National leg of global campaign for children launched

The Ivorian government launched a national campaign for children on Wednesday, renewing its pledge to improve their living conditions as demanded by the UN Convention on the Rights of Child signed in 1989.
The campaign falls under the umbrella of a worldwide, multi-sector initiative known as the Global Movement for Children (GMC) headed by Nelson Mandela and Graca Machel. It aims to remobilise governments, public and private entities, NGOs, individuals and others to work towards the convention’s implementation which, up to now, has not been entirely successful.

“The results have been mixed,” UNICEF’s deputy regional director for West and Central Africa, Ndolamb Ngokwey, told IRIN. In terms of the sub-region, he said, concrete actions have not followed political willingness.

Cote d’Ivoire ratified the convention in 1991 and, like other countries, it has struggled in the implementation process. Its new strategy until 2015, when all the actors plan to re-evaluate themselves, will focus on educating all local actors, gathering human and material resources, and supporting and implementing projects, Ngokwey said.

Under the slogan “Say Yes for Children”, the GMC initiative calls for support of 10 major points, including education, health care and a war-free world.

Officially launched in March, the GMC is urging all countries to start their campaigns prior to the UN special session on children in New York on 19-21 September.

The ceremony in Cote d’Ivoire’s economic capital, Abidjan, was attended by President Laurent Gbagbo, the ministry in charge of women and children, UN organisations, ambassadors and NGOs.