What is it like Being A Child Living in Africa?

Children living in many African countries face several challenges such as child labour, abuse, poor access to information, malnutrition and war conflict.

Photo: Victoria Hazou/IRIN

Egypt: Rummaging through piles of rubbish.
Photo: Aubrey Graham/IRIN

DR Congo: Children shelling beans.
Photo: Abdi Hajji Hussein/RNW

Kenya: Somali child preparing for the night.

Sierra Leone: Child Rights Exist Only On Paper

IPS, 12 September 2011

The six-year-old girl pulls her T-shirt up to show the dozens of pale lines across her back. They are fresh scars from the lashing she received from her caregiver after she lost… Read more »
Africa: The Worst Country in the World To Be a Sick Child

Guardian Network, 12 September 2011

Chad and Somalia are the riskiest places in the world to fall sick if you are a child. Switzerland and Finland are the safest. That's the conclusion of an index produced by Save… Read more »
Africa: Where and Why Children Face the Greatest Danger of Dying in Africa

Citizen, 11 September 2011

Tanzania is among countries where children aged under-five face the greatest risk of death despite ongoing efforts to improve child welfare. Most of those countries are located in… Read more »
Cameroon: The Hard Knock Life of the Child Quarry Worker

RNW Africa, 5 August 2011

Quarry workers in Yaounde can be permanently found at the Warda cross-roads. Building up a sweat, they chip away at large rocks or lumps of calcium to transform into gravel for use… Read more »
Swaziland: Impossible for Children to Access Public Information

IPS, 5 August 2011

Many public officials in Swaziland do not think that access to information is a public right, but rather a privilege - which can be withdrawn at anytime. Read more »
Zimbabwe: Living Hell for Vulnerable Children

The Herald, 4 August 2011

"STAYING in a border town is a horrible experience for children who have lost both parents and are living in poverty. "There are too many nightclubs and bars and as such girls as… Read more »
Angola: Literature Can Change Children's Behaviour

ANGOP, 4 August 2011

The literature is a mean that can change the conduct, behaviour and relationship of children. Read more »
Kenya: Children Being Sold Secretly in Noth

The Star, 5 August 2011

Pastoral Communities in Nothern Kenya hard hit by the drought are resulting to the sale of underage girls to get money to buy food. According to the locals young girls are being… Read more »

InFocus

Somalia: Children Bear the Brunt of Conflict

Hundreds of children younger than five have been wounded in the latest round of fighting in Mogadishu, accounting for almost half of all trauma cases in May, according to WHO. Read more »
- Somalia: Under-Fives Make Up Almost Half of Mogadishu Casualties
Kenya: Fight Against Child Sex Tourism

When police in Kenya's coastal tourist city of Mombasa conduct night raids, it is not unusual for a large number of sex workers arrested to be under 18. Read more »
- Kenya: Fight Against Child Sex Tourism Needs a Boost
Al-Shabaab Calls Girls to Join Somali War

The sect says unmarried girls should join the war against pro-government forces amid a Human Rights Watch report saying "for children in somalia, nowhere is safe". Read more »
- Somalia: Al Shabaab Wants Girls to Join War
- Resource Document Somalia: Factions Accused of Using Children
Chad: Children Conscripted by Poverty

The main reasons children join the armed forces are poverty and a lack of educational opportunities. Read more »
- Chad: Children Conscripted By Poverty
- Blog Entry 'A Screaming Man'
Use of Child Soldiers an Ongoing Problem in Chad

The recruitment and use of children by armed forces and other armed groups in Chad persists, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report, while noting that reduced tensions ... Read more »
- Chad: Soldiers Recruit Children, Says UN Chief
- Africa: Children Struggle for Freedom From Armed Conflict