By Olimatou Coker
Unicef, in collaboration with the University of the Gambia last Thursday signed a partnership on establishing a child rights centre at the university. The signing ceremony was held at the NaNA conference hall.
The day featured a high-level engagement and technical working session which aimed at strengthening institutional capacity on child rights. The engagement highlighted the critical functions of Child Rights Centres, including the promotion of child rights, the generation of evidence and knowledge on children, and the integration of child rights into academic curricula.
The 2 days meeting brought together key stakeholders from academia, government and international development agencies to design a detailed roadmap for the new centre which will also serve as a national hub of advocacy on children’s rights.
The technical working session is said to focus on developing a detailed workplan for the centre’s establishment and operations, defining roles and responsibilities, setting timelines, identifying resource needs, and exploring areas for strategic collaboration with Unicef and other partners.
Nafisa Binte Shafique, Unicef representative in The Gambia, said the signing is a pleasure to Unicef and it symbolises their shared determination to leave no child behind.
“Less than two months ago, we proudly joined the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare and the University of The Gambia to launch the Bachelor of Science in Social Work, a milestone in building a stronger, more professionalised national workforce for child protection and social services. Today, we take the next step forward with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Unicef and UTG” she said.
She added that the agreement formalises their collaboration to establish a Child Rights Centre at UTG to serve as a national resource centre for advancing evidence-generation, promoting academic leadership on child rights, and equipping students and academic staff to become advocates and change makers.
“This initiative could not have come at a better time. Just a few months ago, the Committee on the Rights of the Child issued its 2025 concluding observations for The Gambia. Among its key recommendations was the need to integrate child rights education at all levels.”
Prof Kayode Adekeye, the UTG deputy vice chancellor, underscored the importance of the partnership.
