Children’s Rights Need Funding, Not Promises

The review, held under the theme “Taking Stock, Shaping the Future,” provides a platform for government and its partners to examine existing child protection interventions and determine what needs to change to improve children’s lives.

Kawandami emphasised the need for effective implementation, sustainable financing and coordinated action across institutions. She said children’s needs should also be reflected in national development priorities, including the Grow Zambia agenda, so that commitments made at policy level translate into practical improvements.

She added that children’s participation, accountability and clear priorities should guide the reform process. Progress, she said, should be measured by whether children and their families can access better protection services.

Child representatives from Advocacy for Child Justice called on the Government, Parliament and cooperating partners to turn child protection commitments into practical action, warning that laws and programmes alone were not enough to protect children from abuse, neglect, exploitation and child marriage.

Olivia Zimba, Elijah Jere and Grace Siusiku, who represented children at the National Child Protection Conference, said Zambia needed stronger protection services, more trained personnel and adequate funding to ensure that every child, regardless of their circumstances or location, could access support.

Speaking on behalf of children across the country, the three representatives urged stakeholders to ensure that the child protection agenda for 2028–2032 prioritised children’s safety, education, participation and access to justice.

“We do not expect children to solve every problem alone. We know that protecting children is a shared responsibility, but we need and we want to be partners in finding solutions because decisions affecting us are the decisions affecting our lives and our future,” they said.

The representatives thanked the Government, through the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, UNICEF and other cooperating partners, for supporting the conference and giving children an opportunity to share their views on issues affecting their lives.

They said children were not merely Zambia’s future but an important part of the country today. Their experiences, ideas and opinions, they said, deserved to be heard and respected when decisions were made about their safety, education, health and general welfare.

The representatives called for more opportunities for children to participate in decision-making through Child Parliament, child rights clubs, radio and television programmes, safe spaces and children’s meetings.

However, they cautioned that such platforms should not be limited to children who live in towns or those who find it easy to express themselves. Rural and hard-to-reach communities, children with disabilities and those who struggle to communicate their concerns should also be given opportunities to participate.

“We ask that children are included in decisions that affect our lives. Please do not only invite us to meetings; listen to our views and ideas, and ensure our contributions are being used,” they said.

The representatives acknowledged measures taken by Zambia to improve child protection, including the Children’s Code Act of 2022 and efforts to end child marriage. They also cited free education, school feeding programmes, the Keeping Girls in School programme, birth registration and improvements in child justice and social services.

Despite these measures, they said many children continued to experience violence, abuse, neglect, child labour and child marriage.

They identified poverty, teenage pregnancy, hunger and problems at home as factors contributing to children dropping out of school. Some children also lacked birth certificates, while others faced additional barriers to protection because of disabilities or where they lived.

The representatives further raised concern about online abuse and bullying, saying children needed protection both in their homes and communities and in the digital spaces they increasingly use.

They said some children were afraid to report abuse because they feared they would not be believed or would be blamed for what had happened. Others did not know where to seek help or whom to approach when they faced violence or exploitation.

“Having laws and programmes is not enough. We need to make sure they work for every child everywhere in Zambia,” they said.

The representatives outlined four priorities they wanted stakeholders to address as Zambia shaped its child protection agenda for 2028–2032.

Their first priority was to ensure that every child was protected from violence, abuse, bullying, exploitation and other forms of harm at home, school, in communities and online.

They called on parents, teachers, community leaders, government institutions and everyone working with children to take responsibility for preventing violence and creating safe environments. They stressed that protecting children should not be left to one institution or treated as the responsibility of families alone.

Their second priority was to ensure that adults listened to children who reported abuse, believed them, treated them with kindness and took appropriate action.

The representatives said children who had experienced abuse needed counselling, care and support to help them recover. Reporting abuse should lead to meaningful assistance rather than leave children feeling ignored, blamed or afraid to speak out again.

They also called for children who came into conflict with the law to receive guidance, education and fair treatment, with opportunities to learn from their mistakes and change their lives.

The third priority was ensuring that every child had an opportunity to learn and develop, regardless of their family’s financial circumstances or personal challenges.

The representatives said no child should be forced into marriage, subjected to dangerous working conditions or prevented from attending school because of poverty, disability or other difficulties.

They stressed that education needed to be supported by access to healthcare, adequate food, love and care. They also called for opportunities for young children to learn and develop from an early age.

The representatives urged the Government, parents, teachers, traditional leaders, religious leaders and communities to work together to keep children in school and give them a fair chance in life.

Their fourth priority was ensuring that child protection services reached every child, whether they lived in an urban or rural area, had a disability or came from a poor or well-off family.

They called for greater support for families caring for children and safe, caring environments for those who could not remain safely with their parents. They said children should not be left without protection simply because their families could not afford the care and support they needed.

The representatives also urged stakeholders to protect children affected by drought, floods, hunger, displacement and other emergencies from abuse and exploitation. They said children facing emergencies needed particular attention because disruptions to family life and access to services could expose them to additional risks.

With technology continuing to expand, they said children needed to be taught how to stay safe online and report content or behaviour that made them feel uncomfortable or threatened. They emphasised that online abuse and bullying should be taken seriously and that children should know where to turn when they encountered such problems.

The representatives stressed that government institutions and other organisations responsible for child protection needed to work together to ensure that no child was forgotten or left without help.

They also called for child protection plans to reflect the different needs of children at various stages of development. Adolescents, they said, needed guidance and opportunities to make positive choices, while children with disabilities required additional support to participate fully in society.

Children in rural and hard-to-reach communities also needed services that were accessible and close to where they lived. The representatives said a child’s location or circumstances should not determine whether that child received protection and assistance.

They further emphasised the need for adequate funding and more trained social workers, child development officers and counsellors to strengthen the country’s child protection systems.

They said resources were needed to establish safe spaces for children in danger, support families, provide counselling to children who had experienced abuse and implement programmes aimed at preventing violence and child marriage.

The representatives urged the Government, Parliament, cooperating partners and other stakeholders to ensure that the conference’s resolutions were backed by clear actions, assigned responsibilities, sufficient resources and regular checks to measure progress.

They said the conference should produce practical measures capable of improving children’s lives in homes, schools and communities, rather than leave commitments on paper.

The representatives also expressed hope that Zambia would share its experiences and learn from other countries during forthcoming global discussions in Manila on ending violence against children.

They said their vision was a Zambia where every child felt safe, loved and valued, regardless of gender, ethnicity, race, religion or tribe.

They called for a country where no child was forced into marriage, abused, exploited or denied education, and where children who had experienced harm received care while those who made mistakes were given opportunities to learn and change.

They further called for a society that included children with disabilities, supported families and ensured that every child could speak without fear, pursue their dreams and grow up with hope.

“Let this conference be remembered not only for the speeches we give today, but for the actions we will take tomorrow. Let us turn our promises into actions, our plans into services, and our commitments into real change in our lives and the lives of children,” they said.

The representatives concluded that protecting children was essential to safeguarding Zambia’s future and urged all stakeholders to work towards a safer environment for every child.

UNICEF Zambia Country Representative Dr Saja Farooq Abdullah said child protection required more than laws and policies, stressing that adequate investment and effective services were necessary to ensure children received the protection they were entitled to.

Abdullah said core child protection financing in 2026 stood at approximately K50 million, representing about 0.3 per cent of the national budget. The allocation raised concerns about whether sufficient resources were available to implement child protection commitments and meet the needs of vulnerable children.

She said UNICEF would support Zambia in developing a prioritised and costed child protection reform and implementation framework for 2028–2032. The framework should set out investment priorities, measurable targets, timelines and clear responsibilities to ensure that commitments translated into results.

Abdullah called for better coordination among institutions and stronger referral systems to help children experiencing abuse, neglect or exploitation access appropriate support without being left to navigate fragmented services.

She said social welfare officers, teachers, health workers, police officers and justice personnel needed adequate training, staffing and resources to identify risks, respond to cases and protect children effectively.

Abdullah also identified violence prevention, family support, family-based care, birth registration, access to justice and children’s participation as key priorities requiring sustained attention.

She stressed that child protection services must reach those facing the greatest barriers, including children with disabilities, children living in poverty and those in remote communities. She called for evidence-based planning and regular assessments to determine whether interventions were improving children’s lives.

Save the Children Director of Programmes Nang’andu H. Kamwale said Zambia had strengthened its legal framework through the enactment of the Children’s Code Act No. 12 of 2022. However, she said the law needed effective implementation and wider interventions to reach more children.

Kamwale said having legislation did not automatically guarantee protection. The real test was whether the law translated into accessible services and meaningful improvements in children’s daily lives.

She identified child marriage, teenage pregnancies, limited access to services and low birth registration as continuing challenges requiring urgent attention.

Kamwale said more than 65 per cent of children experienced multidimensional poverty, exposing them to several forms of deprivation that affected their welfare and development. She said addressing child poverty required stronger support for households, improved livelihoods and greater economic resilience among families.

She also raised concern over low birth registration, saying only about eight per cent of children under five were registered. She said birth registration was important because it established a child’s legal identity and could help with family tracing and access to essential services.

Kamwale called for practical measures to bring child protection services closer to children, particularly those in underserved communities. She said government and its partners needed to strengthen prevention, improve service delivery and ensure that children experiencing abuse or other forms of harm could access assistance.

She also highlighted barriers preventing adolescents from accessing health services, including issues surrounding the age of consent and access to care. She said these challenges needed to be examined to ensure that children and adolescents could obtain appropriate support and protection.

Kamwale stressed the importance of involving children in decisions affecting their lives, including through peer-led initiatives and child influencers who could help raise awareness and encourage other children to seek support when they faced risks.

She said effective implementation of the Children’s Code Act required a clear roadmap setting out specific actions, responsible institutions and timelines. The roadmap should be backed by adequate government investment, collaboration among stakeholders and regular monitoring to establish whether agreed commitments were being fulfilled.

Kamwale said the priority was to ensure that the reforms moved beyond policy commitments and produced practical results for children and families, particularly those facing poverty, violence, exploitation and limited access to essential services.

The review of child protection reforms for 2028–2032 highlights the need to align legislation, funding and service delivery. Government institutions and partners must work together to ensure that children’s rights are protected in practice.