In a recent U-Report poll of 34,000 children and
young people, 94 per cent called for concrete steps to end corruption and
increase investment in services for children and their families.
Using U-Report, a tool which allows users to
give feedback in polls and report issues in their communities, a survey was
sent to children and young people in three African countries. The African Union
theme for 2018, ‘Winning the Fight Against Corruption’, provided the context
for the questions that children answered on their mobile devices.
The U-Report survey was commissioned by the
African Union Commission and a group of child-focused agencies working closely
with the AU. The findings of the survey are being shared as African leaders
come together for the 2nd meeting of the African Union Specialized Technical
Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration which
is taking place in Addis Ababa between 12-17 April 2018.
“Investing in our children is essential for
Africa’s social and economic development,” said Goitseone Nanikie Nkwe,
Chairperson of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of
the Child. “Children are telling us that corruption is stopping them from
getting the services that they need. We must heed their warning and take action
to end corruption once and for all so that future generations can realize their
full potential.”
“Millions of children and young people in Africa
are being denied their right to education, healthcare and decent future due to
corruption,” said Mr. Stephen Omollo, Regional Leader, World Vision East
Africa, on behalf of the organizations that commissioned the survey. “Children
have sent a clear message to those in power to put mechanisms and legislations
in place to stop corruption and ensure that public resources reach children,
especially the most needy.”
Ahead of the survey results being
published, AU Commissioner for Social Affairs, H.E. Amira El Fadil said: “The
Department of Social Affairs welcomes the initiative [and] looks forward to
receiving the findings of the survey and exploring ways to incorporate
children’s perspectives and ideas throughout the year”.
Key findings of the poll:
Many children have experienced corruption in
their daily lives
· 63 per cent of respondents said that either
they, or a family member, had been affected by corruption.
· Many children and young people shared stories of
having to pay bribes to access public services such as education and
healthcare.
· Some girls even said that they had been asked to
trade sex for good grades.
Children are very concerned about the negative impact of
corruption
· 94 per cent of children said that corruption is
having a negative effect on their lives.
· Half of the girls and boys identified education
as the top area of concern, believing that corruption reduces the quality of their
education.
· The second area of concern was justice for
children: 20 per cent of children believe that corruption stops people who harm
children from being brought to justice.
· Children also believe that corruption impacts
their access to healthcare and reduces their trust in government.
Children would like the African Union and
African governments to do more to stop corruption
· U-Report respondents felt that there was much
more that governments and policymakers could do to stop corruption. Children
called upon the African Union and African Governments to take a number of
actions, including:
o Ensure that all people who are corrupt are held
to account and punished
o Invest more in things that are important to
children such as education
o Establish audit systems for the management of
public money
o Increase transparency of budgets and share
information about how public money is spent
o Set up toll-free lines and other anonymous tools
for people to report corruption
o Increase wages in key sectors such as education
and health
o Teach children about tackling corruption from an
early age so they can help bring about change
For detailed report visit the link below: (Caution, File size over
8 MB)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QBbf3hIbNvbKV-n-pjciSFguikuCGo8k/view?usp=sharing
