Eastern and South Africa

·        Share with your colleagues the area of the world you chose and why.

First off, I found this part of the Unicef website difficult to navigate to find the information I needed. Also, I couldn’t find the “Regional Office Website” link that is in the assignment directions. So this was a frustrating assignment for me. I chose to explore the Eastern and South Africa Region because I don’t know much about it.

·        Describe in detail some of the challenges that children in this region of the world are confronting.

Children in this region face many challenges. “The key challenges facing poor children in this age group are survival, transmission of HIV in the neo and post-natal period, and for those who survive, nutrition and cognitive development” (Unicef, n.d.). Children under 5 years old have the highest death rate, mostly caused by malnutrition (Unicef, n.d.). These children also lack the resources to receive the early childhood intervention and health care that they need in order to survive or become healthy. Many children become orphans because their parents die. “Social protection has a role to play in promoting access to early childhood development programs for poor and otherwise very vulnerable  children, such as those who are malnourished or whose caretakers have poor nurturing skills” (Unicef, n.d.). Poor children in middle childhood “do not get a chance to go to school or that they do not go long enough to acquire the basic skills and competencies needed for work and life” (Unicef, n.d.).  Children who come from wealthier families are more likely to attend school and girls are less likely to attend school than boys. “Although more and more children are getting a chance to attend school, a significant share enter late, repeat grades and leave without completing the five years of primary school believed to be the minimum for sustained literacy and other competencies” (Unicef, n.d.). Regular attendance in school is also an issue, and “many schools fail to provide protective environments for children and that girls are at risk of sexual abuse by teachers and others” (Unicef, n.d.).

·        Explain how these experiences might have an effect on children’s emotional well-being and development.

These challenges cause stunting in growth and high rates of underweight and low birth weight (Unicef, n.d.). I think that these experiences for children who do survive, very much negatively influence their social, emotional, and cognitive well-being. Children are most likely living in more of a survival mode, and priorities are not school, learning, or becoming a productive child or adult. Priorities are mostly likely finding food, and children probably spend more time being ill than healthy. “Poor families have less access to health facilities and quality health care, and tend to live in environments that predispose them to illness and death” (Unicef, n.d.). The fact that children drop out of school, or do not attend school regularly, influences their ability to perform basic skills needed in order to hold a job and make a living. These children are also probably more likely to engage in sexual behaviors leading to HIV or other illnesses, abuse, exploitation, and become pregnant at a young age.

·       Include a personal and professional reflection. Explain the insights you gained and the influences they may have on you as a person and as an early childhood professional.

It really was eye opening to find this information and realize the struggles and challenges that these young children face from birth and on. These families and children lack the health care, nutrition, leadership, protection, support, resources, and schooling that they need in order to become healthy, functioning adults. It reminds me of the Ebola outbreak in Africa that is happening right now. If the resources and protocols, security and health care is not available, it will continue to spread, just like the challenges these poor children face each day.

References:

Information by country | UNICEF. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2014, from http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/.