Day of the African Child

 The day of the African Child was designed by the African Union in 1991 and its purpose is to raise awareness to promote children's rights.

Theme: Eliminating harmful practices affecting children; progress on policy and practice since 2013.

Children are under threat on a daily basis from harmful practices initiated by adults. It is disheartening that in my country Zimbabwe there is great progress on policy reviews and adoption but there is little work being done on the ground. There is so much affecting children in local communities that goes unseen.

Zimbabwe recently passed the marriage bill that sets the age of consent at 18. This came as a welcome move by Civil Society Organizations who seek to end child marriages, STIs, GBV etc. however as it stands in the community young girls are getting pregnant daily and perpetrators are not bought to justice.

In big cities such as Harare and Bulawayo there is evident of high drug abuse, with the infamous 'mutoriro/dombo' driving our children into the depths of insanity and addiction. To make matters worse the authorities are acting corruptly and leaving the dealers to romp around spreading the vile substances that has taken over our children..

These are only a few examples of how the policies are not serving the interests of children.

I call upon the Zimbabwean and all African governments not to just pass policies in the big rooms but to see that these policies are enforced. There is need for the creation of Future Generations Commissions in our countries to see that the intrests of children are considered and all our harmful practices are rid of so that they can have a better sustainable future.

#Zimbabwe #DayoftheAfricanChild #SAYWHAT