International Day of the African Child – 16.06.25

Planning and Budgeting for Children’s Rights: The Need for Ethiopia to Invest in its Future

In recognition of the importance of investing in children’s rights, the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) has chosen “Planning and Budgeting for Children's Rights: Progress Since 2010” as the theme for the 2025 Day of the African Child. This theme calls on African Union Member States to reflect on how well children’s issues have been integrated into national planning and budgeting processes, and to take meaningful steps toward adopting a rights-based approach that ensures children are prioritized in public resource allocation. 

UNICEF’s Review of Child Sensitivity in Social Policies in Ethiopia paints a clear picture: while policy commitments to child rights exist, public budgets do not reflect them well enough. Sectoral allocations often bypass the needs of children, especially the most vulnerable.  

Key Gaps Highlighted:  

  • Education: Nearly all of the education budget supports tertiary education or universities, while only a fraction goes to early childhood education, a critical foundation for lifelong learning. This leaves millions of young children without access to quality early learning, especially in rural areas. 

  • Health: Though equity is mentioned in health policies, budget allocations and service delivery still require work.  

  • Social Protection: The financing approach lacks a child-sensitive lens, limiting its effectiveness in addressing the specific needs and vulnerabilities of children. 

  • Child Protection: The lack of a dedicated budgeting framework for child protection limits the effectiveness of services for children exposed to serious risks such as violence, abuse, neglect, and family separation. 

How SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia is Driving Change 
Our Key Initiatives: 

  • Policy Influence in Action: SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia, provided technical and financial support in developing the National Minimum Standards for Children Leaving Care, officially launched on June 11, 2025, by the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs. These standards raise the bar for aftercare support and set 18 as the minimum age for leaving care, protecting youth and ensuring smoother transitions to independence. 

  • Advocating for Child-Sensitive Budgeting: We are pushing for a dedicated social protection fund for children and influencing national policy to apply a child lens to all budget decisions. 

  • Championing Alternative Care Models: We are calling for greater resource allocation in care systems such as: 

    • Family-like care 
    • Foster care 
    • Kinship care 

On this Day of the African Child, we must do more than acknowledge rights, we must finance them.  Ethiopia’s children deserve to be visible in every policy, prioritized in every plan, and protected under every budget. Together, we can build a future where no child is left behind.