African Child Day: Children experience more deprivation – Minister

The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Senator Jummai Aisha Alhassan has said that children experience more deprivations of their basic needs in the society than men and women saying hunger and poverty remains major concern for the African children.

Hajia Jummai, speaking in Abuja on Thursday in a press briefing to commemorate the 2018 day of the African Child at the NAF Center said: “Children are the building blocks of any society so, it is important that their rights are adequately promoted and protected”.

The theme for this year’s celebration as announced by the African Union, “Leave no child Behind for Africa’s Development” she said builds on the momentum created by the DAC 2017 theme, “The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development for Children in Africa: Accelerating Protection, Empowerment and Equal Opportunity”, expressing the needs to mainstream children’s rights in all developmental programs implemented by member States.

The Assembly of Heads of States and Government of the then Organization of African Unity (OAU) instituted the Day of the African Child in 1991 in memory of Students who were massacred in Soweto, South Africa on the 16th of June, 1976 for demanding improved quality education.

“The day has since been used to remember these children, to celebrate children in Africa so as to inspire sober reflections and action towards addressing various challenges militating against the proper growth and development of the African Child”, she said.

The Minister also revealed that; “On the occasion of this year’s celebration, the African committee of experts on the rights and welfare of the re-iterated the need, and called on all member States to integrate all the frame works like the SDGs global Agenda 2030, the African Union Agenda 2063 on the African want.

“Although Children are the majority of Africa’s population, the rate of child poverty remains high on the continent with about two-third of the children experiencing two or more deprivations of their basic rights and needs.

“Hunger and poverty therefore, remains major concerns for Africa’s children with significant number lacking access to basic life saving services such as health, education and birth registration”, she said.

In her earlier remarks, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs. Ifeoma Anagbogu noted that the day’s event was to equip the people with necessary information required to create awareness on Children’s issues as it relates to the African Child.

She also said the Ministry in her efforts to promote children participation on issues concerning them, created a platform for children to air their views on issues that affects them using the instrumentality of the Nigeria Children Parliament saying; “The Parliament has been institutionalized both at the national and sub- national levels”.