JENA partners with Europe, US for framework on child protection
The Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network Africa (JENA) of the Jesuit Conference on Africa and Madagascar (JCAM) organized the meeting in collaboration with the Vatican COVID-19 Commission – Africa Taskforce, the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences of East and Southern Africa (AMECEA) and Catholic Care for Children (CCC).
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak, delegates from across Africa and partners from Europe and the United States have drawn out a framework on child protection concerns and solutions in Africa.
Fr Charles Chilufya, JENA director noted in the wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic, their first priority was to figure out how to effectively safeguard children from various sorts of violence, harm and abuse.
“The COVID-19 crisis and its impacts provide an opportunity for rethinking child protection. The pandemic has exposed significant gaps in theories and practices of child protection when analyzed from various contemporary perspectives, whether theological, scientific, cultural or social,” he continued,” said JENA.
Bishop Charles Kasonde, President, AMECEA observed children of all ages and from all nations have been affected by the sickness, notably the socio-economic repercussions and, in some cases, mitigation initiatives that have accidentally done more harm than good.
“The immense challenges that the COVID-19 global pandemic has brought to this region of the world has sharpened our thinking and made the need for deep reflection on how we care for and protect the most vulnerable in our societies ever more important,” observed Kasonde.
The Association of Sisterhoods of Kenya (AOSK), the Association of The Religious in Uganda (ARU), Changing the Way We Care, and the Zambia Association of Sisterhoods were among the other partners.
Representatives from UNICEF, the World Bank, the US State Department and USAID were also present.
