ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the issue of vulnerability among children as this relates to the rights that are guaranteed under Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the extent to which these rights have been realized by children in sub-Saharan Africa. It articulates the vulnerability experienced by orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and its correlates including children's street living, child labor, trafficking in children and poverty. OVC generally refers to orphans and other groups of children who are at high risk of exposure to social and environmental threats. The idea of OVC stands in unadulterated contradiction to the notion of convivencia; the concept of "Ubuntu" and the familial systems of care. Extensive research has been conducted with respect to OVC. Most of this, however, has focused on addressing the immediate physical needs of OVC. Little information exist with regards to whether or not children termed OVC, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, are even aware of the existence of the CRC.
