The closure of 51000 academic institutions in Uganda during the COVID-19 pandemic left 15 million children out of school for a period of two years.
During this period, about 90,000 girls below 18 years got pregnant, of whom 10,000 are from Wakiso district in particular.
Also several harmful practices of infringement on child rights by emotional, physical and sexual abuse resulting from child neglect, homelessness, child labour, school drop-out due to economic hardships, social exclusion among others are still being witnessed in several cases.
While joining the world in commemorating the international day of the African child of year 2022, Katabi town council chairperson Ronald Kalema tasked Ugandans mostly the parents to eliminate such harmful practices and respect children’s rights through offering them with education, childcare, good accommodation conditions among others.
Kalema also urged the parents to model the right behaviour for their children by teaching them how to think but not what to think, creating a strong bond with them, to value and respect their friendships and family relationships, and to always be thankful for the wonderful things life exposes them to.
Katabi town council chairperson also appealed to the government to always give a supporting hand to civil society organizations, enact stringent child friendly policies and to create a strong institutional framework in away of protecting the Ugandan child wellbeing.
Samuel Nsubuga, the civil society organization network chairperson revealed that the prevalence of harmful cultural practices such as famale genital mutilation, child sacrifice, child marriage, homosexuality and torture continue to violate the rights of children and putting them at risk.
These harmful practices hinder children from fully enjoying their fundamental rights as enshrined in the African children’s charter, he added.
Nsubuga continued to reveal that such harmful practices further cause a negative impact on children’s dignity, physical, psychosocial, moral integrity and development, participation, health, educational, economic and social status.
The Katabi town council community development officer, Priscilla Nagawa encouraged parents to always feel proud of their children and to also promote servival rights, developmental rights and protectional rights while grooming them.
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