Protecting Africa’s vulnerable children: Call for community-based solutions amid crises

IN the chaos and displacement that follow global crises, children often lose the protective oversight of family and community.

This leaves them exposed to trafficking, sexual exploitation, forced labour and recruitment by armed groups. Events such as armed conflicts and climate-related and socio-natural disasters trigger humanitarian crises in different parts of the world.

This significantly increases children’s vulnerability to exploitation.

According to the Reliefweb 2024 Humanitarian Action for Children report, nearly 49 million children across Africa are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. In the West and Central Africa region, 48.4 million children are in urgent need of support due to ongoing conflicts, widespread population displacements and recurring public health emergencies.

These statistics point to a troubling reality: millions of children around the continent are growing up in or fleeing from conflict zones. Their vulnerability should be a wake-up call for all of us to protect and support these children and secure a bright future for them.

ALSO READ: Mchengerwa direct officials to identify children with special needs 

When protective structures – like families, communities and government services – break down, children are left unprotected. Economic hardship renders families into desperate situations, leading to exploitative practices. The trauma of living through a crisis also increases the risk of abuse, as children and their families struggle to cope.

Crises reverse the gains made in fighting negative social-cultural norms and practices propagating child exploitation and abuse.

Child exploitation within the humanitarian context is deeply interconnected with a complex array of global challenges. These challenges include poverty, conflict, fragility, climate-related emergencies, forced displacement, social and gender norms, and the dynamics inherent to humanitarian responses.

The world has recently marked World Humanitarian Day. But every day that children are in danger, is one too many. Therefore, we want to bring attention to the struggles of children caught in the crossfire of these humanitarian emergencies.

As thought leaders in government and the nongovernmental space, African governments and organisations such as ours must stand up to the challenge in front of us and provide the necessary interventions. Let us not shy away from making our small individual steps towards ensuring the safety of these children.

Over the last two years, Terre des Hommes Netherlands has provided support to children, their families and local communities in the ongoing crisis in Ethiopia including conflict and drought.

The support has been through the provision of individual protection assistance, the establishment of child-friendly spaces, provision of access to alternative education, as well as psycho-social and mental health services.

Terre des Hommes Netherlands has also supported children and their families in difficult circumstances by providing multi-purpose cash as well as establishing and creating access to women-friendly facilities.

The organisation also strengthens local child protection systems by building the capacity of government offices and child protection committees and raising awareness within communities.

Critically, it is important to note that all solutions sought and effected to protect children must be community-based. If not, we are bound to find ourselves once again in the cycle of caring for millions of children living under the shadow of crises.

At Terres des Hommes Netherlands, our theory of change focuses on collaboration and partnerships as well as child-centred, trauma-informed, gender-responsive and intersectional approaches. We cannot do this alone. Collective impact can only be achieved if we leverage and complement the work of other agencies to ensure the safety of our children.

We believe that we are better together in stopping child exploitation. Let us commit to building a world where every child can grow up safe, free from exploitation, and with the opportunity to pursue and achieve their dreams.

The writer is the Regional Director, Africa, Terre des Hommes Netherlands