other form of social assistance. This was an unprecedented moment in the history of social security in South Africa, initiated under enormous pressure in a remarkably short space of time. It drew people who had previously been excluded from the social grant programme, namely those aged 18 to 59 years, into the social protection network, creating a platform for Basic Income Support in the future. And yet, the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant was not perfect. The R350 amount was not linked to an objective measure of poverty, and fell well below the food poverty line (R585)

Categorisation and Minoritisation

The disproportionate mortality of COVID-19 and brutality of protective institutions has shifted anti-racism discourses into the mainstream. 1 Increased reckoning over categorisations of people demonstrate that racial categories, while imprecise, fluid, time and context-specific, embody hierarchical power. We interrogate categorisations used in the UK, South Africa and the USA; their origins and impact. We emphasise needing to recognise commonality of power structures globally, while acknowledging specificity in local contexts. In identifying such commonality, we encourage use of the term ‘minoritised’ as a universal alternative

Child Support Grant access and receipt among 12-week-old infants in an urban township setting in South Africa

BACKGROUND: Cash transfers (CTs) are increasingly used as a strategy to alleviate poverty and improve child health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. The Child Support Grant (CSG) is the largest CT programme in South Africa, and on the continent, targeting poor children from birth until the age of 18 with a monthly sum of R300 (USD30). Evidence on the CSG shows that early receipt of the grant is associated with improved child health outcomes. Since its implementation, one of the major concerns about the grant has been take-up rates, particularly for younger children. This paper reports results on take-up rates for 12-week-old infants residing in an urban township in South Africa. METHODS: This is a descriptive study utilising data from a community-based, cluster-randomised trial which evaluated a programme providing pregnancy and post-natal home visits by community health workers to 3,494 mothers in Umlazi township, South Africa. RESULTS: At the 12-week visit, half (52%) of the mothers who had enrolled in the study had applied for the CSG on behalf of their children, while 85% of the mothers who had not applied were still planning to apply. Only 38% (1,327) of all children had received the CSG. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, many mothers had not applied for the CSG in the first few months after delivery, and only a third of children had accessed the grant. Further research is needed to understand what the current barriers are that prevent mothers from applying for this important form of social protection in the early months after delivery

A decent living level: a pilot of the Minimum Income Standard approach in South Africa

A decent living level: a pilot of the Minimum Income Standard approach in South Afric

‘To be a woman is to make a plan’: a qualitative study exploring mothers’ experiences of the Child Support Grant in supporting children’s diets and nutrition in South Africa

Food security and good nutrition are key determinants of child well-being. There is strong evidence that cash transfers such as South Africa’s Child Support Grant (CSG) have the potential to help address some of the underlying drivers of food insecurity and malnutrition by providing income to caregivers in poor households, but it is unclear how precisely they work to affect child well-being and nutrition. We present results from a qualitative study conducted to explore the role of the CSG in food security and child well-being in poor households in an urban and a rural setting in South Africa