South Africa, Pretoria – Gauteng: October is set aside as Social Development Month, and the department aims to reach out to poor and vulnerable communities who depend on social development services to survive and improve their lives.
The Minister of Social Development, Ms Lindiwe Zulu, will on Thursday – 06 October, update the country on the Child Support Grant (CSG) Top-Up and the R350 COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant as well as the plans the department has to ensure that the country is aware of the available services it offers.
This year, Social Development Month is being commemorated under the theme, “United in the Fight Against Poverty and Other Social ills,” and the Minister will use this opportunity to highlight the eligibility and criteria for South Africans to access the CSG, which is not necessarily a new grant – but an additional amount to the basic Child Support Grant for orphans in the care of relatives. She will also provide an update on the R350 COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress grant.
On the same day, the Department of Social Development will host a Sexual and Reproductive Health Justice (SRJ) Seminar, which seeks to ensure that the marginalised and vulnerable have the power, and resources, to make healthy decisions about their bodies, sexuality and reproduction.
The seminar will, amongst other issues – reflect on the highlights from the Nairobi Summit as fully explained in the ICPD25 Report (2021) titled: ‘No Exceptions, No Exclusions: Realising Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice for All.’