The number of girls subjected to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Kenya dropped from 38 per cent in 1998 to 15 per cent in 2022.

According to Unicef Kenya Chief of Communications and Advocacy, Michelle Borromeo, who was speaking in Murang’a county, the drop is as a result of legislation enacted against the practice.

“Since the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act was passed in 2011, FGM incidence has significantly reduced. This law enshrines specific legislation in Kenya safeguarding the rights and welfare of every child in the country,” Borromeo noted.

However, she observed that while these are encouraging and positive achievements worth celebrating, there are still challenges facing children today in Kenya, Africa and globally that are becoming more complex but interrelated.

“These range from impacts of climate change, humanitarian conflicts, economic crises, rapid urbanisation, geographical displacement and disruptive technologies, and many others, are among the many issues children face today and will continue to face in the future. Therefore, it is now, more than at any time in our history, that we need to keep a strategic focus and sustain investments in social spending, to safeguard hard-earned gains for children that took three and a half decades to achieve here in Kenya,” Borromeo stated.

The official also observed that since Free Primary Education (FPE) was introduced in 2003, more and more children in Kenya are able to attend primary school. As of 2020, 98 per cent of children aged between 6-13 years were enrolled in primary school.

On health, she added, under-five mortality has reduced from 115 per 1,000 live births to 47 per 1,000 live births within a twenty-year period, from 2003 to 2023, because of effective interventions and improvements in the primary health care system and improved accessibility to trained health practitioners.

Regarding child nutrition, Borromeo said a notable achievement is the impressive reduction in stunting (caused by chronic or repeated under-nutrition in the early years) dropped from 26 per cent to 18 per cent between 2014 and 2022, owing to strategic investments made in the nutrition sector.

The Murang’a occasion was meant to celebrate 35 years of World Children’s Day, marking the passing of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) which was established in 1989, when global leaders came together and made a promise to children of the world

Universal acceptance

“That promise is the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), a human rights treaty that was adopted by the UN General Assembly on November 20, 1989,” she maintained.

She noted that contained in this treaty is a profound idea that children are not just objects who belong to their parents and for whom decisions are made, or adults in training. Rather, they are human beings and individuals with their own rights.

The convention says childhood is separate from adulthood, and lasts until 18; it is a special, protected time, in which children must be allowed to grow, learn, play, develop and flourish with dignity.

“And now 35 years later, the CRC has become the most universally accepted and ratified human rights treaty in human history. Today, 196 countries are signatories to the CRC,” observed Borromeo.

Kenya became a signatory to the CRC in 1990, thus upholding the commitment to fulfil the rights of every child in Kenya through its laws, policies, and practices. Kenya was one of the first countries in Africa to ratify the CRC.