The title, ‘Thari Ya Bana’, refers to the blanket that holds the infant safe behind the mother – and was chosen to symbolise the support that all children need, from infancy through to adolescence and the transition to adulthood, where the roles reverse and the focus moves to parenthood. And so the cycle continues. While the articles presented here bring together research and reflections on children’s issues in Botswana the issues themselves are not unique to Botswana and thus the findings reported in this publication will also benefit children in other countries. The articles in the various chapters of the publication have been structured to follow the life cycle of the child as she or he grows and is faced with different issues that need to be addressed. As such the publication is divided into 5 sections. These are:

• Young Child Survival
• Child Development
• Child Protection
• HIV and AIDS
• Child-sensitive Social Protection

This report is the second edition in an annual series of joint publications between the University of Botswana and UNICEF.