By Wezi Tjaronda
WINDHOEK
Prime Minister Nahas Angula has called on Namibians to intensify their efforts to make a difference in the lives of children by creating a social movement involving parents, communities, churches and traditional leaders to advocate for behaviour change.
This would ensure that Namibia is a better place for protecting the interests of women and children.
As Namibia celebrated the 18th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) last week, Angula said it was important to think about children whose rights have not yet been celebrated.
Angula was referring to street children, the sick, school dropouts and the hungry that he said, have been violated one way or the other.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child opened for signature on November 20, 1989 and was enforced on September 2, 1990. Namibia ratified the convention – the most widely ratified convention in the world – on September 28, 1990, six months after the country’s independence.
He said, “As we celebrate the convention, we should think about them because without them we have no cause to celebrate.”
Angula said although the CRC has come of age, there was still a lot to be done such as addressing the impact of HIV/Aids and social and economic challenges facing Namibia.
Infant, child and maternal mortality rates have increased between 2001 and 2006, while HIV/Aids has reversed some of the gains that the country has made. In addition, sexual abuse among minors and other forms of violence against women and children have become a common occurrence.
These violent acts, he said, were perpetrated under the influence of alcohol.
Statistics indicate that maternal mortality has gone up by more than 55 percent from 271 in 2001 to 425 in 2006, while child mortality has also increased from 62 in 2001 to 69 per 1ǟ