Media contact:
Selamawit Deneke
Publications and Events Officer
The African Child Policy Forum
Tel: 0911 14 53 58 (mobile)
0116 62 82 00 (office)
deneke@africanchildforum.org
Child poverty at the top of the agenda at a major
international policy conference
ADDIS ABABA , ETHIOPIA , May 9, 2008 – The first conference to concentrate specifically on child poverty in Africa will be held in Addis Ababa on the 12 th and 13 th May, organised by the African Child Policy Forum. The Third International Policy Conference on the African Child has attracted a wide range of participants both from Africa and internationally. It will bring together a diverse and influential group of speakers and experts from the African Union, the United Nations, academic institutions, civil society, and children's rights advocates. Leading international experts, leaders and policy-makers in attendance will include among others, HE Girma Wolde Giorgis , President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, HE Dr Salim A Salim , former president of the OAU and current AU envoy to Darfur, Professor Yanghee Lee , Chair, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Adv. Bience Gawanas , Commissioner for Social Affairs, African Union, Mr Ben Kioko , Chief Legal Counsel, African Union, Dr Marta Santos Pais , Director, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, Dr James Gesami, Assistant Minister of Health, The Republic of Kenya , Ms. Maria Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona , UN Independent Expert on Human Rights and Extreme Poverty, and Prof Peter Townsend , Centennial Professor of International Social Policy, London School of Economics.
The conference will also be addressed by two major international experts and renowned speakers, Prof Jeffrey D. Sachs , Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and Mr Stephen Lewis , Co-Director, AIDS-Free World.
It is well known that extreme poverty is a serious and even growing problem in Africa , and that children are the most vulnerable. The problem of child poverty, especially in developing countries, is neither fully documented nor directly addressed in the formulation of economic and even anti-poverty strategies and policies. What little we know is based on scattered empirical data and anecdotal evidence. We don't know enough about the nature, dimension and magnitude of the problem. Nor do we know enough about what is being done to address it or how to deal with it. Hence this major two-day conference, which will be held on the 12 th and 13 th May 2008 at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa , Ethiopia .
The International Policy Conference on the African Child has become an important event in the African calendar and gained international recognition as a major forum for debate and networking on children's issues. The first International Policy Conference on the African Child (May 2004) was on the theme The African Child and the Family . The second International Policy Conference on the African Child held in May 2006 was on the theme Violence against Girls in Africa . The pledge from the second conference was embraced by the United Nations and the declaration at the conference was subsequently adopted by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
The third International Policy Conference will draw attention to the issue of poverty in Africa , enable the exchange of information on the nature, measurement and dimensions of child poverty and policy experiences, as well as initiate dialogue on areas for future research and policy work. Child poverty in Africa is not only about basic needs, it is also about inequitable access to services, lack of opportunities, reduced outcomes and reduced hopes and expectations. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to three quarters of the world's extremely poor people living below 50 US cents a day. Children constitute more than half of the population in the region, so the majority of those living in extreme poverty are children. Poverty denies children their fundamental human rights and therefore, it needs to be addressed.
Although children are the most affected by poverty, their voices are seldom heard. The documentary Poverty through the eyes of children will be one of the highlights of the conference, so that children's views on poverty can be shared. The powerful 15-minute film was shot in five countries from across Africa with a variety of children from different social and economic backgrounds, and gives a moving and motivating insight into children's experiences and views on the causes, effects and solutions to child poverty in Africa.
ABOUT THE AFRICAN CHILD POLICY FORUM
The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) is a leading, independent pan-African policy and advocacy centre on child rights. The ACPF was established with the conviction that putting children first on the public and political agenda and investing in their wellbeing are fundamental for bringing about lasting social and economic progress in Africa and its integration and participation in the world economy.
The work of the Forum is rights-based, inspired by universal values and informed by global experiences and knowledge. The Forum aims to provide a platform for dialogue; contribute to improve knowledge of the problems facing children in Africa ; identity policy options; and strengthen the capacity of NGOs and government to develop and implement effective pro-child policies and programmes.
For more information :
www.africanchildforum.org
www.africanchild.info
