NGOs, UNICEF call for implementation of national children's policy

MBABANE-- NGOs in Swaziland have accused the government of dragging its feet on implementing a comprehensive plan to improve the lives of children.

At a meeting on Friday in Matsapha, an industrial estate outside the commercial hub of Manzini, social welfare NGOs emphasised the growing number of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC).

Alan Brody, Country Representative for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said the failure to put in place a national policy for children had seen an expansion of uncoordinated programmes assisting children orphaned by AIDS. The number of AIDS orphans in Swaziland is projected to rise to around 150,000 by 2010.