Eagle-eyed activists are spot-on, to call on the government to prioritize and upsurge funding child protection, to ensure their proper upbringing.

At the geneses of human race, God commanded the first couple to multiply and conquer the earth. That aimed at continuity of the mankind; likewise, the growth of a nation is in the healthy upbringing of the children.

Children as future leaders of the nation need protection, which means safeguarding them from harm, for instance violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect.

Alongside protection, come child rights which include the right to health, education, family life, play and recreation, an adequate standard of living and to be protected from abuse and harm.

In observance of the child rights, one needs to look at the core principles; that is to say, child’s survival and development, best interests of the child, non-discrimination, and a child’s participation.

Children develop and learn best in the context of a community where they are safe and valued, their physical needs are met, and they feel psychologically secure.

Child protection cuts across various ministries of the government and therefore calls for multi-sectorial approach by all stakeholders and ministries.

Parents have roles and responsibilities to play, which include feeding, sheltering, medical care, education and safety of the child, among others.

However, to execute these duties unequivocally, the government through the line ministries has to come in to boost efforts of the parents.

Humanitarian response report, 2023, places 1.4 million children expected to suffer from life-threatening acute malnutrition, which is an alert call.

Budget for the ministry of agriculture, animal resources and fisheries should therefore be adequate enough to boost domestic food production.

Ministry of roads and bridges’ budget should be uplifted ensure farmlands are linked unobstructed by bridges and lack of roads, to potential markets. This enables citizens to sell surplus of their produce to earn income to purchase scholastic materials and uniform for the child.

A boost on the budget of the ministry of security, aid personnel to ensure safety of both parents and children are guaranteed, while ministry of Gender and social development conducts awareness and advocacy, on child rights.

However, there are various other factors that attempt to hinder the retention of a child at school, more affected is the girl, who faces sanitation and Hygiene a lot at school.

The humanitarian report also documented up 2.8 million children with 52 per cent of them girls, are out of school due inequitable access to education.

Child focused budget, which equally refers to a pro-child or child bias budget is therefore inevitable, as it touches core matters and could counter the numerous obstacles in the country.