Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) championing the rights of children have stressed the need to step up advocacy and protection of children at risk of losing parental care amid growing violations.
NGO Coalition on Child Rights (NGO-CCR) national coordinator Henry Machemba observed that many children need protection because they lost or are at risk of losing parental care due to abandonment or negligence.
He said this on Monday in Blantyre during an orientation of child rights’ stakeholders on child protection laws, policies, programmes and systems and structures.
“We need to detect vulnerable children at risk of losing parental care or those who have lost both or single parent at an early stage so they are supported with alternatives,” said Machemba.
Blantyre District Council principal gender and development officer Stephano Joseph expressed concern that children continue to face challenges in terms of physical and sexual abuse, exploitation and neglect.
“The Unicef 2024 report is out and reveals that many children are experiencing various forms of violence. Statistics from 19 districts show over 140 000 children are experiencing violence,” he said.
In her presentation on legal and policy frameworks on child protection, NGO-CCR programmes officer Faith Iwalani said they want to empower families to take care of their children.
NGO-CCR is a national coalition of NGOs and networks whose goal is to entrench child rights programming in all development processes in the country.
