In South Africa, social grants address key social determinants of health such as food insecurity, access to health services, income and early childhood development. Approximately 17 million South Africans receive monthly social grants. Approximately 12 million of these children are receiving child support subsidies.
For many households, child support subsidies and retirement subsidies are the only form of predictable income.
Recipients, as well as many in the medical community, have long lamented child support subsidies that fail to meet even the most basic needs of beneficiaries, such as adequate nutrition, and that millions of people There is no doubt that it is essential. Families across the country.
The South African government allocated R151.6 billion for social grants in the 2017/2018 budget. There are four main grants paid under this scheme. One is the old age grant for pensioners aged 60 and over, which is US$120 (R1,600), and the grant for pensioners over 75, which is US$122 (R1,620). Disability and Care Dependency Grant of US$120 (R1,600). There is a monthly foster care subsidy of US$69 (R920) and a child support subsidy of US$28 (R380) for children under the age of 18.
The importance of South Africa's subsidy system is worth revisiting in the wake of the crisis surrounding its spending. Three years ago, the country's Constitutional Court ruled that the contract with current service provider Cash Paymaster Systems was illegal and that the Department of Social Development, which is under the South African Social Security Agency, must find a new service provider. was lowered. Unable to do so, subsidy spending is at risk.
The child support subsidy and the old age pensioner subsidy account for the largest allocation. Without these benefits, many households would lose their only source of income. The impact on household finances will be significant.
Why grants are important
There is evidence that child benefit subsidies do more than just support children within a household. In most cases, it is necessary to help the whole family.
Mothers and caregivers use the scheme to buy groceries, pay school fees and other school-related expenses, and pay for medical expenses. This includes transportation to and from clinics and hospitals, as well as purchasing medications.
Research shows that women's agency increases, allowing them to access reciprocal exchange networks to alleviate economic crises and exchange informal credit and food.
The importance of the child support subsidy becomes even more apparent when we hear stories of people who are eligible but do not receive the subsidy.
Anecdotal evidence from my research shows that children who do not receive subsidies suffer from hunger for long periods of time, have difficulty accessing health services, especially in remote areas where facilities are far away, and have difficulty meeting school-related costs. It is known that
The retirement subsidy is about four times the child support subsidy. Despite the fact that the beneficiaries are elderly, the subsidy will be used for the care of the entire household, effectively covering the burden and closing the gap created by the high unemployment rate in the country.
It is also associated with improved nutritional status for children from poor families.
Taken together, these two grants allow the South African government to do its job of supporting those left out in the cold.
catastrophic consequences
A threat to the distribution of subsidies could have a devastating impact on individuals and households across South Africa. Households will lose their only source of income. Children and adults alike end up not eating. Some children living in remote areas, far from health facilities, do not go to clinics where they cannot receive important immunizations.
The most vulnerable in society and those most in need of government support face the greatest risk from threats to spending.
