Most African Governments Not Friendly in Realizing Girls Rights and Wellbeing: Report

Addis Ababa November 19/2020 (ENA) The governments of most African countries are not friendly in realizing the rights and wellbeing of girls, according to the African Report on Child Wellbeing 2020 to be launched tomorrow.

The media was briefed today about the report that dwells on how African governments are friendly towards ensuring the rights and wellbeing of girls.

African girls endure harmful cultural beliefs and traditions, patriarchal gender attitudes and discriminatory laws, policies and practices despite slow progress in some areas of the continent, the report stated.

According to the report, nearly one third of African countries do not guarantee equal inheritance rights for girls and boys, and girls are 25 percent more likely than boys to live in extreme poverty.

Besides, 70 percent of human trafficking victims are girls, 40 percent fail to complete primary education, 31 percent are married under 18, one in ten girls misses schools due to lack of sanitary products, safe and private toilets.

ACPF’s Girl-Friendliness Index (GFI), which measures the progress of 52 African governments, shows that some African governments take the rights and well-being of girls seriously, but many African governments do not, the report noted.

Mauritius, Tunisia, South Africa, Seychelles, Algeria, Cape Verde and Namibia are the most friendly countries towards the rights and wellbeing of girls, according to GFI.

Ethiopia is categorized under less friendly countries to girls at the rank of 40^th in the ACPF Girl Friendliness Index 2020.

The report pointed out that the top performing girl friendly African countries have comprehensive girl sensitive laws and policies which guarantee adequate protection and make better effort to enforce and implement those laws and policies.

They relatively allocate a high proportion of GDP to social protection, health and education as well as set budgets specifically for girl-friendly policies and programmes.

The African Report on Child Wellbeing 2020 stresses that governments must act quickly to avoid significantly damaging the region’s long-term economic and social development as Africa will be home to around half a billion of girls and young women under age of 18, which is representing a huge potential untapped resource that could transform the future of the continent.