By MELBOURNE MUSHITU –
THE United Nations International Childrens’ Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has partnered with the Zambia Open University (ZAOU) to promote children’s rights that will enhance their development.
The partnership will give children an opportunity to express themselves through art paintings of the UN programmes, which would later be shown to Government and other stakeholders.
UNICEF country representative Himid Ibrahim said art was a highly effective tool in promoting the Convention on the Right of the Child (CRC), which would benefit children in Zambia.
He was speaking at a UNICEF workshop, which was aimed at training primary school art teachers on the use of art for development.
Mr Ibrahim noted that Zambia had a great story to tell on the protection of the rights of children and that, the UN organisation would help ensure that the needs of the children in the country were met.
In 2010, 56 per cent of all Zambians living in poverty were children, out of the total population of children, 4.6 million children including adolescents although the number has dropped.
He said it was important that children’s welfare was prioritised for every child to enjoy the benefits of childhood.
