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The South African Index of Multiple Deprivation for Children 2001
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| 7 March 2008 | Helen Barnes, Gemma Wright, Michael Noble and Andrew Dawes
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Governments worldwide have committed themselves to eradication child poverty and consequently the inter-generational transmission of poverty. The Millennium Development Goals agenda promotes policies that improve the lives of poor children worldwide (Grinspun, 2004). South Africa is no exception, and since 1994 the government has been active in committing itself to protecting child rights and reducing child poverty (Cassiem et al., 2000). The National Programme of Action of Children (NPA) is the driving force behind the government’s child poverty alleviation strategy (Cassiem et al., 2000), prioritising the protection of the rights of all children in South Africa.
In 2006 a team of researchers from the Centre for the Analysis of South African social Policy (CASASP) at the University of Oxford, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) produced nine ward level Provincial Indices of Multiple Deprivation (PIMD). The model of deprivation underpinning the PIMD assumes that deprivation is multi-dimensional, and that multiple deprivation can be conceptualised as the combination of individual dimensions or domains of deprivation. The PIMD mad use of information available from the 2001 Census about different aspects of deprivation: income, employment, education, health and living environment, and measured deprivation for the total population.
Following the PIMD the researchers began to consider the importance of a child-focused index. The result is the South African Index of Multiple Deprivation for Children (SAIMDC) 2001. This is an area based measure referring to a geographic space chosen to plot the extent of deprivation in the child population. It could be a province, municipality of other spatial unit.
Since the geographical patterns of social disadvantage are not random it is important to measure child deprivation at a small area level. The correct measuring and spatial representation of child deprivation also allows the effective targeting thereof.
 | | Map 1: South African index of Multiple Deprivation for Children at municipality level. |
Based on Map 1, the majority of municipalities in both the Western Cape and Gauteng are in the top quintile (i.e. least deprived) of child deprivation. In the Eastern Cape, municipalities in the former Transkei fall into the bottom two quintiles (i.e. most deprived) of child deprivation. The majority of municipalities in this province are in the most deprived 20%.
In the Northern Cape there are no municipalities in the most deprived 20% quintile while a similar situation is evident in the Free State. Only one municipality, Metsimaholo, is in the least deprived 20%.
In North West there are four municipalities in the most deprived 20% and two in the least deprived 20% of child deprivation. Three municipalities in Mpumalanga are in the least deprived 20% while in Limpopo none of the municipalities fall in this quintile.
In terms of education deprivation, the Northern Cape and North West provinces have the greatest range of deprivation. The Western Cape has the smallest range of educational deprivation. Municipalities in the Eastern Cape are concentrated in the most deprived part of the distribution. Overall 24% of children in South Africa are in the wrong grade for their age and 60% are not in school. Map 2 shows the extent of this phenomenon.
 | | Map 2: South African index of Multiple Deprivation for Children at municipality level: Education Deprivation domain. |
Ideally deprivation measures should be constructed at the smallest possible spatial scale that is consistent with robust measurement. The units should also be or more or less equal size in terms of population and should be relatively homogenous in terms of deprivation. To address these issues, it is recommended that a new small area unit be constructed that takes into account homogeneity and population size. It is recommended that Data Zones which user Enumeration Areas as building blocks be constructed. Such spatial units will be used purely for analytical or statistical purposes and would not be political or administrative boundaries.
Source: www.hsrcpress.ac.za |
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