Children at the top of the government's agendaAn effective and sustainable recovery of Angola requires greater investment in its children Luanda, 13th June 2005 - In the run up to this year’s African Child Day, Angolan government is dedicating three entire days to revise strategies and budgets to ensure children survive up to their fifth birthday, have access to quality education and are spared from ill treatment. “A society that doesn’t take good care of its children will not have a better future than its present,” said Minister of Social Affairs, Mr. Joao Baptista Kussumua, today during the opening ceremony of the Second Forum on ‘Early Childhood Development’. “This Forum is a critical initiative of State with deep relevance to the national reconstruction process.” With the technical and financial support of UNICEF, the Forum, taking place in Luanda from the 13 to 15 June, is a unique cross-sectoral platform where representatives of sixteen different ministries sit around the table with one single subject on their agenda: children. Also, participating in the three-day meeting are members of the provincial governments, bilateral and multilateral cooperation representatives, different churches, media, international organizations, NGOs and political parties, totaling over 300 persons. “We are extremely pleased to see that the issues important to Angolan children haven’t lost momentum and that coordination within the government to tackle this crucial aspect of Angola’s recovery is happening,” said Mario Ferrari, UNICEF Representative in Angola. The first point on the Forum’s program will be an analysis of the progress made implementing the commitments reached a year ago during the first gathering of this kind. There will also be opportunities to deepen the discussions through a series of panels conducted by national and international experts on key issues including: child mortality reduction, access and improvement of pre-school education, legislation to protect children, responsibilities at the family level in the care and development of children, inclusion and participation of children in the media and state budget allocations for children. Less than 10% of the younger members of the Angolan population have access to pre-school education and support mechanisms for children made vulnerable by special circumstances such as disability, HIV/AIDS or delinquency are worryingly scarce. “More resources allocated across sectors, well defined policies and relevant actions are needed to reduce the under-five child mortality rate,” said Ferrari. “…and that is the basis to fulfill the fundamental rights of the children.” The Forum is an initiative led by the President of the Angola, Jose Eduardo Dos Santos. Expectations on the outputs of the Forum are high: based on the lessons learned, the challenges and priorities carefully studied, there is now hope that the guiding principles for a comprehensive national policy on children will emerge from the Forum. This policy would drive the assistance and protection of children and maintain their needs and worries high up in the political agenda.
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