President Hage G. Geingob Encourages Namibia and the SADC Region to Scale up Interventions in Favour of the African Child and Youth

On 16 June 2019, the Day of the African Child, His Excellency, Dr. Hage G. Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia and Chairperson of the South African Development Community (SADC) encourages Namibia and the entire SADC Region to do more to ensure a brighter future for the African Child. In his message, President Geingob says: 

“This is a day to pause, reflect and act for the future of the African Child. Namibia has done considerable work on protecting the rights of the child, ranking in the top ten child-friendly countries in Afrcia. The Namibian Constitution provides for the protection of the rights of Children and Government has social protection mechanisms for orphans and vulnerable children. With the entry into force in February 2019 of the Child Care and Protection Act 3 of 2015, Government is shifting gear by creating a new architecture to consolidate the gains of the past 29 years. In doing so, Namibia is scaling up interventions and commits to do more to realize a brighter future for the youth and the African Child. I urge the entire SADC Region to act in concert as we work together for the protection of the rights of the African Child within the framework of the SADC Minimum Package of Services for Orphans, Vulnerable Children and Youth, and other regional instruments.” 

Namibia has ratified all the major conventions and protocols in the area of Childrens Rights, and was recently ranked 7th in Africa in the ChildFriendliness Index compiled by the African Child Policy Forum. The the Day of the African Child is commemorated every year on 16 June since 1991. On the 16 June 1976, thousands of black children took to the streets in Soweto, South Africa to protest against the inferior Bantu Education System. The theme for this year’s commemoration is “Humanitarian Action in Africa: Children’s Rights First”.