THE FREE STATE POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

Free State Isibalo Symposium on evidence based decision making

Hosted by Stats SA

10 – 11 October 2013

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OUTLINE

• Introduction• What is a Population Strategy?• What informs the Population Strategy?• Why is the Population Strategy important?• What are the key focus areas for the Free State

Population Strategy?• Who are the role players in the implementation of the

Strategy?• What costs are involved and the funding mechanisms• Progress to date• Way forward

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INTRODUCTION• The advent of democracy in South Africa in

1994, ushered in new developments and drive to address critical issues of the population and development needs.

• To this end a White Paper on Population Policy for South Arica, was accepted as the official policy for the SA Government.

• However, each of the nine provinces has taken responsibility to drive its own processes for the development of the State of the Population and the Population Strategy.

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WHAT IS THE POPULATION STRATEGY?

• The Population Strategy is the tool that most countries use in order to maintain and sustain their populations.

• In some cases the strategy has to control the growth or the decline of the population. (Think of China with a one child strategy which was introduced in 1979).

• In South Africa, the strategy is based on the South African Population Policy.

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WHAT IS THE POPULATION STRATEGY? (1)

• However, the release of the State of the Population of the Province in 2010 formed the basis for the development of the Population Strategy.

• Statistics used and other data sources have mainly been derived from Statistics South Africa.

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WHAT INFORMS THE POPULATION STRATEGY?

• Population Strategies may be informed by, among others:o The state of the resources available in the

country;o The well-being or health of the population;o The incident and/or prevalence of epidemic

disease;o Political or economic considerations;o Fertility, mortality or migration.

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WHAT INFORMS THE POPULATION STRATEGY? (1)

• Chapter 2 of the Free State Population Strategy covers extensively Provincial Strategic Focus Areas which were considered in shaping the strategy.

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WHY IS THE POPULATION STRATEGY IMPORTANT?

• The importance of the strategy is that it ensures the systematic integration of population issues with planning.

• This planning is carried out at all spheres of government and ensures equitable distribution of resources.

• The population strategy can be used for making projections on the population, given a set of variables such as fertility, mortality, HIV/AIDS incidence and its prevalence. Migration etc.,

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WHY IS THE POPULATION STRATEGY IMPORTANT? (1)

• The strategy clearly identifies key role players, institutional arrangements, monitoring and evaluation and it provides time frames in terms

of its 5-Year Work Plan.• As a living document, the Free State Population

Strategy will also receive reviews and accommodate regular updates and modifications in the face of ever-changing population dynamics.

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WHY IS THE POPULATION STRATEGY IMPORTANT? (2)

• The Free State Population Strategy is shaped around four (4) focus areas and sub-themes for a period of five (5) years.

• The identified focus areas have also been aligned to the National Population Unit Action Plan 2011 – 2014.

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FOCUS AREAS OF THE FREE STATE POPULATION STRATEGY

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1. Mortality and Morbidity •HIV/AIDS•Mortality and morbidity from other causes

2. Youth and the Demographic Dividend

3. Gender Equality, Equity and Empowerment of Women

•Gender Based Violence•Teenage Pregnancy

4. Consequences of local population trends •Informal settlements•Migration, urbanization and rural development•Climate change and the environment

OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOME(S) FOR THE 5-YEAR WORK PLAN

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Objective 1:To strengthen sustainable, evidence-based population development, HIV and AIDS and health related initiatives aimed at reducing HIV and AIDS prevalence, maternal mortality and infant mortality

Outcome 1:To reduce HIV and AIDS prevalence and mitigate the impact in the province.Outcome 2:To reduce mortality and morbidity from other causes.

Objective 2:Discovering and developing the untapped economic and social potential of the youth

Outcome 1:To promote the health of youth.Outcome 2:To promote educational attainment and skills development of youth as a strategy to reap the demographic dividend.

OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOME(S) FOR THE 5-YEAR WORK PLAN (2)

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Objective 3:Gender equality, equity and the empowerment of women

Outcome 1:To reduce the cases of gender-based violence and sexual abuse among children.Outcome 2:To reduce teenage pregnancy.Outcome 3:To promote gender equality, equity and the empowerment of women through the mainstreaming of gender as a major population factor into development planning.

Objective 4:To enhance sustainable human development by promoting equilibrium between population trends, environment and development

Outcome 1:To reduce the number of household living in informal settlement.Outcome 2:To mitigate the adverse effects of migration.Outcome 3:To promote the integration of population variables into local planning to ensure sustainable human development.

INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK• The Department of Social Development is the

custodian of the Population Strategy and strives to enable the poor, vulnerable and the excluded within the South African society to secure a better life for themselves.

• However, given its wider implications that stem from the four (4) focus areas, the successful implementation of the Free State Population Strategy hinges on the collaboration with various other departments, collaborating institutions and in some cases lead departments, including SAPS.

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INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK (2)

• The 5-Year Work Plan details these collaborations extensively.

• It must be pointed out that changes and/or improvements to the roles and/or functions as identified in the Work Plan will continually be recognized by amendments in the strategy.

• In some instances, annualized activities must be supported by the timeous inflow of resources such as funding and human capital.

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INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK (3)

• The current capacity within the Provincial Population Unit (PPU) will be reviewed from year

to year and in line with the organogram for the PPU in the province and also in terms of affordability.

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FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

• The Third Country Programme focus on:oReproductive Health;o Population and development; oGendero Programme co-ordination and assistance.

• As the listed programmes are often co-financed by the UNFPA, departments requiring assistance for the activities related to the implementation of the strategy will still access funding through the UNFPA Country Program.

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FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS (3)

• All other activities relating to the implementation of the strategy will be funded from departmental operational budgets for the years 2013 – 2017.

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PROGRESS TO DATE

• The Population Strategy was launched by the MEC Social Development in November 2012 at the President Hotel, Bloemfontein.

• Engagements with the Stakeholders and acquisition of support and cooperation must still be made through FOHOD and ultimately EXCO.

• Impact Research International Consultants were responsible for the development of the strategy and both the National and Free State Social Development made valuable contributions to the final product.

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WAY FORWARD

• The current State of the Population Report 2010, is due for review in 2015.

• We hope to work on the revised State of the Population Report 2015 with Statistics South Africa.

• The department is forever thankful for the support and partnership it has built with Stats SA, Bloemfontein over the last year.

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THANK YOU

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