End talk, act in the best interest of African child

Each year on June 16, Africa pauses to honour the brave children of the 1976 Soweto uprising—young students who rose up against injustice in South Africa and paid the ultimate price for demanding quality education.

The Day of the African Child was instituted in their memory, but today, nearly five decades later, the cries for justice and dignity among African children, including those in Kenya, remain loud and urgent.

This year’s theme, “Planning and Budgeting for Children’s Rights: Progress Since 2010,” is a wake-up call. While budget lines for children may have seen marginal increases across many African states, including Kenya, the lived realities of children in this country show that we are far from achieving an environment that upholds their rights and dignity.

What progress can we claim when children are still dying for exercising their rights? Just a few months ago, Kenya was shaken by the tragic murder of a young girl in Garissa for refusing to be married off to an older man.

Education, too, remains in crisis. Despite Kenya’s global recognition for free primary education, classrooms in many public schools are overcrowded, understaffed and under-resourced. Education funding remains well below Unesco’s recommended threshold of 20 per cent of the national budget. How then can we say we are planning and budgeting for children when their fundamental right to quality learning is compromised?

Poverty and malnutrition are no longer limited to drought-prone regions. Recent reports from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics reveal that child malnutrition is now rising even in counties once known for food security, like Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia. As food prices soar and climate change continues to ravage traditional livelihoods, children are bearing the brunt—stunted in growth, development and dreams.

We need deliberate, transparent and participatory budgeting for children, ensuring comprehensive and equitable investment in their well-being. This includes increased and ring-fenced allocations to basic education, child health, nutrition and protection. Child participation must be genuine and institutionalised.

Let us stop merely talking about the rights of children and begin budgeting, planning and acting in their best interests.

Samfelix Randa