Northern Province Permanent Secretary Bernard Mpundu has reiterated Government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment where every child can grow, learn and thrive. Mr Mpundu said government recognises that policies alone cannot transform the lives of children unless they were matched with effective implementation, adequate resources and strong, sustained partnerships. Mr Mpundu disclosed that children defined as individuals below the age of 18 remained central to the nation’s development agenda, accounting for approximately 51.8 percent of the country’s population.
He was speaking in a speech read on his behalf by Northern Province Assistant Secretary Jordan Mwenya during the provincial and district level stakeholders’ consultative meeting for the review of the 2015 National Child Policy, held in Kasama District. The Permanent Secretary observed that the 2015 National Child Policy laid a vital foundation for advancing the rights and wellbeing of children across the country. “This engagement is a clear testament to the Ministry’s unwavering commitment to ensuring that the revised child policy is informed by the voices and experiences of all stakeholders, especially those at community level,” he said.
Mr Mpundu further noted that the social and economic landscape of the country has shifted significantly over the years, posing new challenges on children such as rising child poverty, child marriages, child labour, online safety threats and mental health concerns hence the need to review the policy. He observed that the revised national policy must be responsive to current realities and forward looking in addressing challenges that will affect children in the future. “This stakeholders’ engagement on the policy review is timely and imperative, a lot has changed over the years, we have seen new challenges come in affecting children among them online threats and increased poverty, these should be addressed in the policy which should also be forward looking,” he said.
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