African leaders and experts were united in calling for children to be at the centre of the post-2015 development agenda.
The call came at a High Level Dialogue organised by the African Child Policy Forum Ð a leading pan-African centre for policy research and dialogue on the African child.
The panel of distinguished African leaders and thinkers agreed on a number of critical priorities to ensure children’s specific and holistic needs are reflected in a strong post-2015 development agenda.
It also set common accountable and comprehensive goals for governments and the international community.
Joaquim Chissano, who chaired the panel, said the Millennium Development Goals or MDG have achieved much for children, galvanizing development efforts and guiding global and national priorities.
He added that Africa has witnessed much progress including impressive reductions in child mortality and greatly improved primary school enrolment.
Dr Chissano underlined that there remains an urgent and unfinished agenda for Africa’s children and it is imperative that the post-MDG framework tackles children’s realities and their potential in a comprehensive and accountable way.
He added that “for the sake of development √ɬê human, social and economic √ɬê it is time to put children and their rights and best interests at the centre of development, nowhere more so than in Africa.”
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