GMT Child Rights Programme recently marked a phenomenal milestone after presenting the final revised version of its digital children’s learning platform HAKI 4 ALL Children to over 100 Children from across the Africa continent. This took place on March 12, 2021 during the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 18thACERWC CSO Forum Children’s Session.
Graca Machel Trust HAKI FOR ALL platform.
The online platform adds to the efforts made by the Trust’s programme to educate African children on their rights as enshrined on the African Children’s Charter, and to effectively make use of the local remedies and the ACERWC Complaints Procedures to respond to gross violations of their rights. It has been developed with support from Save the Children East & Southern African Regional Programming Unit (RPU) and has been made to be interactive to ensure children engage with it. The revised version of the platform has incorporated inputs from children from across Africa. These were obtained through virtual trainings conducted in 2020 and included inputs from the ACERWC and the Graça Machel Trust partners.
The Child Rights programme continues efforts to building awareness among African Children while increasing their knowledge of existing Child Rights Complaints Mechanisms, through the child-friendly digital platform. The platform has since been received as a positive development by different stakeholders as a tool that will help children navigate and engage with content about their rights. As a way to increase the number of children who gain more access to the training, the programme is in the process of getting an interactive print version training manual. This will further be translated into different languages, French and Arabic to accommodate children who do not have access to electronic devices. The HAKI 4 ALL Children is set to be launched during this years’ Day of African Child commemorations in June.
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting children’s rights, to carry out advocacy and action across Africa. Special focus is placed on Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia where child marriage continues to be a problem largely driven by poverty, gender inequality, harmful traditional practices, conflict, low levels of literacy, limited opportunities for girls and weak or non-existent protective and preventive legal frameworks.
Education is a fundamental right for all children, which is also a vehicle for social, economic and political transformation in communities, countries and the African continent at large. Recent studies indicate a lack of progress in some of the critical commitments aimed at improving education quality, access, retention and achievement, particularly for girls. In most African countries, girls may face barriers to learning, especially when they reach post-primary levels of education. By implementing multi-dimensional approaches to education which includes core education, personal development, life skills and economic competencies, the Trust partners with funding partners, governments, civil societies and the private sector to improve education access.
The Nutrition and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition, (RMNCAH+N) of the Children’s Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescents’ health within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. The strategy emphasises on the importance of effective country leadership as a common factor across countries making progress in improving the health of women, children and adolescents.
Through its Early Childhood Development (ECD) plan, The Trust will seek to put into action the new science and evidence Report that was presented by Lancet Series on Good and early development – the right of every child. This will be achieved by mobilising like-minded partners to contribute in the new science and evidence to reach all young children with ECD. The Trust’s goal is to be a catalyst for doing things differently, in particular, to rid fragmentation and lack of coordination across ECD sectors. In response to evidence showing the importance of political will in turning the tide against the current poor access and quality of ECD. Even before conception, starting with a mother’s health and social economic conditions, the early years of a child’s life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.