By Jeffrey ONGANGA
Hon. Chief Fortune CHARUMBIRA |
Members the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) have been urged to advocate for the protection of children whose vulnerability is further increased by the exceptional circumstances caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. School closures, overstretched health care systems, heightened food insecurity and risks of exploitation, are all examples of ways through which children have been affected by the ongoing health crisis.
Evidence
shows the extent to which the global
economic crisis caused by Covid-19 has had an unprecedented impact on the fiscal
position of all governments, with a high risk of decreasing budget for the most
vulnerable, including children. In the light of this, the Southern African Parliamentary
Support Trust (SAPST) recently convened a virtual dialogue with the Pan-African
Parliament on ‘Fair financing and tax justice for children, in the light of
COVID - 19.’ The webinar sought to discuss how equitable resource
allocation, spending and effective taxation can help to address the effects of
Covid-19 on children.
In his
opening remarks, Hon. Chief Fortune CHARUMBIRA, Vice President of the
PAP, recognizing that Parliaments have a critical role to play in ensuring
equitable distribution of resources to guarantee that children are cushioned
from extreme poverty, pointed it out that growing
economic vulnerability for children experiencing extreme poverty further
exposes them to more abuse, forced child labour, child marriage and child
trafficking. He called for a strong mobilization of governments,
bilateral/multilateral donors, civil society and private sector to ensure
children are duly protected.
“The PAP is in the forefront to call
upon governments to mobilise and distribute resources that promote the survival
and learning of children. The harmful effects of this pandemic will not be
distributed equally. These effects are expected to be most damaging for
children in the poorest countries, and in the poorest neighbourhoods, and for
those in already disadvantaged or vulnerable situations. The pandemic will push
more households into monetary poverty. This is where fair taxation is critical
as it ensures fair allocation to programs focusing on our youth,” says Hon.
Charumbira.
Mr. Artwell
GONESE, Senior
Economist Consultant for SAPST said that by ratifying the Convention on the
Rights of the Child (CRC), all states, regardless of their economic status,
have the obligation to take concrete and necessary legislative, administrative
and other measures to realize children’s rights. He further reminded the
meeting that domestic revenue, especially from tax, will continue to be the
most significant and sustainable source of revenue for governments to finance
public spending on children.
“Legislative and oversight role can ensure adequate
resource allocation and efficient utilisation of resources towards the
promotion of children’s rights. As representatives of the people, Parliamentarians are
the appropriate actors to ensure that budgets optimally match a nation’s needs
with available resources. Parliaments must use their budget approval powers to
see that the poorest and most excluded children receive essential services for
their survival, learning and protection,”
said Mr. Gonese.
UNICEF ESA reported that 1.2 billion students in 150
countries have been affected by school closures leading to confusion, anxiety
and frustration for millions of children. In Eastern and Southern Africa, for
instance, real education spending in 2020 is projected to go down by 7% on
average due to massive decline in domestic revenues caused by Covid-19.
“The Covid-19 pandemic
is as much a health emergency as it is a socio-economic crisis, with far
reaching impacts on the well-being of children. The impact on education is evident
through the rise of teen pregnancies, growing inequality in learning and
projected rise in dropout rates, among others. When reviewing and approving
budgets and reallocations, legislators should ensure that critical education,
health and other social services to children are safeguarded,” said Bob MUCHABAIWA,
Public Finance Specialist.
Africa CDC’s
Dr Raji TAJUDEEN told the webinar that the pandemic
has disrupted routine health services with millions of infants at risk of
missing out on receiving life-saving vaccines. An additional 124,000 children
could be infected with HIV if prevention services are disrupted for six months.
He also pointed that Covid-19 has impacted food security and it is expected that
36 million children may go hungry in 2020.
“All
children, of all ages, are being affected by the socio-economic impacts
resulting from the Covid-19 mitigation measures. The pandemic has also revealed
the cracks in our health systems and has reminded us of the need for new
strategies to improve healthcare provision during pandemics and beyond. We
therefore look to Parliamentarians to lead in this area.”
Additionally, the virtual meeting
received a presentation from Save the Children International on the practical
and immediate actions to mitigate the challenges faced by children amid
Covid-19. The leading humanitarian aid organization for children lobbied
members of the PAP for their intervention in ensuring a roll-out or expansion
of social assistance to families, preferably through the use of universal
grants which offer a simple and proven tool for shielding children from extreme
poverty. Save the Children also called for specific protections for vulnerable
children, including migrants, internally displaced children, children deprived
of family care and those deprived of liberty, children living in conflict
affected areas and in countries with weak legal, educational, health and
protection systems, who are all at greater risk of becoming victims of
abuse and violence.
Finally, as part of the webinar,
child representatives identified by the Eastern Africa Child Rights Network
(EACRN) and Child Rights Network for South Africa (CRNSA) were afforded the
opportunity to engage directly with members of the legislative arm of the
African Union. The Children, selected from different part of the African
continent, unanimously told African Parliamentarians that there is need to
involve children in the solution, through consultation, dialogue, dissemination
of child-friendly and accessible information about Covid-19 as well as
resources to help them cope with their current situation. “Do not leave us
behind as part of your response to Covid-19,” concluded the child
representatives.
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