By Olimatou Coker
The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare (MoGCSW), Childfund – Gambia and Unicef Monday commemorated Day of the African Child 2025.
The commemoration held at Ndow’s conference hall take stock of the progress made by the states in areas of children’s rights over the last decade and analyse the measures taken, challenges encountered, and best practices documented in budgeting and planning for children.
The theme for this year’s commemoration is “Planning and Budgeting for Children’s Rights; progress made since 2010”.
According to the organisers, it presents an important opportunity for collective actions and policy dialogue between policy and decision makers, and stakeholders on child protection for the realisation of children’s rights.
The Day of the African Child (DAC) was launched by the Assembly of heads of state of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1991 and since then it has been commemorated annually in June.
Mrs Fatou Kinteh, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Welfare, said over the past 15 years, The Gambia has made significant progress in integrating child-focused priorities into national planning and budgeting frameworks throught sustained policy reforms, inter-sectoral coordination, and increased domestic and international support.
“Several legislations that promote and protect children are being put in place to align with best practices and international standards. This includes the Sexual Offences Act 2013 which provides protection against sexual crimes from all persons’ especially vulnerable groups, including children and people who are mentally and physically disabled and is applicable to the crime of rape and other sexual offences.”
She said the Children’s Act 2005 was amended in 2016 to prohibit, criminalise and punish people who engage in child marriage and child betrothal.
“These laws are also currently under review for more progressive amendments to ensure effective enforcement of the Children’s Act, including providing adequate human, financial and administrative capacity for its implementation and establishing a monitoring mechanism.”
The Women’s Act 2010, she added, “was also amended in 2015 to criminalise the practice of FGM/C, the Disability Act 2021 was enacted for the protection of persons with disabilities including children.”
She said the ministry since its establishment has in collaboration with key partners and stakeholders consistently advocated for increased investment in child rights.
“From the enactment of child protection laws to the establishment of child welfare structures across communities, we have witnessed a shift toward more inclusive and responsive planning processes.”
She said initiatives like the social protection programmes such as the NAFA Cash Transfers and Safety Net Program, the Family Strengthening Program, the Disability Funds, the GBV Funds, Women Enterprise Funds, and Small Grants, has improved the quality of lives for thousands of children and families across the country.
Ms Nafisa Binte Shafique, Unicef representative in The Gambia, said investing in children is an investment in peace, resilience, and prosperity.
“Unicef and the entire UN family remain committed to standing with The Gambia in building a country where every child’s right is protected. Let us keep building a better world by investing in children. We count on your support and leadership.”
