The Numbers

‘Children and AIDS through different lenses’

Dr Sharlene Swartz – sswartz@hsrc.ac.za
National Press Foundation
15 July 2009

Demographics of South Africa’s children

Source: Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town. Based on the General Household Survey, 2007.

General
 38% of South Africa’s population are under 18
 68% live in households with a per capita income below R350 (value set in 2000)
 38% (nearly 7 million children) live in households where no adults are working
 86% of eligible children (8 million) accessed a Child Support Grant, 1.3 million did not
 422,000 children receive the Foster Care Grant

Living arrangements
 34.3% children live in the same household as both their parents
 39.9% children live with their mothers only
 2.8% live with their fathers only
 23% living in households with neither parent - 83% of these children still had one or both
parents alive

Orphans
 20% of children (3.7 million)in South Africa are orphans (living without a living biological mother
or father or both parents)
 This number has increased by 700,000 since 2002 – from 17% to 20%
 13% of children are paternal orphans (2.4 million)
 3% of children are maternal orphans (600,000) - Maternal orphans more at risk than paternal
orphans
 4% double orphans (701,000)– doubled since 2002 – largely AIDS-pandemic driven
Child headed households
 0.6% of all households in South Africa are child-headed (oldest resident no older than 17 years)
 0.8% of children live in child-headed households (148,000 children live in 79,000 child-headed
households)
 Frequently temporary, awaiting arrangements or for school during the week
 No evidence of either an increase or decrease between 2002 and 2007

Summary
 Growing numbers of orphans – doubled since 2002, majority orphaned by AIDS
 Child-headed households are rare and temporary
 68% of children are poor and likely ‘vulnerable’

HIV (and related) statistics

South African National HIV Prevalence, Incidence, Behaviour and Communication
Survey, 2008 (HSRC/MRC, 2008)

Prevalence
 10.9% HIV prevalence for people aged two years and older (5.2 million people)
 HIV prevalence levels among adults aged 15-49 has increased between 2002 and 2008*
 Decline in new infections noted among teenagers aged 15-19*
 90% youth (15-24) reported exposure to at least one AIDS prevention programme
 HIV prevention knowledge has declined among the population 15-49 years from 64.4% in 2005
to 44.8% in 2008
 Increase in men and women (15-49) having multiple partners (9.4% in 2002 to 19.3% in 2008 for
men, and 1.6% to 3.7% for women)
 Increase in use of condoms (57% in 2005 to 87% in 2008)
 Increase in teenage women having sex with older partners (‘Intergenerational sex’)*

Children and Mother to child transmission (MTCT)

 3.3% HIV infection among children 2-14 years old (2005)
 HIV prevalence in children 2-14 has declined from 5.6% in 2002 to 2.5% in 2008
 28% incidence f HIV infection among pregnant women (2007)
 50% of HIV+ pregnant women in public health clinics were taking Nevirapine (single dose ARV)
to prevent MTCT (2006)