Introduction

The Day of the African Child (DAC) was launched by the Assembly of Heads of State of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1991 to be commemorated on 16 June each year. The DAC pays tribute to the 1976 student uprising in Soweto, South Africa, which resulted in the killings of students who demonstrated against the poor quality of education they received and demanding to be taught in their own language by the apartheid regime. Over the years, the Day has been an opportunity for all stakeholders and actors involved in the protection and promotion of children’s rights in Africa to come together, to consolidate common goals and to tackle the obstacles that stand in the way of achieving an Africa fit for its children.

As guardian of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC/Committee) has spearheaded the commemoration of the DAC since 2002. The ACERWC is an Organ of the African Union established in accordance with articles 32 and 33 of the ACRWC mandated to promote and protect the rights and welfare of the child in Africa and monitor its implementation. Each year, the Committee identifies a relevant theme for the Day, which is further adopted by the Executive Council of the AU, organizes and coordinates activities and events to commemorate the Day at continental level.

The purpose of this concept note is to provide guidance to Member States on the main objectives of the theme, and the various measures that should be undertaken by States in the celebration of the theme. The Committee notes that the DAC provides an opportunity for children, Member States, policy makers, organisations and other stakeholders on the continent working on children’s issues to review and evaluate efforts, policies and programmes aimed to protect and promote children’s rights considering the theme. The DAC is called for serious introspection and commitment to addressing the many challenges facing African children.

Background and justification of the theme

In 2010, the theme of the DAC was: “Planning and budgeting for children’s rights: a collective responsibility”. The commemoration of the DAC on this theme was informed by the various challenges the Committee observed on budgeting for children’s rights. The Committee noted that in addition to the lack of resources, the realization of children’s rights was faced by several factors that hinder the design and implementation of programs geared towards the protection and promotion of the rights and welfare of the child. Among these are: failure to take proper account of certain aspects of child protection in national programs, non- efficient use of resources, lack of participation of children in planning and budgeting for programs, lack of strategic information and statistical data and reliable target on the situation of children in some areas, poor coordination of programs, the lack of reliable financial records. The 2010 DAC aimed at exchange of ideas and experiences, reflection and advocacy in Africa on planning and budgeting that will promote a better improvement of living conditions of children in the continent.

The Committee decided that the year 2025 DAC will be commemorated under the theme “Planning and budgeting for children’s rights: progress since 2010”. The theme is aimed at assessing the level of progress achieved in mainstreaming a children’s issues in planning and budgeting by Member States of the AU and further encourage States to assess and reform their mechanisms of budgeting and planning to adopt a child rights-based approach.

The Committee notes from its engagement with Member States that budget for children has shown increase in most countries. However, children continue to face various challenges which call for additional and child sensitive budgeting. Africa still has high rates of child mortality, child malnutrition, stunting, wasting affecting their survival and development. Access to immunization has increased, yet there remain to be underserved areas with millions of children. Poverty remains to be an underlying factor that affects children and results in the violation of their rights such as child labour, separation from parents and caregivers, lack of access to basic services such as education and health. Moreover, the Continent is facing famine, pandemics, armed conflicts, natural disasters, and other emergencies that disproportionately affect children. Harmful practices such as child marriage, female genital mutilation as well as gender-based discrimination are violations of children’s right and often perpetuated due to poverty. Furthermore, children in vulnerable situations are more exposed to violence due to lack of sufficient programming for their specific needs such as children with disabilities, children in street situations, children separated from parents, and children from marginalised and remote areas.

The Committee notes the significant strides achieved by Member States of the African Union through legislative and other measures. To date 51 Member States have ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. However, the implementation of the Charter is challenged by several factors including weak institutions and lack of resources. Planning and budgeting for children’s rights enables the needs relating to their fundamental rights to be considered in national processes, which is key to ensuring implementation of their rights in the Charter. Child sensitive planning and budgeting is highly impacted by lack of prioritisation of children’s issues on budget processes. African Countries tend to spend more on other priorities such as military and peace and security which result in less investment in children. Line ministries dealing with children’s issues are not politically placed in higher status as opposed to other ministries which impacts the amount of resource that will be allocated to their mandate. Ineffective management of national resources due to lack of sufficient regulatory frameworks and laws and administrative practices also affects children’s budget. Governments are obliged to ensure that there is an effective resource mobilisation and allocation through their fiscal and regulatory policies including tax laws. However, if such laws and policies are not child sensitive, they may have an adverse effect on children, for instance by increasing the price of goods and services consumed by children. Moreover, lack of proper regulation results in a loss of funds and resources through illicit flows or other factors. In addition, corruption which remains to be prevalent in the Continent affects child’s share of the national budget. More specifically, lack of accountability in the budget allocated for children coupled with lack of effective execution of the children’s budget to the right cause hinders the realisation of child sensitive budgeting and planning. Furthermore, children are not engaged in plans and budgeting processes concerning them which impacts the integration of their needs and views in decisions that impact their lives.

The Committee also notes that the demography of Africa calls for a compelling action to align planning and budgeting with child rights approach. In 2021, Africa had 650 million children and in 2023 it was estimated that Africa has 40% under 15 years population which is higher than the global average of 25%. By 2055, Africa will be home to around 1 billion children, or 40 percent of the world’s population. This demographic dynamic of Africa calls for increased investment on children to build a better future for the continent. The Committee also notes that Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030 cannot be achieved without sufficient investment on children.
Moreover, Africa’s aspirations towards eradication of poverty, development of human capital, and economic growth cannot be realised unless investments are directed towards children. By investing in children today, States build a resilient economy, increase employment and productivity thereby increasing economic gains for countries. Moreover, by fighting unemployment and building a healthy and thriving society, States prevent causes for instability and conflict. Therefore, investing on children today is the key to achieving a prosperous, stable, and secure Africa.

Full concept note.