Due to the strain of poverty, disease, and other challenges, many children and youth across Southern Africa require psychosocial support. Unattended, burgeoning psychosocial issues could impact socioeconomic development, peace, and security in the region. In order to establish clarity across the region on psychosocial needs and support, SADC developed the Regional Conceptual Framework for Psychosocial Support for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children and Youth.
Deeming psychosocial care a basic requirement for ensuring development of children, the Psychosocial Support Framework guides service providers in delivering multilayered psychosocial responses across a range of sectors – biological, emotional, and cognitive, among others. The Framework identifies priority services, interventions, and outcomes for psychosocial services in the region, outlining potential issues and outcomes. It stresses a comprehensive approach, recognising that psychosocial support cuts across many sectors and therefore needs incorporation into services already in place in the region. With the Minimum Package of Services, the Psychosocial Support Framework intends to ensure psychological – as well as physical – wellbeing for vulnerable children and youth in the region.
