Our Story

ANPPCAN is a pan African network that promotes child rights and child protection in Africa. It was founded in 1986 in Enugu Nigeria, at the first Child Labour Conference, and has national chapters in 22 African countries. It is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.

Its mission is to enhance, in partnership with others, the prevention and protection of children from all forms of maltreatment, thus, ensuring that the rights of children are realized.

ANPPCAN’s work on children is currently spread in 22 countries in Africa. The chapters respond to the specific needs of children in their countries by developing appropriate program interventions. The Head Office, on its part, implements national and regional interventions on children that include direct program intervention, advocacy on specific issues, and networking and partnership building of the chapters and stakeholders.

Achievements of ANPPCAN:

One of the most celebrated early achievements of ANPPCAN is the role it played in developing, lobbying and pushing for the ratification and adoption of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Today the Charter remains the benchmark for child protection and support policies of governments across the continent.

ANPPCAN has played a leading role in the implementation and supporting continental policy, advocacy and social programs addressing child rights and child protection. They include:

1. Creating a platform for addressing the key issues of children involved in armed conflict - otherwise known as child soldiers - across the continent including in Nigeria, DR Congo, Uganda, Sudan and Botswana.
    
2. Establishing twenty two chapters spread across the continent, each addressing unique and relevant national issues in child labour, child neglect and child protection. These programs include children’s help desk and programs addressing child trafficking, child prostitution, education, community support and child soldiers.
    
3. Since 1997 ANPPCAN has been part of an international movement aimed at supporting over 280 million children worldwide who are forced to work for their survival.
    
4. In her efforts in the fight against child labour, ANPPCAN established networks in 10 English speaking countries in Africa under the umbrella of Global March against Child Labour. The Chapters and the Global March networks contributed a great deal to the formulation and ratification of ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour.
    
5. Several scientific, researches and social studies have been carried out and shared at various conferences under the auspices of ANPPCAN. Key among this is the Conference on human trafficking in Eastern and horn of Africa, a conference that resulted in African Organizations realizing the need for increased networking, information sharing and in-depth research among Organizations working to combat human trafficking. Recently, ANPPCAN held the First International Conference in Africa on Child Sexual Abuse to re-awaken nations and stakeholders on the need to protect children from the vice.
    
6. The ANPPCAN Child Labour program that involves working with schools in Income Generating Activities to support children under situations that would lead to neglect and school drop outs, has been one of the most successful interventions in the world.
    
7. ANPPCAN played a critical role in the development and pushing for the adoption by African Governments, of ILO Convention 182 and its accompanying recommendations 190 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor.
    
8. ANPPCAN, more than any other Organization across the continent, has been instrumental in lobbying governments to ratify conventions on children while encouraging education of children through its slogan Adults to Work, Children to School.
    
9. In the last four years, ANPPCAN has shifted its focus to train and mentor youth to be able to protect and promote children’s rights. This is done through an ANPPCAN – FK Exchange of Personnel program that place amongst ANPPCAN Chapters. This has led to growth and experience- sharing of the chapters involved, and personal growth of the staff participating.

The achievements of ANPPCAN were recognized when in 2004 the Organization received the Kellogg’s Award and in 2006 it was selected from a field of over 50 Child Rights Organizations throughout Africa, and emerged the winner of the first ever African Union Children's Champion Award.

At a national level ANPPCAN has been instrumental in both social interventions and in bringing policy and legislative changes addressing child labour, education, conflicts, street children and other child related issues. Chapter programs on Managing Education seek to address broad issues that lead children to drop out of school and be engaged in child labor. They include access, affordability, transition and policies on technical training institutions.

In addition to supporting schools and community organizations, ANPPCAN continues to create and provide skills and technical support to government child labor partnership programs.

Since the promotion of the rights and welfare of children involve different groups including, children and their parents, ANPPCAN has been helping countries to develop strategies that are all inclusive. In Kenya, for example, ANPPCAN created a Coalition on Child Rights and Child Protection. The Coalition has been instrumental in training various child rights professional in handling of children issues and in facilitating efficient delivery of services to children.

Also in Kenya, ANPPCAN worked with the Police department and Ministry of Education to develop curricula on child rights for inclusion in the training of police and teachers. ANPPCAN has assisted in setting up Child Help Desks where cases of child abuse are reported and attended. Advocacy and training materials have also been produced for service providers.

It has helped different professionals to set up lobbies to support children’s rights. For example, this has seen the creation of child protection teams in 40 districts in Kenya. Among others, ANPPCAN helped in the creation of Children’s Legal Action Network (CLAN), an organisation of lawyers that offer free legal services to children whose rights have been violated.

Another area that ANPPCAN has excelled in is the creation of alliances between government departments and other groups at district and community level to address child labour. This model, popularly known as Child Labour Committees, has been developed in Kenya and is widely used by other groups supported by ILO/IPEC all over the world. ANPPCAN has prevented many children from getting into child labour; withdrawn many from worst forms of child labour and supported the children back to school and vocational training. Many schools and youth polytechnics have been supported to undertake income generating activities whose produce have been used to keep children in school.

ANPPCAN has been involved in many research activities on children’s rights. In Kenya, a study that ANPPCAN conducted on street children, following a request by the Attorney General in 1991, led to a National Hearing on Street Children. This led to review of laws affecting children, culminating in the enactment of the Children’s Act in 2001. Currently ANPPCAN is conducting a study on Trafficking of Children and Young Women in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Challenges:

For over two decades ANPPCAN has relied on donor funding for all its programs. In some instances, some programs have had to be scaled down, changed or abandoned completely because of a shift over donor funding mechanisms.

The Regional office has found it difficult to scale up her interventions as donor funding is often specific, time-bound and sometimes based on indicators that may not fully address the root causes of child neglect and abuse.

ANPPCAN is moving forward with new identity

After much deliberation, ANPPCAN has decided to move forward with a new identity. We have departed from the previous logo to reflect the positive movement that’s happening in our organization. The new logo is more in line with our goals and identity.

There are 53 stars to represent the 53 countries in Africa. This is a subtle reminder of our goal to have the whole of Africa unified in our purpose to protect children. The stars also represent the protection we provide as they encircle the children of Africa.

The joyous children reflect the aim of ANPPCAN. The linking of hands represent the unity which is needed to achieve our goals. There are two girls and one boy to subtly highlight the reality of children affected. The presence of the children within our logo also shows they have a role to play in the battle as well.

Overall, we wish to emphasize the life and vitality of the protected African child. Our focus is primarily the prevention of the problems that face our children. This is why we’re choosing to focus on the positive aspects of our work. There is great hope and a future for children when we prevent and protect them from child abuse and neglect.

We are maintaining a similar red color and an arching ANPPCAN on the top to maintain some continuity with the previous identity. The red color is also known to represent energy, passion, strength, vitality, courage and insightfulness. These are all qualities we must possess in increasing measure if we are to achieve our goals.
We feel it’s a logo that better reflects our vision as an organization.