Childhood should never be a fight for survival

Dakar, 20 November 2025 - To mark World Children's Day, Gilles Fagninou, the UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, reminds us that childhood should never be a fight for survival. In many sub-regions and countries of West and Central Africa, growing up remains a daily challenge and a journey strewn with obstacles, which every child faces with courage and hope.

Francine (not her real name) is 15 years old. She lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her letter came to us like a message in a bottle thrown into the sea:

" I’m writing to you from the future – a future where no child has to drop out of school to work in a factory or a field. In this world, education is free and close to home. Classrooms have enough chairs, books, food and compassion.

In an economically just society, no child should ever have to give up school to carry the weight of their family’s survival.

I want you to remember this: You deserved safety even when no one said it. You deserved to learn, not to hustle." [1]

Unfortunately, Francine's situation is not unique. Global estimates for all 130 low- and middle-income countries show that the number of people living in extreme poverty has fallen by a third since 2000. Since the adoption of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, the number of children living in extreme poverty has fallen by between 10 and 15%.

However, a notable exception is sub-Saharan Africa, where the percentage of children living in extreme poverty has remained virtually unchanged over the past decade. Children are deprived of several basic needs at the same time: education, health, nutrition, housing, water or sanitation. They are also exposed to the higher risks of exploitation, unsafe migration, child labour and early marriage.

Crises are multiplying and intersecting: conflicts are displacing millions of children and closing their schools. Climate change is devastating crops and pushing families deeper into poverty. The debt crisis prevents governments from investing in health, protection and education, sometimes swallowing up more than a fifth of government revenues [2]. This accumulation of shocks weakens the gains, jeopardizing an entire generation.

Yet change is possible when countries prioritize children's rights.

Today, governments in West and Central Africa must make a clear political choice: they must make the eradication of child poverty a national priority, redirecting budgets to protect the safety, well-being, health and education for all children, rather than focusing on servicing debt. They must extend social protection to cushion the impact of economic and climate crises, and ensure access to quality public services, while also promoting decent work for parents and caregivers.

In her letter, Francine writes to us from a future that does not yet exist. It is up to us to ensure that this future does not remain a fiction and that her story becomes the present that all children deserve.

[1] Letter published in The State of the World's Children 2025. Ending Child Poverty – Our shared imperative.

[2] The World Bank, 'Debt', <www.worldbank.org/en/topic/debt/overview>, accessed 25 October 2025.