By Samsideen Ceesay
The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare in collaboration with UNICEF and Child Fund The Gambia recently commemorated World Children’s Day held at SOS Children’s Village in Bakoteh, on the theme “Inclusion for every child’’.
On 20th November 1959, The United Nations adopted the Declaration of the Rights and Welfare of the Child (CRC) which gave birth to the celebration of the World Children’s Day every year on 20th November.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Welfare, Fatou Kinteh said her Ministry and partners will continue to work together to support and protect the children of The Gambia.
“We will continue to encourage child participation and to include your vision and your suggestions in our development interventions in shaping a more sustainable future that will give every child, in every society, every opportunity not merely to survive, but to thrive,” she noted.
She noted that the Sustainable Development Goals represent the promises the governments of the world have made to shape a better world for every person and every child. “We remain committed as Government to being informed by your important views, your ideas, your suggestions, and your plans for a better future for every child”, Madam Kinteh affirmed.
The Children’s Minister went on to reference MICS 2018 research which showed that in The Gambia an estimated 23% of children under five and 22 % of children aged 5-17 were living in the poorest households (have limited opportunity right to health, education, food and nutrition, and social protection). Such children, she noted, have a higher vulnerability to being exposed to abuse and neglect. “As a state, we have a key role to ensure the creation of protective space for child survival, protection and development”.
Director of Children’s Affairs at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare, Bintou HK Fatty affirmed that government is working to ensure that the socio-economic rights of children as enshrined in our constitution, including the right to education, health care and support are protected as a matter of top priority. This, she pointed out, is evidenced in their revision of the Children’s Act of 2005, aimed to capture current child protection realities.
“It is our shared responsibility to protect the rights of children and we must cultivate a culture of community involvement and care for our children. Families and caregivers must be encouraged to care for their children, in line with the rights outlined in the Constitution and the Children’s Act of 2005”, Director Fatty elucidated.
She concluded by saying that protecting our children is a shared responsibility. “We must partner to tackle the issues that undermine the rights of children; no longer must we allow abuse and injustice against children to happen in our homes, communities and nations.
