Kinshasa, June 17th, 2025 (CPA).- The planning and the budgeting for children’s rights have been made a government priority on the occasion of the Day of the African Child on June 16th, during a coffee debate entitled ‘Dialogue for Tomorrow’ on Monday in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). ‘The aim of this day is to draw attention to the importance of child rights-sensitive budgeting in light of the state’s national and international commitments,’ has declared Leonnie Kandolo Omoyi, Minister in charge of Gender, Family and Children. According to the minister, this interactive ‘coffee debate’ had helped students from different schools to engage directly with sectorial ministers on issues related to health, nutrition, quality education, peace and protection against all forms of violence.
In response to the Rwandan aggression in eastern DRC, Leonnie Kandolo has recalled the devastating impact of the conflict on children, before calling for unity to restore peace and security, but also for reflection on the mobilisation of financial resources to guarantee the rights of Congolese children. In the DRC, the theme for the day was: ‘Planning and budgeting for children’s rights: our children’s future depends on a shared commitment.’
African Children’s Day is an annual event commemorating the massacre of children in Soweto in 1976 by the apartheid regime. Global coalitions against poverty have chosen this occasion to make it African White Band Day and to make a regional appeal to world leaders to take immediate action to eradicate extreme poverty, which causes the death of one child every three seconds on average.