Minister of Social Action: African Children’s Day is an Opportunity to take Stock and renew Commitment

The African Day of the Child is an opportunity to assess the journey, renew commitment and continue building, by documenting achievements, strengthening coordination between different actors and sectors, mobilizing public opinion and donors on children’s issues, in addition to supporting national efforts to make planning and budgeting real tools to achieve justice for children, said the Minister of Social Action, Childhood and Family, Savia Mint N’tahah.

This came during her supervision on Monday in Nouakchott of the ceremony commemorating the African Day of the Child, organized this year under the theme “Planning and Budgeting for Children’s Rights: Assessment since 2010”.

The Minister called on all stakeholders, including public institutions, civil society organizations and development partners, to actively participate in the activities commemorating this event and to contribute to the crystallization of a collective vision for a future that guarantees children their rights and dignity.

She praised the wise leadership of His Excellency President of the Republic Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazwani, especially during his recent presidency of the African Union, noting that he has prioritized children’s issues within the continental agenda, in line with a comprehensive development vision that prioritizes human dignity and places the child at the heart of social policies.

She commended the great efforts made by the Mauritanian government, headed by Prime Minister Mokhtar Ould Diay, through practical policies and programs that reflect a real commitment to children’s rights, which are mainly represented in expanding the circle of beneficiaries of pre-school education, as a fundamental pillar of educational justice and capacity building from early childhood, promoting specialized education for children with disabilities, adopting a cash transfer policy for children with disabilities and children with multiple disabilities, in addition to launching a joint program between the social work sector and UNICEF, benefiting 6,000 children with disabilities

For her part, the President of the Mauritanian Children’s Parliament, Mariam Khattari, emphasized the need for national budgets to be responsive to the rights of children, take into account their real needs, protect them from all forms of exclusion, and provide them with a safe environment for growth, learning and prosperity, praising the steps taken by Mauritania to improve the reality of childhood.

For his part, the UNICEF Resident Representative in Mauritania, Mr. Kabir Allaoui, thanked the Mauritanian government represented by the social work sector for giving the African Day of the Rights of the Child the necessary attention, adding that the participation of children in the activities of this event translates the attention Mauritania pays to children and their rights through major government programs and decisions in this field, which would bring important economic and developmental changes in the country.

The ceremony was attended by the secretary general of the ministry, a number of sector supervisors, and representatives of the Mauritanian Children’s Parliament.