Child-friendliness is about making the maximum effort to respect, protect and fulfill children’s rights and wellbeing.
It is all about protection, provision and participation of children.
Even though they died in Namibia during the ‘white regime’, in Angola during the civil war and by UNITA bandits, DRC during the civil war, Afghanistan during American invasion, Iraq during the American invasion.
They died in India, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Kosovo, Zimbabwe, and many more countries all over the world.
Currently, they are still dying in Gaza Strip, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan, Palestine, and many more countries that are child-unfriendly.
Parenting process does not only involve the biological parents. Governments also have to be parents of their own children.
In case of Africa, there are some of the countries that made tangible efforts to save children in their own countries.
According to the Children Welfare African Report 2008, the top-ten child-friendly countries are:
Country Ranking
Mauritius 1
Namibia 2
Tunisia 3
Libya 4
Morocco 5
Kenya 6
South Africa 7
Malawi 8
Algeria 9
Cape Verde 10
The 10 least child-friendly are as follow:
Country Ranking
Comoros 43
Guinea 44
Swaziland 45
Chad 46
Liberia 47
São Tomé and Principe 48
Gambia 49
Central African Republic 50
Eritrea 51
Guinea-Bissau 52
The report analyses responses to child wellbeing across Africa and highlights positive practices that can inform future action of the African children.
Africa’s political and economic environment is in the midst of rapid transformation. Peace has returned to many war-torn nations, and governance across Africa is improving for a good cause.
The pace of economic progress is extraordinary. These changes are having a positive impact on child-wellbeing while providing the opportunity for a brighter future for all, across the continent.
African governments have ratified most of the relevant international and regional human rights instruments, and a number of African states have made significant progress in domesticating them.
Many governments have increased their budget allocations to such sectors as health and education – which are crucial to the lives of children – and these efforts are paying off in the form of enhanced child wellbeing.
Immunization coverage has increased considerably, and near universal primary school enrollment is being achieved in many countries. Despite these achievements, the state of child wellbeing in Africa and the entire world remains a major issue of concern.
Thousands of children surrender to preventable deaths every day; a million babies are stillborn every year; millions of children are orphaned by HIV/AIDS, cholera, malaria, and conflict; many more are victims of everyday violence, massacres and harmful traditional practices. Many die because of their parents’ inability to give proper parenting and due to negligence.
Others die because they have no other better option rather than death. Others are aborted while others are killed the moment the are born; killed by mothers who carried them in their wombs for several months, mothers who were supposed to take care of them until they recognize the beauty of life and future.
Child wellbeing means a lot of things. It is about children being safe, well, healthy and happy. It is about children’s opportunities to grow and to learn. It is about positive personal and social relationships and about being and feeling secure and respected all times. It is also about being given a voice and being heard. In short, it is about the full and harmonious development of each child’s personality, skills and talents.
Even as such, some of the countries are not doing tangible efforts to save their own children.
Countries like Comoros, Guinea, Swaziland, Chad, Liberia, São Tomé and Principe, Gambia, Central African Republic, Eritrea and Guinea-Bissau need urgent attention to address the issues of children within themselves. Southern Africa is mostly better compared to all parts of Africa.
The only problem in Southern Africa is Swaziland; it is the only country that has poor parenting processes in the 10 least countries that are less child-friendly.
In case of Namibia, I am quite optimistic that the SWAPO government will still do its best to make sure that it is children-friendly and that there is an understandable protection of children, understandable provision of children needs and that, children are still free to participate in the Children Parliament in Namibia and Youth Parliament in South Africa.
These parliaments are protocol-matured moves to make sure those children are heard and that they are free to participation national issues. I am sure that if you have watched the Children’s Parliament in Namibia and the Youth Parliament in South Africa, you would believe me that most of them address vital issues of national concern, more than most of our parliamentarians.
Children need skills that will save them in the future, not skills of how to handle and shoot with AK-47 rifles as are cases in Sierra Leone and DRC.
Not the cases of India, Burundi and Somalia.
Children need to be protected from all types of harm and abuse. Children need to see to it that parents care about them [children].
Children need to be assured that they are respected and be promised that they are future leaders of all continents and the entire globe at large. If they are not assured now, they will never be assured because there is no one who will assure them if the current parents did not do so.
They need to be trained on how to be leaders. This can well be reflected when His Excellency Nelson Mandela once said: “Africa is beyond bemoaning the past for its problems. The task of undoing that past is ours, with the support of those willing to join us in that continental renewal. We have a new generation of leaders who know that we must take responsibility for our own destiny, that we will uplift ourselves only by our own efforts in partnership with those who wish us well.”
If we realized that the past was not good, it is high time we undo the past and renew the whole process and have faith to invest in the new generation of leaders of tomorrow.
So every effort is of renewal to the life of children. Some are doing already these efforts like some of our local musicians who are well known as Kids Ambassadors (Gazza). His contribution and other contributions of individuals make differences.
Only when you are told how valuable you are can you know your value, but if you do not know if you are valuable, you will never realize it.
Finally, children: parents are there to guide you, not you to abuse them.
Just the way the concept of child abuse exists, the concept of parent abuse does exist too.
Is up to you whether you want to know from them or not. Remember: if you want to know ask!
• Silas Mwaudasheni Nande is the of Principal of Kornelius Combined School, Ondobe Circuit, Ohangwena Region. Area of interest: Science, Politics, Welfare, Public Administration
