The Regional Director of UNICEF for Central and West Africa this Wednesday congratulated the government of Sao Tome for protecting children’s rights, especially in the area of vaccination, even as he pointed out problems related to quality education and violence against minors.
Gilles Fagninu, who arrived in the archipelago on Tuesday, met today with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sao Tome and Principe Gareth Guadalupe, with whom he said he discussed the “state of cooperation” between the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Government of the archipelago.
“I congratulated him on the results and the government’s performance on key indicators for children, but at the same time we talked about what can be done to ensure that these results are maintained over time,” Gilles Fagninou said at the end of the conference. Meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the capital Sao Tome.
A UNICEF representative said that “the situation for children in Sao Tome is good, but there are some challenges” that together can be overcome.
“There are, for example, difficulties in the area of child abuse. We also have [algumas dificuldades] in education, in the quality of education. Indeed, there are children who do not attend school, but significant efforts have been made to ensure that they attend school,” he noted.
However, he stressed that on the health front, when it comes to vaccinations, “the government is doing well” and said he would speak to the health minister to outline ways to “ensure these results are maintained over time.”
Last month, the UN agency congratulated Sao Tome and Principe for awarding a certificate that highlights the archipelago as the African country with the highest vaccination coverage since 2004, with more than 90% of children vaccinated.
According to Gilles Fagninou, the cooperation program between UNICEF and Sao Tome and Principe (2023-2027) will be reviewed in a short time, which will allow “adjustments to be made so that future decisions and guidelines can be adopted” in accordance with priorities Government of Sao Tome.
The visit of the UNICEF Regional Director for Central and West Africa ends on Friday and includes a trip to the Autonomous Region of Principe.