In the depths of north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, west of the biologically diverse Virunga National Park, in Beni, South African peacekeepers stood to attention. While flags flew high in the cool breeze, and clay dust settled beneath the wings of the newly arrived airplane, a sense of African solidarity filled the air. Walking up the steps from the runway to MONUSCO’s Republic of South Africa Battalion base, the visitors from Kinshasa were greeted with salutes of peacekeepers: the formality of the occasion quickly softening with a warm smile and handshake from the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), Ms Bintou Keita. Shaking the hand of the SRSG was a female peacekeeper whose smile reflected a unique sense of gratitude and a deep presence in the moment. Her name: Major Felicia Thobeka Mswane, the Fire Support Coordinator for the Force Intervention Brigade. Major Thobeka was coming to the end of her year in service to the people of the DRC, having been responsible for coordinating fire support during operations and ensuring the safety of all those involved in the operations. An immense responsibility, Major Thobeka expressed her passion for her work; “UN Peacekeeping helps countries navigate the difficult path from conflict to peace. My decision to volunteer to serve as a UN Peacekeeper comes from the love to serve my country and to assist in Peacekeeping tasks, knowing that my country has invested in me skills to perform inside the military and individually in organizations like the UN.” It is with this passion, support from her battalion and that of the organization, that Major Thobeka overcame the challenges that face female peacekeepers: “The military, as an organization, is male dominated,” she said, “[Some] countries do not have female commanders in the Fighting Corps: I was the only female soldier deployed with males in [some instances], making access to limited accommodation and ablution facilities difficult.” Major Thobeka stated that, however, “the UN acknowledges female peacekeepers and puts in place all necessary support for them, [as are] Commanders always assisting to their best ability.” As of December 2021, women constitute 7.8 percent of all uniformed military, police, justice, and corrections personnel in United Nations field missions. Women are essential to peacekeeping: they have greater access to communities through women and children, they hold diverse sets of skills in planning and decision-making and encourage women to become a part of peace and political processes. “Having had the opportunity to deploy on the ground, [I saw that] having females in military teams makes it easier for women and children to feel safe and trust the UN, which works to protect women and children. In times of unrest and conflict, military set ups provided by the UN in the DRC become safe havens for women and children,” Major Mswane stated. Working in volatile situations, peacekeepers, as ordinary people, can achieve extraordinary things, often leaning on the support of their loved ones, which meant for Major Thobeka, “serving and engaging with the communities of the DRC and listening intently to them has been my greatest achievement, [along with] having completed my tour of duty with no friendly fires.” “I would not have done it without the support of my family: from my siblings to my mother [and] my ten-year-old son, who sent me a message of support every morning,” she continued. The UN is working to ensure the deployment of more women in uniformed functions through the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, the UN Security Council resolution 1325 (UNSCR1325), which advocates for the equal participation of women in all sectors of peacekeeping operations, and the Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) Declaration of Shared Commitments, through which the UN has called for an expansion of the role and contribution of women in its operations. However, the responsibility for the deployment of women in the police and military ultimately lies with the willingness and proactivity of Member States.

“Stress! Stress! Stress!” is the reaction of 29-year-old Siphokazi Sithole when asked how she feels about energy cuts, or loadshedding as South Africans call them. A single mum of an eight-year-old autistic son, Siphokazi adds that loadshedding severely stresses her out, not only because she needs to ensure everything in the household is done by a certain time, but mainly because it has created a major dent in her income. Sipho, as she is affectionately known to her friends, runs a mobile salon west of the capital, Pretoria. Living in the poor community of Olieventhoutbosch, Sipho is keenly aware of the importance of education and strives to ensure a better life for herself and her son. “During COVID, it really was difficult because my business is a mobile salon, and I wasn’t able to travel to my clients’ homes. I got the idea to open a salon here, which I did last year,” she says. Unfortunately for her, despite the end of the lockdown, the salon struggled to pick up because of loadshedding. “I don’t have an inverter or a generator, I’m afraid it will be stolen because of the community in which I live. So, I have to book my clients for their treatments when there is electricity. But now electricity is often off for four hours at a time,” she says, referring to the loadshedding schedule which results in electricity blackouts for up to 10 or 12 hours a day. According to the South African Reserve Bank, South Africa loses about R900 million (US$50 million) a day from loadshedding. This forced the government to take extraordinary measures to resolve the energy crisis. In March, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster and appointed a minister to deal with loadshedding. When asked about the direct impact to her livelihood, Sipho says she needs about R15,000 (US$833) a month to meet her expenses, including rent, food and school and transport costs for her autistic son. While she receives a government grant for her son, it does not cover all the expenses, so she has to ensure she makes enough each month for her son’s special needs. “I’m thinking of not paying his school fees for a month or two so that I can save up for a small inverter, but I also don’t want trouble with the school, so I don’t know what to do,” sighs Sipho in desperation. The mobile salon has also suffered as clients only book when they have electricity. Waxing and certain treatments require electricity as Sipho needs to heat up the wax or use the steamer for facials. Loadshedding is leading to some days with no income due to the client and the salon not having electricity at the same times.   Electricity blackouts have led to physical, financial and emotional stress as Sipho deals with bouts of tantrums and distress from her autistic son who hates the dark. She says he loves to draw and when there is loadshedding, he cannot do any activity to keep him occupied while she does house chores. “There are times where the dark gets to him and I can’t control the bursts of frustration. He doesn’t understand why there is no Wi-Fi for his video games. It then becomes very difficult to manage his behaviour,” says Sipho. While loadshedding has affected small and large businesses alike, it has also compromised access to quality education for children in remote and rural areas of the country. In response to the energy crisis, the United Nations in South Africa is implementing many projects around the country to help accelerate the generation of clean energy and find solutions to those communities least prepared to cope with loadshedding. In Mpumalanga, where most coal-fired power stations are based, it has undertaken a comprehensive socioeconomic and livelihoods impact assessment of the energy transition. Through the South African Wind Energy Programme and in collaboration with the Department of Minerals, Energy and Resources, the UN also started a project in Eastern Cape that used wind turbine technology and solar power to generate electricity. Several schools have benefited from the project by being able to keep the lights on during school hours, providing access to uninterrupted education. While some of the projects are still in their early stages, more schools in the Eastern Cape are expected to benefit from the programme. In the Free State Province though, Lungiswa Xhamela is still recovering from the loss of her established and well-reviewed online teaching job due to the rolling blackouts. Following the pandemic, the 34-year-old mum was retrenched. Lungiswa then applied for an online teaching position to support her eight-year-old daughter and unemployed mum. “It’s very difficult to get recruited into these online companies. But once you’re in, you get booked to teach based on reviews and it was going well. On a good month I would make at least R18,000 (US$1,000),” says Lungiswa. However, following the extended hours of loadshedding, her ratings began to drop. “Loadshedding completely killed my business,” she says. She went from having 20 students to just one. Following an article on News24, an online news site, about her situation, a donor gave Lungiswa a power generator. “I’m glad that I have the generator and my profile is still active on the online teaching platform but due to the damage already done, my reviews are bad and therefore no one will book me. It’s not because of my teaching, but really because I was seen as unreliable for not showing up for lessons,” she says. Recognizing that loadshedding is increasing the existing digital divide in South Africa and people such as Lungiswa are struggling to keep their businesses afloat, the UN through UNDP teamed up with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, a local think tank, in support of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs). They rolled out the T.V. White Spaces (TVWS) network technology in rural areas under a project called, “Support to SMMEs to Provide Low-Cost Internet in Township and Rural Communities”. The TVWS harnesses unused spectrum between T.V. broadcast bands that can be exploited to provide broadband without interference to the broadcasters. Through this initiative, the SMMEs are providing affordable digital connectivity via Wi-Fi hotspots to individuals, schools, clinics, taxi ranks, digital hubs, and other public facilities in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern and Western Cape, and the Free State. This initiative forms part of UN’s ongoing efforts to pursue inclusive growth through support to entrepreneurship and youth development programmes. The programme extends internet connectivity to vulnerable populations in remote areas and bridges the digital divide, giving communities the full benefits information technology can deliver.  While loadshedding remains a persistent challenge to the livelihoods of ordinary South Africans, the UN in South Africa together with partners, are working in different provinces to find alternative and sustainable solutions to help mitigate the impact of the rolling blackouts for people like Sipho and Lungiswa.  

After driving for almost two hours from South Africa’s capital, Pretoria – but still a few kilometres away from our destination – tall chimneys, several boilers and surrounding buildings appear from the horizon, dominating the roughly flat landscape. A few minutes later, we arrive at Komati Power Station, a coal-fired station run by a state-owned company, Eskom, the country’s major supplier of electricity. The purpose of our visit to Komati in Mpumalanga Province – as a United Nations team led by the head of the UN in South Africa and its Resident Coordinator, Nelson Muffuh – was to learn from Eskom authorities their plans for a just transition for the employees and local communities affected by the mothballed plant, and how it is going to be reused as a source for renewable energy.  Komati was decommissioned or retired in October 2022 after having operated for 61 years. At its peak, the plant used to contribute 1,000 megawatts of electricity to the national grid. As the seventh biggest coal producer in the world, South Africa gets 80% of its electricity needs from coal-fired plants to power Africa’s second biggest economy. The country is currently going through a crippling nationwide energy crisis, forcing Eskom to implement rotational power cuts or loadshedding for up to 10 hours day. The environmental and social impacts on South Africa’s reliance on coal to generate electricity is astounding. According to Greenpeace, an advocacy group, the air pollution in Mpumalanga Province – which supplies the bulk of the country’s coal needs – is the most polluted in the world, with record levels of nitrogen dioxide. The province hosts more than 83% of SA’s coal production and most of the coal-powered plants. The lingering headache among South Africans is the morning after – the plight of employees who will lose their jobs, and the fate of the affected communities, when more plants are closed, as is being planned. This is despite pledges by authorities that they will carefully manage the switch to renewable energy and ensure that closing coal plants will be spread over a reasonable timeframe. Undoubtedly, these assurances also recognize that South Africa has an abundance of coal which continue to play a key role in generating the bulk of its electricity needs. In a statement Eskom issued on the day the Komati plant was officially shut down, the public utility company said it “has developed a comprehensive Just Energy Transition (JET) Strategy which places equal importance on the ‘transition to lower carbon technologies,’ and the ability to do so in a manner that is ‘just’ and sustainable. The remaining employees will take part in the Komati Repowering and Repurposing project.” The statement goes on to say: “The power plant will be converted into a renewable generation site powered with 150MW of solar, 70MW of wind and 150MW of storage batteries, thereby continuing to put the site and its associated transmission infrastructure into good use and to provide economic opportunities to the community.” During a briefing to the UN team by Komati’s managers, economic activities at the plant have already started – albeit still on a small scale. There is the desalination plant which produces high quality, blue-drop certified water, which is then sold to local communities. Another is the aquaponics project, which grows fish in tanks and uses their waste as nutrients to feed plants without soil. Currently the fish of choice is the tilapia, which is popular among South Africans. The managers informed the UN team that before Eskom closed the plant, it carried out an exhaustive study of its economic and social impacts, which involved consulting workers, labour unions and the affected communities, among others. Eskom says the plan to reuse Komati as a source for renewable energy is “one of the largest coal-fired power plant decommissioning, repowering and repurposing projects globally and will serve as a global reference on how to transition fossil-fuel assets.” For its part, the UN in South Africa has also initiated several projects in local communities in the provinces of Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and Limpopo as part of its contribution to the country’s transition to clean and renewable resources. In the province of Mpumalanga, the UN family has a range of concluded, ongoing and planned projects, from climate finance of climate-resilient schools and health care facilities, to the looking at the impact of energy and environment on children, working on youth entrepreneurship in the sector, green learning (UNICEF); conducting a situational analysis to examine opportunities and challenges for a JET and  capacity building for municipal managers on JT (ILO); as well as working with ESKOMs energy transition programme (which includes financing the ESKOM repurposing and repowering initiative) and community development (WB). The plans are to increase the UN initiatives in Mpumalanga, because this is the province where most of the socio-economic impacts of the energy transition will be felt. In Eastern Cape, one example of the UN initiatives is a project by the UNDP, which set up a wind-solar hybrid mini-grid in the Upper Blinkwater community and installed groundwater-pumping wind turbines in two remote schools. The project now provides the local community with access to clean and affordable energy, benefiting almost 60 households and improving access to clean water to about 550 students and 16 teachers. At the COP26 conference in Glasgow in 2021, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the European Union announced they would make available US$8.5 billion to speed up South Africa’s transition from reliance on coal-fired plants to clean energy under a Just Energy Transition Partnership. Progress has already been made on how and when these funds will be released and used to solve South Africa’s energy crisis, and, as part of this initiative, the South African Government has launched an investment plan at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh in 2022. Several more coal-fired plants are expected to meet the same fate as Komati. What is clear is that it’s no longer a question of whether more plants will be closed or not, but when they will eventually be put to rest. Hence the need to start the transition now.

Unfortunately, this is not the case for many children and young people in South Africa. Children and adolescents face numerous challenges – including individual, social, and environmental factors – that impact their mental wellbeing. Not feeling safe, exposure to high levels of community violence, child maltreatment and gender-based violence are some of the factors that have a significant impact on the wellbeing of children and adolescents.  The COVID-19 pandemic increased the mental health burden that young people face. A U-Report South Africa poll in 2022 found that some 73 per cent of children and young people felt they needed mental health support in 2022. The disruption to young people’s routines, education, recreation, as well as concern for family income and health, has left many young people feeling afraid, angry depressed and anxious about the future. While the mental health crisis is critical, there are also reasons for hope. The same U-Report poll found that 38 per cent of those who felt they needed mental health support actively sought help and a further 67 per cent of respondents stepped up to support a friend’s mental wellbeing. A key pillar that guides UNICEF’s work in South Africa is a commitment to ending all forms of violence – from prevention and early intervention to improving the mental and physical wellbeing of young people. Parenting programmes and early childhood development form a core part of the response to give every child the best start in life. This page aims to support YOU across four areas of action – seeking help, shifting the narrative, understanding, and having the conversation. Unfortunately this is not the case for many children and young people in South Africa. Children and adolescents face numerous challenges – including individual, social, and environmental factors – that impact their mental wellbeing. Not feeling safe, exposure to high levels of community violence, child maltreatment and gender-based violence are some of the factors that have a significant impact on the wellbeing of children and adolescents.  The COVID-19 pandemic increased the mental health burden that young people face. A U-Report South Africa poll in 2022 found that some 73 per cent of children and young people felt they needed mental health support in 2022. The disruption to young people’s routines, education, recreation, as well as concern for family income and health, has left many young people feeling afraid, angry depressed and anxious about the future. While the mental health crisis is critical, there are also reasons for hope. The same U-Report poll found that 38 per cent of those who felt they needed mental health support actively sought help and a further 67 per cent of respondents stepped up to support a friend’s mental wellbeing. A key pillar that guides UNICEF’s work in South Africa is a commitment to ending all forms of violence – from prevention and early intervention to improving the mental and physical wellbeing of young people. Parenting programmes and early childhood development form a core part of the response to give every child the best start in life. This page aims to support YOU across four areas of action – seeking help, shifting the narrative, understanding, and having the conversation. SEEKING HELP SHIFTING THE NARRATIVE UNDERSTANDING HAVING THE CONVERSATION     Seeking help The first step and sometimes we need a little encouragement to take it. Being aware of when you need support and knowing where to go for help is the first step. UNICEF – with support from META – ran a 2023 mental health campaign on Facebook that reached more than 17,5 million people in South Africa with coping tips and the counselling service contact numbers for our partner, Childline, as well as the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG). WHERE TO GET HELP