Government has put in place minimum standards for child care facilities in the country in line with the United Nations Convention on the rights of the child.
Community Development and Social Services Permanent Secretary Sherry Thole says the standards are meant to guide service providers on what facilities and programmes to devise for children while protecting and acknowledging their rights.
Ms. Thole said this in a speech read for her by Community Development Director of Human Resource Lameck Kanyuka at the Trauma management training graduation ceremony in Lusaka today.
Ms. Thole said the minimum standards of care were developed in order to enhance child protection.
She commended the Zambia Association of Child Workers for their commitment to collaborative efforts in providing training through the Chicago School of Psychology and Save Africa’s Children of the United States of America.
And Associate Professor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in the United States of America, Dr. Tiffany Masson noted that the training assists child and youth care workers in assessing, recognising and effectively handling children who have experienced trauma.
Meanwhile, Zambia Association of Child Trauma Management Director Felix Mwale said the main focus of the training programme was to provide effective counselling and healing opportunities for most children affected by traumatic situations.
ZANIS
Convention on the Rights of the Child
Article 1: a child means every human being below the age of eighteen years…
Article 26: 1. States shall recognize for every child the right to benefit from social security, …
Article 27:1. States recognize the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development.
Article 28: 1. States recognize the right of the child to education, …………, in particular:
(a) Make primary education compulsory and available free to all;
(b) Encourage the development of different forms of secondary education, ……., make them available and accessible to every child, and take appropriate measures such as the introduction of free education and offering financial assistance in case of need;
Private providers are there to compliment and supplement government.
The question is, Is the government doing enough to meet the rights of the child?
You know these ideals have not been achieved in any African country any other countries world over as yet. the reason is simply resources under the circumstance gov has done what is can for now
Mule #1 & 2. Thanks for additional info which should ordinarily have been refered to by the reporter but they always assume people out there ought to know everything. I thought the principal objective of journalists is to inform, educate and entertain?? LT……??