Many children and youth in Southern Africa are deprived of basic needs for reasons of poverty, disease, and conflict. Following its commitment to wellbeing of the region’s people, SADC developed the Minimum Package of Services – a legal instrument that establishes basic services provided by Member States to help orphans, vulnerable children, and youth survive and develop.
The Minimum Package of Services puts Strategic Framework and Programme of Action for Orphans, Vulnerable Children and Youth into action. Based on the Millennium Development Goals, the Package specifies the essential needs for children in six key areas: education, healthcare, nutrition, youth safety, psychosocial wellbeing, and social protection. In order to address these needs, the Package outlines priorities for services, strategies for delivering those services, and a system for monitoring and evaluating those services’ efficacy.
