However, there is now increasing evidence of girls on the street. Many depend for their existence on the assistance of caring adults and organized services provided by governments or private agencies. They help one another to survive. Such help is an important part of the culture of street life. The percentage of substance users among street children varies greatly depending on the region, availability of substances, gender, age, and circumstances of the children.
Most street children have virtually no access to health care and community services.
As a result, continued substance use among street children usually has serious health and social consequences. In South Africa, for example, as many as 9 out of 10 street children are thought to be dependent on glue. The age of initial substance use among street children is very young - as young as five years of age. Their behaviour as children will most likely have an impact on their health as adults, and the health of their own children. The project has been aimed at developing a framework within which specific organizations could assess the nature and extent of the problem of street children and substance abuse in individual communities in order to develop and implement appropriate responses.