Mozambique - Children challenge political parties to do MORE FOR THEM in the next government cycle

In Maputo, a group of child activists submitted their main wishes (“Children's Manifesto”) to the main opposition party, RENAMO, challenging it to put children first in its Election Manifesto ahead of the new government cycle in Mozambique.

The initiative, which was organised by the Civil Society Forum for the Rights of the Child (ROSC) and supported by various organisations, including World Vision Mozambique, reflects aspirations of 2,000 children across the country who hope to see tangible actions to improve access to education, health and the fight against corruption outlined in the main opposition party's manifesto.

“Our main focus is to fight corruption so that all children have access to education. We want improved health conditions, we want medicines to be available in pharmacies,” says Otilia Amosse, representing more than 2000 children across the country.

Clementina Francisco Bomba, RENAMO's Secretary General said “Some of the concerns you raised are already part of our manifesto and others are new ones which we'll take into consideration."

The senior RENAMO member and former head of the party's parliamentary caucus said that rather than just accommodating some of the children's concerns in its manifesto, the party will use this day as it conducts its decision-making exercises.

“Your concerns are also a concern to us, and they are written down in our agenda and in our memory,” said Ivone Soares.

The submitted children's manifesto is based on a context in which they remind everyone that:

• Children make up to 52% of the Mozambican population and failing to listen to their voices means silencing the voice of most of the Mozambican population;
• Almost half of all children do not have birth registration;
• More than 2 million children are involved in child labour;
• 41% of girls live in a situation of child marriage; and
• 2.4 million school-age children are not in school.

Based on the above reasons, children call, inter alia, for i) “Ensuring that all of us (children) have birth registration; ii) Ensuring that all of us (school age children) are attending school, including those living in areas affected by conflicts or climate related disasters and children with disabilities and/or other special needs.”

The design of the Children's Manifesto was preceded by a series of events that brought together children from all over the country, one of them is the Children's Observatory supported by World Vision whose recommendations are part of the Manifesto were submitted and are yet to be submitted to the main parties with parliamentary seats.