Child grant spending doubles to over N$1 billion

Government spending on child grants more than doubled between 2014/15 and 2022/23, surpassing N$1 billion annually as the number of children receiving financial support rose to more than 377 000 by 2023.

Annual expenditure rose from N$476.9 million in 2014/15 to N$1.048 billion in 2022/23, according to the Namibia Child Care and Protection Statistics Report 2014–2023, released last week.

The number of children benefiting from state grants increased from 164 434 in 2014 to 377 164 in 2023, representing growth of more than 129%.

Gender equality and child welfare minister Emma Kantema said the statistics would help government identify where gaps in services remained.

“Legislation and policies alone are not enough. We must know where children are most at risk, what forms of harm they face, which services they are accessing, and where the gaps remain,” she said.

Expenditure rose steadily from N$476.9 million in 2014/15 to N$790.8 million in 2016/17 before exceeding N$1 billion for the first time in 2018/19, when it peaked at N$1.128 billion. It fell to N$991.9 million in 2019/20 before rising again to N$1.048 billion in 2022/23.

The ministry attributed fluctuations to changes in budget allocations and funding availability, while saying the overall trend reflected government's sustained support for vulnerable children.

More children receiving grants

An average of 303 904 children benefited from grants annually between 2014 and 2023. Beneficiary numbers peaked at 382 556 in 2018 before falling to 326 164 in 2019 and reaching 377 164 by 2023.

The vulnerable grant became the country's primary child support programme, with beneficiaries rising from 8 238 in 2014 to 254 771 in 2023.

By contrast, maintenance grant recipients fell from 130 769 to 105 619 over the same period, while foster care grant beneficiaries declined from 20 563 to 7 994.

The report linked the foster care decline to the implementation of the Child Care and Protection Act, 2015, which introduced kinship care as an alternative to foster care.

The number of children receiving disability grants rose from 4 864 to 8 780.

“One key lesson emanating from this report is the need to invest in prevention and early intervention services,” Kantema said, adding that child protection was not the responsibility of one ministry alone.