Introduction
The above claim by African Union that
investment in children is tomorrow peace, stability, security, democracy and
sustainable development is largely true. Young people and children as future generations
and leaders represent more than half of Africa’s population and needs to be
empowered in areas such as education, healthy and combating HIV and AIDS
pandemic, protect them against abuse, exploitation and violence. Substantial
and sustained programmes in health, nutrition, basic education, clean water and
social protection are essential investments in the development of these young
citizens and in Africa’s future economic growth. Combating HIV/AIDS and making
decisive progress on girl’s education are especially crucial for progress. Young
children have the potential to be the engine that helps propel peace, stability,
security, democracy and sustainable development processes in all parts of the continent. Hence poverty reduction
growth should find its foundation in Africa’s human capacity development, which
in turn must start with Africa’s children. If children given the right
opportunities by African leaders, at all levels, they will positive and dynamic partners for
Africas future.
Definition
of Terms
sustainable
development
is a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs while preserving the
environment so that these needs
can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come (sometimes
taught as elf-environment, local people, future). the term was used by
the brundtland commission which coined what has
become the most often-quoted definition of sustainable development as development that "meets the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs."(www.answers.com/sustainable..../def/7/03/2011)
Sustainable
development ties together concern for the carrying capacity of natural
systems with the social challenges facing humanity. As early as the
1970s "sustainability" was employed to describe an economy "in
equilibrium with basic ecological support systems."Ecologists have pointed
to The Limits to
Growth and presented the alternative of a "steady state
economy"in order to address environmental concerns(www.answers.com.../def/7/03/2011)
Peace describes a society or a relationship that is operating
harmoniously and without violent conflict. Peace is commonly understood as the
absence of hostility, or the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, safety in
matters of social or economic welfare, the acknowledgment of equality, and
fairness in political relationships. In international relations, peacetime is the absence
of any war or conflict.(www.answers.com...../def/7/03/2011)
Democracy is
a form of political organization in which all people, through consensus, direct
referendum, or elected representatives, exercise equal control over the matters
which affect their interests.The term comes from the Greek, "rule of
the people which was coined from (dêmos)
"people (Kratos) "power", in the middle of the 5th-4th
century BC to denote the political systems then
existing in some Greek city-states, notably Athens following a
popular uprising in 508 BC Even though
there is no specific, universally accepted definition of 'democracy equality
and freedom have been identified as important characteristics of democracy
since ancient times These principles are reflected in all citizens being equal
before the law and having equal access to power. For example, in a
representative democracy, every vote has equal weight, no restrictions can
apply to anyone wanting to become a representative, and the freedom of its
citizens is secured by legitimized rights and liberties which are generally
protected by a constitution government by the people.(www.answers.com…./def/7/03/2011)
Security is
the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and criminal activity.
Security as a form of protection are structures and processes
that provide or improve security as a condition.(www.answers.com....def/7/03/2011)
Stability
the state or quality of being stable, or firm; steadiness; firmness; strength
to stand without being moved or overthrown; as, the stability of a structure;
the stability of a throne or a constitution. Hence stability in this context
means a condition where Africa prevail peace, economic growth and development
in all aspects(www.answers.com...../def/7/03/2011)
Body
Education
It is paramount important to note that today’s investment in
children education is the future of Africa democracy, peace and among other developmental issues.
Education is considered as one of the major pillars of ensuring the future of
Africa.Victoriana Nchama Nsue Okomo
secretary for International Cooperation of Equatorial Guinea said that chidden
were not only the future but also the present.
She cited that long term goals must be based on their current situation, giving
examples of education for all children, to be achieved as part of Millennium
Development Goals(MDGs).(www.unicef.org/crs/mellenniun.....pdf/9/03/2011)Investment
in children must be done through the promotion of and providing free education especially in
primary levels. By making primary education free to all, it means they will be
high rate of education which in turn produce positive impact to the continent.
For example there will be high literacy rate and thus these children will be able
to fight poverty and HIV and AIDS. And Africa among other continents is
regarded as the continent with highest number of illiterate hence more poverty,
high employment rate, high risk of disease
such as HIV and AIDS. Thus by providing free access to primary education
according to article 11,(3a) of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare
of the Children(ARWC) , Africa tomorrow will became bright, hence sustainable development,
peace and democracy will be achieved.
Africa as a continent
needs well educated leaders for its future and hence by providing quality of
education to children and young people,
will be the biggest achievement in its future investment .For example in Malawi and Uganda have registered a dramatic increases in school enrolment because of free
tuition and significant reductions in non-tuition costs to the family for
example uniforms. Uganda’s recent
initiatives, and those of other countries such as Mozambique, have been fuelled
by the use of savings on debt repayments, helped by the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
Initiative and they began to build more primary schools, providing new text
books and recruiting more teachers.(www.africanunion.org/humantarian/54996/8/03/2011)
Moreover investment in child
education should also based on gender equality to achieve peace, stability and
sustainable development and among other factors. In Africa girl child are
mostly looked down upon by not given a chance to go to school as in line with
the article ACRWC 11(3e).Hence recognizing rights of girl child in
education promotes more value to their lives.
In war torn countries such as Rwanda, Somalia, Burundi and Somalia young girls
especially teenagers are more subjected to abuses both physically and sexually.
Thus there will be little doubt that equipping girl child with education in
more than an investment not only to her but also to African continent. By
educating these young children especially who will be mothers and doctors of
tomorrow and some will join different professions, which will be steps to built
Africa’s future.
Health
Investment in children can achieved
through improving healthy access to both children and their mothers. By
promoting and improving health services, more lives will be saved. According to
World Health Organization (WHO), children rights are closely linked to their
mothers and it further argued that the absence of sexual and reproductive healthy rights of their mother and the lack of
basic social protection coverage have a direct consequences for their
children’s well being and healthy.(www.unicef.org.doc...../7/03/2011) Thus one
third of all pregnancies are desired or planned, and half of mothers giving
birth mostly in Africa are not assisted by a trained mid-wife and thus over
three million children die annually from the complications that arise during or
immediately after delivery.Many other
experience lifelong consequences from their mother illness during pregnancy or
from unsafe delivery. The above statistics therefore shows that more children
are dying in Africa. Measures being that by promoting universal access to
primary health care to all mothers and their children, Africa’s future will be
considered as bright.
Immunization
Healthy programmes such as immunization
produce positive results in saving lives of children especially those who are
under the age of 5 years. It can be
argued that Africa’s investment in children starts when saving newly born
babies through these immunization programmes and providing more care to
pregnant women. Thus one live saved
means Africa’s future will not going to be the same again. African Union and
other regional organization such as ECOWAS and New Partnership in Development
(NEPAD) in their MDGs have targeted from the year 2000 to 2015 as the year for
investing in child education and healthy.(www.kidsfirstfund.org/child/progr..../9/03/2011)
This saw vast programmes being implemented in line with children investment for
Africa’s future in achieving peace, stability, security, democracy and
sustainable development.
Mortality
Rate
Investment in children should also done though
reduction of child mortality rates. African MDGs have aimed to reduce child
mortality by two thirds by 2015.It means by reducing mortality rate, the
population in Africa particularly increased. Hence more people involved in
building the continent, thus investment in children champion democracy and
peace through their life inputs . However Africa have seen some worsening of
mortality rates in 13 African countries in the 1990s which hinders development,
peace, and increased poverty. This is
due to the stagnation or decline of health care for childhood diseases and the
aggravation caused by
conflict,
failure to uproot poverty, massive under nutrition and the explosion of
HIV/AIDS.(www.informaworld.com/smpp/tittle/content/8/03/2011) A number of
African countries have registered
significant drops in child mortality rates, but most of these are now being
halted or
reversed.
Medication
Promotion and provision of healthy
facilities is considered as a major step towards sustainable development in Africa.
This is because most of children in the continent are not being provided with
adequate health care such as medication, clinics and hospitals are too far from
them. Hence provision of health care facilities such as hospitals and clinics,
the availability of nurses and doctors and more over the availability of drugs
promotes to build children when they are sick or ill. Thus providing them with
medication gives them hope for tomorrow, therefore Africa’s future be bright.
Moreover, health is being regarded as foundation where stability, fighting against
poverty and where Africa’s future is.
Feeding programmes
To add on flesh on the skeleton, a
demographic survey report conducted by the government of Tanzania that in 2000
showed that 38% of children under the age of 5 years are stunted and 13% are severely
stunted. This was caused by nutritive diet. The study further argued that more
than 23% of Tanzanian adult have been affected by the same disease, conclusion
being that these now grown up child are being affected in their living lives
hence there are not fully participating economic built up of the country. The
study further claim that if not stunting more teachers, doctors, leaders ,
lawyers and politicians might hatefully their pontential.This clearly shows the
tragedy being faced by Africa. By providing or fighting these diseases in young
children, there will be investment in them hence producing security and peace
in all Africa countries.www.africaunion.org/health/..pdf/8/03/2011)
Little(1998) In 1978 when President
Moi of Kenya came into power, he started
a ‘milk for all children’ programme. Every Kenya child was provided with milk
to prevent malnutrition deficiency for free. He stated that this would help to
raise ‘brighter and smarter society for the future of Kenya. The milk drinking
culture has remained in Kenya until today. It can be argued that the “Moi Milk
kids” are today Kenyan young adults in their 30s and 40s who have since
propelled Kenya to one of an emerging economic giant in Africa.(www.unicef.org.docs/9/03/2011)
Impact of
HIV and AIDS
Africa has little hope for the future if
the AIDS pandemic is not halted and reversed. But there is an opportunity:
Almost all 5- to 10-year-old African children are free of HIV today. The need is
overwhelming to keep this generation free from AIDS so that they can reach their most
productive years alive and healthy. The pandemic must be confronted head-on by
Africa and its partners with young
people themselves as key partners for change. The destruction caused by
HIV/AIDS would continue relentlessly. Today’s situation in large parts of the continent
is truly catastrophic. Tomorrow’s probable trends without leadership, determined partnerships
and
massive levels of mobilization are even worse. Some 28.5 million Africans
alive today are HIV-positive, including approximately 3 million infants and
very young children, plus many teenagers, mostly girls. All are likely to die
if nothing changes fast. Among the child survivors, over 10 million have
already lost one or both parents to the effects of HIV and AIDS, and this
number will multiply. Seven African countries now record adult HIV prevalence
rates above 25 per cent. And already in over a dozen countries, the impact of
the pandemic has led to plunging life expectancy. www.unicef.org/health/docs/9/03/2011)The
staffing of schools, health facilities and workplaces is becoming ever more difficult.
All this is directly undermining the economic security of both households and
nations and threatens social stability. It is relentlessly tearing to shreds
the gains of African independence and is forcing family after family, village
after village, city after city, far deeper into poverty.
Thus it can be totally argued that, the
prevention of this killer disease starting from these young children, newly unborn babies, prevention of
mother to child when mothers still pregnant are the major ways of combating HIV
and AIDS. This creates an AIDS free generation that will act boldly in proving
security, measures against the spread of
killer diseases .This generation thus acts as a corner stone to develop Africa.
Issues such as poverty for the first time decreases because fighting poverty is
linked to HIV and AIDS. Investment in these children who are free from HIV and
AIDS positively produce the much needed results for Africa, for example new
blood of energetic young adults free from diseases become leaders, politicians,
doctors, nurses and among other professionals being ready to discover new
methods of preventing HIV and AIDS, able to maintain peace and avoid wars,
creating of employment and reduce poverty, and thus economic growth can be
achieved. Above all they will be able to
prepare or invest in future generation so as the future of Africa contiously
shine.
Creation of
HIV and AIDS Free Generations
Investing in children or young people who
are free Aids generation provides security to the economy of Africa in the
sense that, since these grow to be adults and as they are employed most of
their time spend on work rather than being treated as compared to those who had
Aids. Hence more time spend doing production in economic growth. It is clear
that when the continent is to register economic growth it therefore means
stability has achieved. Most of the regions or continents on the world register
economic growth when there is stability. Stability can only achieved if we
create these youth which are HIV/Aids free generation by exposing them to free
medication, access to health care services while young. Hence the claim by
African Union that today investment in children brings tomorrow’s peace,
stability, security, democracy and sustainable development.
Sanitation
Above all, children hygiene must be
encouraged and invested in. It is important to note that more than half of
African population lives in rural areas where half of the proportion of people
are without access to safe drinking water. This means most of the families are being vulnerable to diseases such as cholera,
diarrhea, which are related to unsafe water, and poor sanitation. These trauma
will continue to blight the lives of people who are poor. Thus by taking
stringent measures to provide sanitation and clean water innocent souls will be
saved such as children who are most vulnerable. For tomorrow these children
obviously are going to develop these places into better places, where safe
water resources could be built. By doing so they will be promoting sustainable
development and providing more security to future generations.
High Rate
Of Literacy
Investing in children and young people in
areas such as education, can be considered as the cure of ignorance in all
aspects of life. therefore it means Africa’s literacy rate will become high and
these young educated people will impact the society positively. For example it
is from this group of people that doctors are going to emerge, whereby more
drugs are to be discovered to fight against killer disease such as HIV and
AIDS,TB,malaria.In this case managing to combat and prevent these diseases the
community and the Africa at large will register peace in the sense that they
will be less death than before, and
stability achieved through economic growth and absence of wars.
Children
Rights
The goal of reducing poverty in
Africa can only be achieved through the realization of the rights of its children such as the right
for education. Africa needs to treble its average economic growth rates to
achieve the target of halving poverty. Its recent performance, notwithstanding
some outstanding success stories, indicates that the number of Africans
struggling to live on the equivalent of one dollar a day or less will remain
unchanged by 2015. The majority of people who are poor and the vast majority of the poorest are
children and women. Hence by investing in children means the rate of poverty is
going to decrease since it is widely argued that education is the right way to
fight poverty.
Fighting
Poverty
In countries such as Sudan and Liberia
where young children are more vulnerable to wars and are also used as child
soldiers is because the people there are much hit both sides by poverty. And to
them sending children to school is waste of time.Radda Bergen(1999),there are
more than 100 000 child soldiers in Sub Sahara and the largest contingent was
in 1997 in Sudan and the recent development in Congo and Angola may have
increase the figure and the harmful physical and psychological wounds these
children received reduce the future working and learning capacities.(www.africanunion.org/issues/..../9/03/2011)
But in reality these children if given an opportunity to go school, the so
called child soldiers could be non existed. It can be further argued that the
opportunity to go to school was to give them vast experience to govern their
states and as future leaders, they could understand fruits of peace, stability,
security, democracy and sustainable development. Hence today investment in
educating children is not time lost but
it guarantees the future of Africa and their society at large.
Abuse
Children investment can also be realized in
protecting them against different forms of abuses, exploitation and violence.
According to Convention on the Rights of the Children, Article 19, that, state
parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and
educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental
violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation,
including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or
any other person who has the care of the
child. This kind of investment in children ensures that children have to
live to their full rights. It enables them to grow as matured person hence by
knowing their rights they will be able to protect coming generation since they
are growing to be elders of tomorrow. By given the platform to know their
rights and exercise them, it is a major step towards development of democratic
principles.
However the above notion that investment in
children is future of Africa in achieving democracy, peace, stability, security
and sustainable development is largely valid, most of African states found it
difficult to implement these into practical due to various reason. Chief among them
being lack of finance and resources. Most African government are limited by
finance where their budget are biased. Ministry such as Health, Education only receive little amount at the expense of Defense
and secret police. Without help from Non Government Organizations (NGOs) most
of Africa’s programmes that promote health and education would have collapsed
.
Conclusion
All in all, it can be argued that Africa’s
future is in the hands of young people and children. It is from these children
that Africa will achieve democracy, sustainable development, democracy, peace,
stability and security. more important is that it through educating these
children, through universal access to education, free primary education,
promotion of heath care services that may be reached to many, preventing child
5 killer diseases, providing feeding programmes and among others that children
can able to grow into an adults with visions. Also protecting children from
various forms abuse, exploitation and among others. By achieving these African
future will be brighter hence reducing poverty.
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