STAKEHOLDERS
The Department offers social protection services to vulnerable groups in Zimbabwe. This is done to strengthen the household economy and enhancing child sensitive social protection. It also provides child protection services as a way of safeguarding children’s rights using relevant legislation.
Social Protection
- The Department of Social Development has the responsibility of offering social protection services to vulnerable mobile persons. The groups of people included here are victims of human trafficking, stranded migrants, destitute foreign nationals, deportees, and other categories of vulnerable migrants. The Ministry has 2 Migrant Resource Centers, in Harare and Bulawayo, where those who intent to leave the country can get adequate information on migration to their intended destinations.
- The Department of Social Development offers a social assistance programme for individuals in need of medical care. To guarantee the right to health, the Government, through the Assisted Medical Treatment Order (AMTO) programme covers, health fees for very poor households, persons with disabilities, persons who are severely ill, and vulnerable children. The medical service is offered at Government hospitals. The target population for this facility is derived from the Social Welfare Assistance Act (17:06) which states that assistance may be granted to a destitute or indigent person who fall under the following categories: is over sixty years of age; or has physical disability or mentally challenged; or suffers continuous ill-health; or is a dependent of a person who is destitute or indigent or incapable of looking after himself; and has need of social welfare assistance Under this Programme, government pays health fees for very poor households through the Hospital Referral System. Beneficiaries are given medical treatment vouchers by the Department of Social Development. The vouchers are used in government hospitals only. AMTO operates on a self-targeted basis, where people seeking health care apply via the district Social Welfare office. The Hospital Referral Systems and community referrals provide another layer of access for those in poverty.
- The Department of Social Development provides social protection services to at least 17000 refugees and asylum seekers in the country. The intervention by the Department is in line with Ministry’s Pledges made before the Global Refugees Forum, aimed at establishing durable protection pathways, providing access to livelihood opportunities, access to civil documentation and the general strengthening of asylum process in Zimbabwe.
- This is a social protection program which is in place to mitigate against incessant food deficits that are attributed primarily to climate change, pandemics and other natural disasters. The changes in the country’s socio-economic context present new challenges that also impact negatively on the household food security. Its implementation is in line with the National Development Strategy 1 which aims at ensuring improved access to inclusive social protection targeting to assist at least 65% of the vulnerable population with social protection.
Target Groups of Food Deficit Mitigations Strategy
The program uses geographical/district targeting and is also guided by results of the Zimbabwe Livelihoods Assessment Committee (ZIMLAC) triangulated with information from district profiles, poverty assessments, the Consolidated Approach of Reporting Indicators (CARI) for food security and other secondary information such as Crop and Livestock Assessments.
The targeting criteria is food poor, labour constrained households which include child headed households, households with chronically ill members, female headed households with high dependency ratio, elderly headed households, households headed by a person with disability, large households caring for orphans.
- The programme targets older persons aged 65 and above. Through the institutions for older persons the Ministry disburses per Capita Grants, which are monthly maintenance allowances for vulnerable older persons under institutional care. Monthly grants are issued per inmate, per month, calculated based on the number of days an inmate spends under institution care. It is implemented according to the Older Persons Act (Chapter 17:11) Institutions for older persons are also entitled to a once off annual administration grant calculated according to the carrying capacity. The Department also caters for vulnerable older persons in the community through various social safety nets such as the Cash Transfers Programme, Food Deficit Mitigation Strategy and Health Assistance.
CHILD PROTECTION
The Child Protection section is there to enhance the welfare and protection of children in Zimbabwe. It provides comprehensive child protection services through the National Case Management System for the Welfare and Protection of Children (NCMS). Services offered include:
A social protection programme designed to reduce the number of children dropping out of school and reach out to children who have never been to school due to economic hardships through the payment of levies, tuition fees, examination fees as well as boarding fees for children with special needs enrolled in registered special schools.
The Ministry is a member of the International Social Services (ISS), a global network and a set of practices and services aimed at protecting the rights and welfare of children and families who are affected by cross-border social issues such as adoption, child trafficking, family reunification and migration.
As a member state of international conventions and regional bodies, the Ministry is committed to promote child rights services and advocacy. Guided by the Children’s Act (Chapter 5:06) the Ministry is responsible for safeguarding the rights of children.
The Ministry provides services that prohibit child labour and exploitation to protect and safeguard children from hazardous work environments. Guided by national laws and international best practices, the Ministry ensures that no children are used as sources of labour.
This includes services in response to prevent child abuse and mitigating its effects. Through Child Protection Officers and Child Care Workers, the Ministry identifies and responses to child abuse cases such as sexual, physical, emotional abuse and abandonment and represents the best interest of children in juvenile courts. The Ministry in partnership with the victim friendly system also offers rehabilitation and psycho-social support to young offender and victims as restorative justice.
Guided by the Marriages Act (Chapter 5:17) the Ministry provides service that prohibits child marriages. Working with the victim friendly system and other relevant partners the Ministry is mandated to safeguard children from early child marriages.
The Ministry supports positive parenting, creating families that raise children in safe environments. Through a multi-sectoral approach, the Ministry collaborates with other line ministries and partners to make sure that children and families are well supported.
The Ministry is committed to ensure that children living and working on the streets are removed to safe places. This involves round ups and placements in alternative care arrangements, family tracing and re-unification.
This programme aims at facilitating repatriation of unaccompanied and abandoned Zimbabwean children from other countries to Zimbabwe. This service also helps to repatriate foreign unaccompanied children, abandoned children and other children in difficult circumstances to their respective countries.
It is the goal of the Ministry to end all forms of violence against children. This entails awareness and commitments to prevent and respond to violence against children.
This programme aims to prevent and respond to adolescents/teenage pregnancies. The Ministry uses a coordinated multi-sectoral approach to reduce adolescent pregnancies by improving access to sexual and reproductive health services, empowering adolescents economically and strengthening support systems within families and communities.
Provides alternative care arrangements for children without parental care to ensure the protection, wellbeing and development of such children in line with national laws and international standards. These arrangements also include places of safety and probation services for children in need of care.
- Residential Child Care Facilities
Registration and inspection of both government and private residential childcare facilities. Government institutions receive administration grants and private institutions receive per capita grants as support from the Ministry. It offers residential child care placements for children in need of care. Also provides family tracing and reunification services for children in institutions.
- Adoption
It is a permanent arrangement whereby adoptive parents assume permanent parental responsibility for a child who is not biologically their own. It means becoming a parent through a legal and social process rather than through a biological process. It entails the exit action of all present or future rights and obligations of biological/natural parents for the child and the transfer by administrative or legal authority of all these rights and obligations to a married couple or an individual who may have no blood relationship with the child. The Ministry offers post adoption services. Upon turning 18, adopted children may apply for a Ministerial Order to dispense with post adoption information and or an unabridged birth certificate. Applicants are advised that the Ministry does not have agents who facilitate the process and by all means avoid midterm.
- Foster Care
Foster care is a temporary living arrangement for children who cannot live with their biological parents or guardians due to issues such as neglect, abuse, abandonment, or other family challenges. Foster care provides a safe and supportive environment for foster children while efforts are made to reunite them with their families, place them with relatives, or find permanent adoptive parents. It does not grant foster parents the same legal obligations as biological or adoptive parents towards the foster child. Foster parents do not have full custodial rights as these lie with the Ministry of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare.
- Kinship Care
Kinship care is an alternative care arrangement where the Ministry traces and identifies the relatives of children in need of care and reunite them with the child. This is the preferred alternative care arrangement before considering foster care, adoption and residential child care.
Cash Transfer Programmes
The Zimbabwe Livelihood Assessment Committee (ZimLAC) and poverty atlas are used to select impoverished districts for the Harmonised Social Cash Transfer (HSCT) Program.
Targeting mechanisms
Using the assessments results from the Zimbabwe Livelihood Assessment Committee (ZimLAC), and the poverty atlas, the most impoverished districts are selected for the programme. Registration is conducted in the respective districts for people who meet the eligibility criteria of being vulnerable households which: –
- Have chronically ill member(s);
- Are headed by the elderly;
- Are headed by children;
- Have persons with disabilities; and
- Have high dependence ratios.
Sustainable Livelihoods Projects.
The Department of Social Development is transitioning from a remedial to a developmental approach by implementing sustainable livelihood programs for vulnerable populations. These projects aim to improve access to resources, invest in livelihood skills, and support targeted communities with startup kits and assets for improved and diversified livelihood options.
Private Voluntary Organizations (PVO)
Addresses registering non-profit, apolitical charitable organizations to complement government efforts in providing Social Safety nets, assisting vulnerable groups in a voluntary manner.
If you’re interested in registering your charitable organization, follow these steps:
Local
International
- Applications are submitted to the nearest district Social Development Office in the area where their headquarters is located. The officer will check if all documentation is there using the below listed checklist: -
- Organization’s constitution (Template provided)
- Application Form PVO 1 and PVO 2
- Proof of advertisement with 21 days waiting period.
- Curriculum Vitae of Executive Committee Members (7 members or more)
- Police Criminal Clearance Certificate/vetted fingerprints of the executive committee members
- Support letter from Local Authority
- Minutes of the meeting that motivated the members to come up with the organization.
- The District Social Development Officer will conduct an initial assessment of the submitted application documents and interview the applicants and submit a recommendation to the Provincial Social Development officer for quality check.
- Upon satisfaction that the application meets the requirements for registration, the Provincial Social Development Officer will then forward the documents to the National Office for due diligence and presentation before the PVO board for registration.
- International Non-Governmental Organisations seeking to operate in Zimbabwe enter into an agreement with the Government and sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Organisation and the relevant Government Ministry represented by the Minister of Permanent Secretary only. The MOU is analysed and certified by the Attorney General’s Office before being sent to the Cabinet Committee on Public Agreements Advisory and finally presented to the Cabinet for approval. MOU must have:
- A copy of the organization’s proof of registration in its country of origin i.e., a certified copy of its certificate of registration.
- A letter of delegation or power of attorney from the organization’s headquarters authorizing the local chapter to be set up and also indicate the country rep
- Organization’s headquarters Organogram.
- Police clearance certificate for local head, or Interpol clearance if the head of office is not a national.
- Attach CV of the head of office.
- Project proposal outlining the geographic coverage, programme and budget estimate for the duration initially covered by the MOU.
- Proof of advertisement in the local press.
- Complete Form PVO 1 application for registration form
- Support letter from the Ministry signing the MOU.
Please Note
Organisations are required to operate within the confines of the provisions of the Act, and the relevant policy guidelines for particular programme Organisations cannot digress into programmes that are not specified in the MOU as agreed upon by line ministries and registered by the Registrar.
