The report is based on the Child- Friendliness Index (CFI), which ranks 52 African nations on progress towards realizing the rights and wellbeing of children. The CFI rates Mauritius, Algeria, Tunisia, South Africa, Cabo Verde, Egypt, Namibia, Seychelles, Swaziland, Morocco and Lesotho as the most child friendly African countries, while South Sudan, Central African Republic, Chad, Cameroon, Zambia, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea and Eritrea languish at the bottom of the table as the least child- friendly countries. Rankings are based on a range of indicators including nutrition, education, budgets and social protection.
The report acknowledges there has been some progress in recent years. Africa’s children are healthier, live longer, are better schooled, and can aspire to a better life than those before. African governments are gradually becoming more child-friendly, with better protection from abuse and exploitation, more child-friendly laws and policies, and more money being spent on children than ever before.
ACPF is calling for urgent action in six priority areas: tackle under nutrition and poor education; create jobs and economic opportunities for young people; put respect for the dignity of children at the heart of legislation and policies; ensure that the most marginalized children are not left behind; and massively increase investment and budgets for children and young people.
Past African Reports on Child Wellbeing as well as translations of this report are available at https://africanchild.report/