Corruption – the abuse of entrusted power for private gain – is pervasive and one of the biggest barriers to Africa’s development and the full realization of children’s rights. Children bear a disproportionate burden of the discriminatory effects of corruption due to their reliance on public services and reduced capacity to challenge corrupt practices. Children can be affected directly by corruption, for example through a requirement to pay bribes or informal fees to receive services, or indirectly through missed services because government resources have been plundered through grand corruption and illicit financial flows. All forms of corruption reduce the availability of household and public resources to spend on critical services for children. Combating corruption is therefore an important step for increasing the funds available for families and governments to invest in children. Reducing corruption is necessary for improving development outcomes for children in Africa and it is also a human rights obligation highlighted in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. There is little available literature on how corrupt practices directly impact children in Africa. Additionally, until recently, children’s views on the impact of corruption on their own lives have largely been absent from the discourse on corruption in Africa. The objectives of this report are therefore to amplify the voices of children, build evidence on how corruption hinders the realisation of children’s rights in Africa, and to generate recommendations for action by African Union member states and other stakeholders to address the impact of corruption on children...
African Union Commission Department of Social Affairs Department, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Save the Children International Pan Africa and AU Liaison Office, World Vision International, The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF), ChildFund and SOS Children’s Village International
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