Canada contributes Sh915 million to improve education in Kwale, Kilifi

In honour of Universal Children’s Day and the 25th Anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Canadian Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, Honourable Christian Paradis, has announced funding to help end violence against children.

This announcement was made during a joint school event with the International Child Protection Network of Canada (ICPNC).

“I am very pleased to announce funding for initiatives that will make a real difference to better protect children, especially girls, from violence, exploitation, abuse and discrimination,” said Minister Paradis. “These initiatives will also help to increase children’s access to education because for thousands of children, violence in homes, communities and schools is a barrier preventing them from attending school and receiving a safe and high-quality education. Violence against children continues to be a significant concern, with anywhere between 500 million and 1.5 billion children lacking protection and enduring some form of violence, exploitation or abuse.”

For Kenya, Minister Paradis, announced Canada will contribute Sh 915 million (C$11.5 million) to Plan International Canada. This initiative aims to improve the safety and quality of school and community environments in Kenya for 120,000 vulnerable girls and boys in Kwale and Kilifi counties.  

The initiative will support government and community organizations to improve access to safe and high quality learning environments and increase birth registration with the objective of reducing early marriage, violence and abuse of children. The initiative fosters innovation and harnesses the strengths of Kenya's vibrant mobile technology industry to pilot initiatives such as digital birth registration.

The announcement was made during the Removing Barriers and Promoting Protection in and Around Schools discussion panel, which took place at York Street Public School in Ottawa. The event brought together experts from the ICPNC and youth ambassadors in an interactive discussion to engage young people on violence, exploitation and abuse as barriers to education. The discussion also highlighted how strong, country-owned child protection systems help to facilitate access to education.

“In honour of Universal Children’s Day and the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, I want to reaffirm Canada’s commitment to promoting and protecting the rights of children around the world,” said Minister Paradis.

Twenty-five years ago, Canada played an instrumental role in negotiating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Canada has continued to champion children’s rights and child protection ever since. As the most vulnerable members of society, children have a right to safe and secure environments in which to grow, learn, and play. Without addressing protection and security issues, investments in health, education and other sectors may not yield sustainable improvements in the lives of children and youth. Investments in the protection of children are consistent with the Government of Canada`s commitment to Maternal Newborn and Child Health.