2017 Day of the African Child
The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development for children in Africa;
Accelerating protection, empowerment and equal opportunities
On 16 June 2017, the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance in partnership with the Kenya chapter of the International Network of Religious Leaders Living with or personally affected by HIV and AIDS (INERELA+ Kenya), along with many other organizations, is coordinating an event to highlight country-led action backed by global support. Religious leaders and leaders of faith-based organizations will remind governments of their commitments agreed in the June 2016 United Nations’ Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS that there should be “special emphasis on providing 1.6 million children (0-14 years of age) with antiretroviral therapy by 2018.” The religious leaders will also commit themselves to act for children living with HIV and tuberculosis (TB).
About 1.8 million children under the age of 15 years are living with HIV. Every day, 400 children are newly infected, and 300 die. Fewer than half of the children needing treatment are receiving it. HIV is the second largest cause of adolescent deaths globally. In 2015 alone, 670,000 young people between the ages of 15 to 24 were newly infected with HIV. To make matters worse, children living with HIV are at serious risk of TB. In 2015, 210,000 children died from TB. We must act now to ensure access to appropriate testing and treatment for children living with HIV.
The 2017 Day of the African Child will call for support by religious leaders from the grassroots to around the globe to make sure that all children and adolescents living with HIV and TB have access to life-saving medications. The event will start off with a procession at 7:00 a.m. at All Saints Cathedral to Ufungamano House in Nairobi, where an interfaith prayer meeting will be held featuring speeches, children and adolescents’ performances and a ceremony.
7:30 am Procession from All Saints Cathedral to Ufungamano house, Nairobi
9:00 to 12:00 commemoration event at Ufungamano House, Nairobi
