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The African report on child wellbeing 2018: progress in the child-friendliness of African governments

In little more than 30 years’ time, Africa will be home to a billion children – an unprecedented growth which represents both a challenge and an opportunity. on the positive side, it is an opportunity to reap the demographic dividend and accelerate Africa’s sustainable and equitable development. however, this will only happen if each and every African government commits to long-term investment in decent nutrition, healthcare, education and employment opportunities for its young population. failure to do so would be an historic missed opportunity with enormous economic, social and political consequences. Children have the potential to transform Africa – but if neglected they could also increase the burden of poverty and inequality, whilst posing a serious risk to peace, security and prosperity. This report has two aims. firstly, using a sophisticated rights-based statistical methodology and drawing on a wide range of data, examine how well African governments are delivering on their promises and commitments to children. Secondly, go beyond simply scoring and ranking the relative performance of African governments over time to provide a comprehensive, quantitative and qualitative view of the current realities and trends in the state of child wellbeing in Africa, and their implications for the future.