Mwanza Council calls for child protection
Mwanza District Council on Saturday commemorated the Day of the African Child at Kanjedza PrimarySchool ground with a call for enhanced collaboration among child protection stakeholders to address issues affecting children’s well-being in the district.
The council’s vice-chairperson Kayisi Chimbalanga said on Saturday that there was need to deal with factors that affect children’s education, including forced marriages, poor learning environment and lack of parental support.
He also condemned parents who lock up children with disabilities in their houses instead of sending them to school.
The district’s social welfare officer Mary Msindwa cited defilement, child marriages, pregnancies, lack of parental care and inadequate wheelchairs as some factors affecting children in the district.
“We work in collaboration with partners such as the Malawi Police Service, Judiciary, civil society organisations and Malawi Council for Disability Affairs [Macoda] to address these challenges.
“Macoda provides us with wheelchairs to ease mobility challenges of children with disabilities.”
One of the learners, Chifukwa Joseph, also asked authorities to intensify awareness on child protection.
“I believe that through various messages about child care and protection provided here, some parents will start taking care of their children,” he said.
Mwanza District Council and partners commemorated the 2024 Day of the African Child under the theme ‘Promoting quality and inclusive education for all children in Malawi, act now’.
The event was supported by various development partners.
