Day of the African Child
In Sierra Leone’s Kroo Bay, Sunkari lost her baby Kadiatu.
“She was sick with diarrhoea. The doctor told me to pay £15 but I only had £4. He wouldn't look at my baby. He just got in his car and drove away.
“Why did my baby die? Because of poverty.”
Watch Sunkari’s sad story:
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Today is the Day of the African Child. Today more than 1,500 babies in sub-Saharan Africa won't survive their first day of life. But today you have the chance to join a growing global movement that refuses to tolerate this terrible statistic.
Make Your Mark
Children in Nigeria plan Day of the African Child activities
Today people are coming together to say no to a world which tolerates the needless deaths of 4.5 million children in Africa. You can join them.
Make your mark online today, and join people across Africa who are marking the Day of the African Child:
- In Nigeria, where 1 million children die each year of illnesses we can easily prevent, children will be marching in the streets of the country's capital city, Abuja, and speaking with government officials on a national radio show to tell them to act
- In Ethiopia, where 389,000 children don’t get to celebrate their fifth birthday, they’ll be holding community awareness-raising events about child survival and launching a report on how to best tackle child hunger
- In Sierra Leone, where one in four die before the age of five, children will be marching in the cities of Freetown and Kailahun, asking people to support our movement by making their mark, and national radio shows will discuss better healthcare for mothers and children
- In Uganda, a petition will be presented to the Minster of Health calling for more resources for child survival
- We're holding a special event at Westminster. Follow this event on twitter.com/stcuk
What’s the Day of the African Child all about?
Since 1991 the Day of the African Child has been marked to commemorate the bravery of young South Africans who marched for their educational rights in 1976.
Today, children across the continent still face horrific challenges to survive.
Visit our online communities of Kroo Bay in Sierra Leone, and Kingsville in Liberia. Check out what life's really like for children growing up in these countries by exploring their homes and schools.
What can I do?
In just a few seconds you can Make Your Mark and put pressure on governments. They have to take positive action now to stop children dying, the sort of action they took to save the banks and big businesses.
With your help we can ensure that mothers like Sunkari no longer have to watch helplessly as their children die.
Get involved with our campaign today, and work with us this year to save children's lives. There's loads of stuff you can do to make a real difference:
- Make Your Mark today, and make sure all your friends do too
- Without having to leave your seat visit Kroo Bay and Kingsville, let us know what you think by joining discussions, and help the kids there get the happy, healthy childhood they deserve
- Become a campaigner with us and change things for children
- Help us save children's lives across the world by supporting our work
