Story, Louvier Kindo Tombe
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is championing a crucial cause in Cameroon: child-sensitive budgeting.
According to Agnès Yolande Abena, Child Protection Specialist at UNICEF-Cameroon, “Child-sensitive budgeting aims to plan with children and all stakeholders involved in realizing their fundamental rights, actions that allow their rights to be truly respected in different areas of national life.”
This initiative is part of the activities for Children’s Month in Cameroon, launched on June 3, 2025. As Anne Fouchard, head of the Partnership, Advocacy and Communication (PAC) section at UNICEF-Cameroon, notes, “When we look at the indicators, there are children who continue to suffer from malnutrition, babies who die in their first months of life due to health access problems.”
To address these challenges, UNICEF brought together 180 junior parliamentarians from across the country’s 10 regions for a discussion on child-sensitive budgeting.
The event aimed to identify strategies for effective contribution to improving budgeting adapted to minors.
The junior parliamentarians scrutinized actions taken in their favor and expressed the needs of the children they represent.
“As adults, we do not have the same needs as children in terms of health and access to a good diet, for example,” explains Anne Fouchard, highlighting the importance of listening to and sharing opinions with young people.
With a budget of 2,881,400,000 FCFA allocated for the social protection program for children in 2025, the stakes are high.
The upcoming 26th session of the Children’s Parliament, themed “Mobilization of the national community for child rights-sensitive planning and budgeting,” promises to be a significant step towards ensuring the well-being of Cameroon’s children.
As UNICEF continues to advocate for child-sensitive budgeting, the organization remains committed to working with stakeholders to create a brighter future for Cameroon’s children.
