Policy and practice: non‐governmental organisations and the health delivery system for displaced children in khartoum,Sudan

The civil war in Sudan and natural disasters have led to the displacement of many people of whom 2.2 million live in and around Khartoum, half of whom are under the age of 18. These children, living in barren, remote areas, must find ways to survive and meet their basic needs of food, shelter, health and education. This article focuses on the work of an international organisation working in health services for displaced people in one of the camps in Khartoum in order to argue the case for a rights‐based approach to health care, for separate provision of services to adolescent mothers, for education on sexual and reproductive health for children before they become sexually active, and for sexual and reproductive health services and education for adolescent boys and men. This article concentrates on health education, in particular sexual and reproductive rights and how gender‐based differences impact on the health and well‐being of children. By concentrating almost exclusively on pregnant and lactating women and children under five, the organisation may reduce the possibility of successful outcomes for women and may not contribute to the reduction of sexually transmitted diseases, early pregnancy and related morbidity and mortality. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social protection is a grassroots reality: Making the case for policy reflections on community‐based social protection actors and services in Africa

In Africa, the state is not the biggest responder to poverty and social vulnerability. While international attention has searched for State remedies to State shortfalls, the poor themselves have taken a different route. They have improvised, organized, delivered and governed their social protection (SP) services using grassroots mechanisms without State support. Based on empirical studies in 30 districts in six African countries, this article makes the case that the highly localized models may not be perfect, but are probably the best fit for implementing an all‐encompassing SP policy in Africa. The challenge for policy will be to harness this potential—not by trying to turn grassroots organizations into something they are not, but by supporting what they already are.