15 Dec Wealthy African states failing to invest in children
Children are unambiguously the focus of the millennium development goals (MDGs). They are directly affected by each of the MDG targets, and their wide eyes stare out from the cover of nearly every MDG report. But despite language that puts the child at the centre of development, African governments have almost overwhelmingly failed to translate lofty political promises into concrete budgetary commitments.
An almost mechanical explanation for this gap between words and deeds might suggest that cash-strapped African governments simply can’t afford to honour all their ambitious international commitments, particularly after the global economic crisis. But, according to a new report from the African Child Policy Forum, the countries that invest the most in children are among the poorest on the continent.