25 Jun 2018

Assistant Minister of Health and Wellness, Mr Biggie Butale has said the Day of the African Child serves to commemorate the children who were part of the June 16, 1976 student uprising in Soweto, South Africa and the brave action they took in defence of their rights.

Speaking at the Youth Day commemorations in Gaborone recently, Mr Butale said the day called for serious introspection and commitment towards addressing the numerous challenges facing children across the continent.

Held under the theme: ‘Leave no child behind in Africa’s development’, he said this year’s theme built on the momentum created by the previous year’s theme, ‘the 2030 agenda for sustainable development for children in Africa: Accelerating protection, empowerment and equal opportunity’.

“It emphasises the need to mainstream children’s rights in all developmental programmes implemented by member states,” he said.

Mr Butale said Agenda 2030 set out 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) together with several targets to be reached by all by the year 2030.

He said the goals brought economic, social and environmental pillars together with the elements of peace, justice and viable institutions to drive and maintain overall development and ensure that no one is left behind in the development process.

He further said the theme also aligned to the WHO 71 theme of ‘ Universal Coverage: Leave no one behind‘, saying they were all in agreement that only a physically, mentally and emotionally balanced youth can add value to the development of their nation.

He furthermore said young people needed the chance to gain the education and experience to succeed in a competitive global workplace which demanded relevant skills, education and technical expertise more than ever.

“It is therefore expected of us to focus our energies on tapping into potential that lies in our youthful population and this calls for concerted effort in raising a healthy and wholesome child,” he added.

The assistant minister further said his ministry continued to advocate for sexual and reproductive health education among girls and boys.

“We continue to collaborate with development partners to promote provision of youth friendly services to ensure that no one is left behind in accessing health care,“ he noted.

Mr Butale also appealed to everyone to remember that their health was their responsibility, thus called on all to recall that a lot of life threatening diseases were caused by people’s own behaviours, saying non-communicable diseases (NCDs) can be reversed by people taking care of their health. ENDS