The African Report on Child Wellbeing 2011. Budgeting for Children

This 2011 edition of The African Report on Child Wellbeing is the second in a series of reports published biennially by The African Child Policy Forum as a contribution to putting Africa’s children on the public and political agenda, and to holding African governments accountable to their obligations – to their children. The report reviews the budget performance of 52 African governments between 2006-2008, focusing on spending in sectors that most directly impact on children. Along with Tanzania, Mozambique and Niger, the three African countries most committed to budgeting for children, the report also names Gabon, Senegal, Tunisia, Seychelles, Algeria, Cape Verde and South Africa as the best performing countries in allocating the maximum of their available resources to children. The report aims to put Africa’s children on the public and political agenda, and to hold African governments accountable for fulfilling their responsibilities towards their children. It explores in greater depth the obligations of African countries to invest in their children, the arguments for doing so – from a moral, social, political, and economic perspective – and the importance of the national budget (as a key policy document of the government) in: (1) positively impacting upon the wellbeing and quality of life of children, through budget allocations to sectors that most impact upon children’s lives; and (2) representing an effective barometer of true government commitment to the rights of the child.