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On day of the African child, childhoods remain threatened across East and Southern Africa

_Conflict, poverty and gender bias create toxic environments for children _

The Day of the African Child champions the protection and rights of African Children. It commemorates the bravery of the youth who lost their lives through massacre against the Apartheid government in 1976. The Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the then OAU (now African Union) set a side 16th June as the Day of the African Child.

This year the focus is to ‘Leave No Child Behind for Africa’s Development,’ a theme inspired around the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs put emphasis on targeting those left furthest behind first. Children account for half of Africa’s population, so they must be prioritised, empowered and given a say, if development is to benefit all.

A new report launched by Save the Children on June 1st 2018, The Many Faces of Exclusion, reveals how poverty, conflict and discrimination against girls are putting more than 1.2 billion children – over half of children worldwide – at risk for an early end to their childhood. In East and Southern Africa, (120 million) are at high or extremely high risk of missing out on childhood. Childhood should be a time to play, learn and grow.

Save the Children’s report includes a ranking of 175 countries where childhood is most and least threatened as a result of poor health, malnutrition, exclusion from education, child labour, child marriage, early pregnancy and extreme violence. African countries comprise 19 (10 from Sub-Saharan Africa) out of the bottom 20 in the global index.

It is imperative that African governments and other stakeholders put concerted efforts to improve childhoods for Children as the current state of affairs is appalling. In this region the report found out:

  • 13% of children in Somalia do not live to see their 5th birthday. This is the highest rate in the world.

  • South Sudan is 5th-worst performing country meaning most children are missing out on childhood. It has the highest rate of children out of school in the world (67%) and the second highest rate of displacement globally (31% forcibly displaced). South Sudan is also in the top five for child marriage at 40%.

  • In East and Southern Africa, one-fifth of girls aged 15 to 19 are currently married or in union.

  • One third of children in East and Southern Africa (34.4%) are moderately or severely stunted. In fact, the region claims three of the top 5 countries with the highest stunting rates in the world: Madagascar, Eritrea and Burundi, where about half or more of all children under age 5 are stunted.

  • Harmful child labour rates increased from 21% to 22%.

David Wright, Save the Children’s Regional Director, said that while progress is being made in many parts of the world—including in East and Southern Africa—it is not happening quickly enough.

“More than half the world’s children are being left behind because they are a girl, because they are poor or because they are growing up in a war-zone. Early marriage, child labour and malnutrition are just some of the life-changing events that can rob children of their childhood.

“Without urgent action, we’ll never meet the promises made three years ago by every country at the UN in 2015 to ensure that by 2030 every child survives, learns and is protected. Children account for half of Africa’s population, so must be a priority.

“The cost of inaction is high. Failing to invest in essential services and protection for all children doesn’t just deny children their rights, but will incur higher costs later in terms of lost lives, wasted potential and reduced productivity.”

  • Save the Children calls upon governments in Africa to prioritise their commitment to children’s rights and to develop robust strategies that ensure no African child is left behind. It is only through the visibility, participation and inclusion of African children, that we can achieve sustainable economic development and deliver the goals promised to the world by 2030.

  • Save the Children is also demanding those involved in conflicts – or those with influence over them – to engage to end all violations against children, and is urging governments and donors to fund post-conflict recovery, especially for children.

  • It is incumbent upon all stakeholders including government, civil society, and religious and traditional leaders to work together to improve childhood experiences/wellbeing for children, particularly girls. In the quest to end child marriages in the region, Save the Children calls on member states to the AU to establish a High-Level Monitoring and Review mechanism of the Common African Position to End Child Marriage, monitoring progress across all countries at the national level.

  • We also call on governments in the African continent especially in West and Central, East and Southern Africa to invest adequately in long term Social Behaviour Change Communication interventions that address the attitudes and (cultural) practices that sustain child marriage as well as early pregnancy in the national budgets. Such an investment should also include finances for psycho-social support and economic empowerment for girls who are survivors of child marriage, including child care and other support for girls re-admitted to school.

  • Together with the African Committee of Experts for the Rights and Welfare of the Child, we are calling on governments to put children at the centre in the implementation of SDGs as well as Agenda 2063. This demands both an inclusive and robust participation mechanisms for children. Malawi is providing exemplary leadership in enhancing child participation by launching the Junior Chronicle - a publication aimed at giving children a voice on the eve of DAC - during the continental celebrations in Lilongwe.