Kenya has made significant strides in addressing obstacles that stand in the way of full realisation of child rights.
This was said by Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) for Gender and Anti FGM Activist Linah Jebii Kilimo, when she launched the Kenya Childfund strategic plan 2022-2026 with emphasis on children’s rights and the appropriate roadmap towards achieving the set goals.
“The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child have largely been domesticated and incorporated into Kenyan law mainly through the Children Act of 2001 and now the Constitution of Kenya,” she said.
Kilimo noted that the Government has actively pursued the development of policies and programmes to address specific rights such as the provision of free and compulsory primary education and the Cash Transfer Programme to assist orphans and vulnerable children among others.
“The Government has adopted a policy of mainstreaming youth issues in all Ministries, Departments and agencies. However, a key challenge lies in the enforcement of all the provisions of the existing laws and the ambitions of the policies that relate to children’s rights,” she added.
She urged all institutions present to prioritize youth affairs in their programming, objects and goals.
In his remarks, Africa Childfund Regional Director Chege Ngugi, stated that partnerships were essential if the goal was to be achieved.
“We are targeting over 7.5 million children and youth through various programmes, an estimate of 58.2 million dollars in funding and operations in over 26 Counties in the country,” he said.
“This is no easy feat and all who can come on board will be of great value to the cause,” he added.
At the same time, Asia Childfund Regional Director, Mr Roland Angerer, outlined his vision of reaching over 100 million children across the World by 2030.
“We intend to widen our network through advocacy, digital programming, market based solutions and consolidating on our already established partnerships,” he said.
“As much as we build on systems like the child protective system, focus is also on preparing a lot of the youth to enter the competitive job market with valuable skills,” he added.
Angerer noted that every child ought to be protected and afforded their basic rights in line with the international standard.
By Abdiaziz Mohamed and Mike Mulinge
