As the International Day of the African Child was observed Monday, June 16, Rwandans were urged to promote good parenting methods and children’s rights. The day was established in 1991 by the Organisation of African Unity, the precursor to the African Union (AU), to honour South African school children killed in the Soweto Uprising of 1976. This day also aims to advocate for children’s rights across Africa and to raise awareness of the ongoing challenges that many African children face, such as early marriage, lack of access to education, poverty, child labor, conflict, and exploitation. To mark the day, Rwanda choose the theme is “Ndera Neza, Nkure Nemye,’’ which focuses on good parenting aimed at children’s wellbeing. Assumpta Ingabire, the Director General of the National Child Development Agency’s (NCDA), said the theme was selected due to the fact that children are a core consideration in national planning. She also emphasized on the achievements that have been accomplished, such as the establishment of the NCDA, laws and policies that promote child protection, health and nutrition as well as universal access to education. Up to 93% of Rwandan school-aged children had access to education, according to the Education Statistical Year Book of 2024. Vaccination coverage for children against deadly and disabling diseases stands at 99%. “78 percent of children aged 3-6 access integrated early childhood development services, and birth registration of children has increased from 86 percent in 2020 to 90.3 percent,'' said Ingabire. Between 2013-2025, up to 95 percent of children in institutional care were reintegrated into families. She noted however that there were challenges that need to be addressed, such negligence of some parents with regards to their responsibilities, and the number of children living in poor households, which limit access to basic needs. Ingabire noted that the NCDA is collaborating with various institutions to promote children’s right through, awareness campaigns, distribution of educational materials with messages promoting children’s wellbeing, support for vulnerable families through the provision of nutritional supplements such as milk, and flour. For Evariste Murwanashyaka, head of programmes at CLADHO, a consortium of rights organisations, Rwandans need to work together with the government to prevent the challenges still faced by children. These include issues such as teenage pregnancies and defilement. Murwanashyaka said every Rwandan should understand that it is his or her responsibility to protect children, saying this could help decrease the more than 20,000 cases of teenage pregnancies every year. “What needs to be done is that everyone needs to have a concern about the issues related to children’s rights,'' said Murwanashyaka. He called on Rwandans to take steps to protect children and stop taking it as a task for government institutions. When everyone is concerned about the issues affecting children, such as child labour or defilement, they take the first step to look for justice of that victim,’’ added Murwanashyaka.
