Musukuta-Koma Bah, made this remark at a press briefing yesterday at Child Fund main office in Kanifing in observance of the International Children’s Day of Broadcasting (ICDB), the 7th of March each year. This year’s celebration is under the theme: “Unite to Reverse the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Children.”
She stated that the day is chosen to give children a platform to express their voices on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their daily lives since the outbreak of the virus. She added that this will help showcase their plight as the Convention on the Rights of the Child mentioned survival and development of a child, which is also enshrined in the Children’s Act of 2005 of The Gambia.
She said media platforms throughout the world will fully dedicate their air time to children to commemorate their day and express their feelings on the impact of the pandemic in their education, she added. She further added that all children in The Gambia would be able to participate from home either online or through live telephone chats on radio and television.
“We are very concerned of the day as a child friendly institution as it will allow children of all categories to express their voices on the impact of the pandemic on their lives.”
“As Child Fund, our core mandate is to protect, promote the welfare of excluded, vulnerable and deprived children. And that is to say children of all forms are equal in program intervention without any discrimination,” she asserted.
She mentioned that the protection of children’s wellbeing should be a primary duty of all stakeholders in the country, while highlighting the partnership of various child friendly institutions in the country, which she said is geared towards the safety of a child.
“I am there for calling all stakeholders to unite and protect children from the effects of COVID-19 pandemic as contained in this year’s theme and against all other hazards that may threaten children’s growth and wellbeing,” she appealed.
