Luanda: The Minister of Social Action, Family and Women's Promotion, Ana do Sacramento Neto, reaffirmed on Tuesday the Angolan government's commitment to the promotion and protection of children's rights, defending universal access to drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene as essential conditions for the healthy development of childhood. Addressing the African Child Day celebrated under the theme "Health: Universal Access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for All African Children", the minister said the theme chosen by the African Union represents a moral, social, and human commitment to the future of the continent's children.
According to Angola Press News Agency, the minister highlighted that discussing water, sanitation, and hygiene equates to discussing life, dignity, opportunities, and the future, because clean water is a right and not a privilege, while decent sanitation is a basic need for all children. Ana Neto emphasized that investing in water and sanitation means investing in children's health, school performance, gender equality, poverty reduction, and sustainable development of African nations.
The minister called on governments, organizations, communities, and citizens to place children at the center of public policies, warning that a society that does not protect its children compromises its own future. The official reaffirmed Angola's commitment to implementing the 11 Commitments to Children, a guiding instrument for public policies on child protection, as well as strengthening bilateral and multilateral cooperation with other African countries to ensure better living conditions for the continent's children.
Carlos Kalesi, director-general of the National Children's Institute, highlighted the significant challenges faced by children in Angola, including violence, child labor, parental abandonment, and children living on the streets. Kalesi noted that despite progress, thousands of children continue to have their rights violated, requiring greater involvement from families, churches, schools, civil society organizations, and public institutions in their protection. He reported that, up to May of this year, more than 20,000 cases of violence against children were registered in Angola, including several cases of sexual abuse, advocating for a permanent mobilization of the entire society to reverse this situation.
The celebration of the African Child Day in the Angolan capital brought together more than 250 children from the municipalities of Luanda and representatives of various African nationalities residing in the country, in an event marked by reflections on the challenges and opportunities for the promotion of children's rights in Africa.
