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\viewkind4\uc1\pard\sb100\sa100\cf1\b\f0\fs16 Still a long way to go \line Story by CLAY MUGANDA \line Publication Date: 06/16/2004 \par
\trowd\cellx4680\cellx9360\pard\intbl Ten-year old Achieng, who does not attend school, is sure that the cock crows twice before daybreak. She knows that because she has to get up every morning before the neighbour\f1\rquote\f0 s cock crows for the second time to attend to chores at a nearby traditional liquor den, where she works as a cleaner. But on this particular morning, she arrived at her place of work slightly after the cock crowed for the second time. She had gone to bed late the previous night as she was standing in for her indisposed mother, who sells boiled eggs and peanuts at numerous drinking places in Nairobi's Kibera slums. Achieng's widowed mother, who lives in a Sh600-a-month rented hovel in the slums, risked missing her daily collection if she did not go to work. Thus her first child had to stand in for her until she was well enough, otherwise she would not raise enough money for the rent, food and clothing for her three other children, who share the shack with her. Achieng had the displeasure of handling sexual overtures from a drunkard, who offered her money for sex. She needed the money, but declined because she did not know what excuse to give to her mother if she failed to report back home that night. She was contemplating giving in to the man\f1\rquote\f0 s demands, fearing that if she continued to refuse, the fate that befell her friend might also befall her. Her friend was waylaid by some men, one of whom she had previously turned down, and defiled. Four years in to the 21st Century, the majority of people living in abject poverty in Africa are children and women. They also form the bulk of civilians killed and maimed in conflicts, and are also the most vulnerable to HIV/Aids infection. Their rights, as detailed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, are violated every day in numerous ways. According to the United Nations Children\f1\rquote\f0 s Fund (Unicef), daily violations of children\f1\rquote\f0 s rights are staggering. They range from acts of omission - such as failure to register births or provide access to health-care services and primary school -to deliberate abuse during armed conflict, child labour and sexual exploitation. Unicef 's report says these violations are often hidden in rich or poor families. Government bodies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and corporate citizens - as well as children themselves - have formed alliances to redress the wrongs. And for every day that African nations fail to realise the rights of children, over 30,500 boys and girls under five years die of preventable causes. For every month that the campaign to stop HIV/Aids is postponed, 250,000 children and young people worldwide - many of them in Africa - become infected with the virus, while as many women die of preventable pregnancy-related complications and childbirth. Each year that African governments fail to support basic services, millions of children throughout the continent are deprived of access to safe water, sanitation, education and health services necessary for survival and development. These are gross violations of the rights of women and children, and as long as they persist - and the circumstances that give rise to them remain unchanged -human development will be compromised. Children and women are among the first to suffer when crises rip off the covers of seemingly peaceful families to reveal the turmoil that exists. Over 30 wars have sullied the African continent since 1970, mostly within states, and accounted for more than half of all war-related deaths worldwide in 1996. The wars caused more than 8 million people to become refugees, returnees or displaced persons. At the same time, there is pervasive violence in both the industrialised and developing countries that runs through children and women in their families and communities, in the mass media and entertainment. The incidence of violence within the family, though hidden from the public and statistics, is almost certainly the most persistent, sparing no society or culture as it trickles down from one generation to the next, turning children reared on violence into violent adults. However, in Africa, the social and economic devastation caused by HIV/Aids in the last decade is greater than the combined destruction of the continent\f1\rquote\f0 s wars. An estimated 200,000 Africans, most of them women and children died as a result of conflicts in 1998 while 2 million people were killed by HIV/Aids. From country to country, the pandemic has swept through sub-Saharan Africa, where 23.3 million people, mainly the young, poor and powerless - girls and women in particular - now live with HIV/Aids. While the educated have access to the necessary information to protect themselves from the virus, the life-saving information is not finding its way to those with little or no education. Around Africa, HIV/Aids is spreading the web of poverty and chronic insecurity in many societies, especially those burdened by heavy national debt. The stress on their limited social services is unbearable. A decline in food production has led to poorer nutrition and greater vulnerability to illness. Lower education budgets mean less schooling for boys and girls, who are later less able to defend themselves against violence and abuse. According to State of the World's Children 2004 report, there are an estimated 11 million children orphaned by HIV/Aids in sub-Saharan Africa, and these are often the first children to lose the support of extended families for their attending school, and double orphans are even less likely to attend school. Girls lose out more than boys because the burden of caring for sick relatives falls disproportionately on them. In many families, the report notes, HIV-related illnesses and the consequent loss in earnings make sending a child to school impossible. After families, education is the next perimeter of a protective environment for children since schools can be a powerful protective force in most children's lives, especially for girls and those who are highly vulnerable. Education remains a key safeguard, preventing child labour and helping to combat sexual exploitation, which mainly threatens girls. A school going girl is less likely to be drawn in to the exploitative forms of work outside the home and is also drawn away from the sometimes excessive domestic duties. A Unicef survey of households in 25 sub-Saharan African countries indicated that 31 per cent of children aged between five and 14 are engaged in unconditional forms of child labour that should be eliminated such as slavery, trafficking and forced recruitment for the purposes of armed conflict, prostitution and pornography. Besides, nine per cent are engaged in hazardous work, working more than 43 hours a week in circumstances that threaten their well-being. In the countries surveyed, there are an estimated 31 million child workers, 24 million child labourers and seven million children involved in hazardous work. More girls were found to to be engaged in hazardous work than boys because household chores of more than four hours were taken into account. The challenges of preventing and eradicating these extreme violations of children\f1\rquote\f0 s rights illustrate the layers of want, discrimination and exploitation that drive Africa\f1\rquote\f0 s poorest children into obscure and dangerous worlds. The principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child provide Africa and the world with a vision of what the 21st century could bring: children and adolescents living in stable and nurturing homes. And in communities where, with adult guidance and protection, they have ample opportunities to develop the fullness of their strengths and talents and where their human rights are respected. Unicef acknowledges that the obstacles to realising the rights of the African child in the 21st century are daunting. But it is in the significant achievements of the last decades, many in the face of considerable constraints, that hope for the future is found: improvements in child survival rates and the nutritional status of children, strengthened systems of basic education and health services, improved conditions for water and sanitation. \cell\cell\row
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