For five years the region has seen increased conflicts in which more than 21,000 children have been recruited by government forces and armed groups, says the report. In addition, more than 2,200 children in the region have been victims of sexual violence since 2016, says the report. “The numbers and trends are extremely worrying for current and future generations of children,” Marie-Pierre Poirier, UNICEF’s regional director for West and Central Africa told The Associated Press. It urges aid groups to increase the documentation of violations and to work to prevent and respond to them. UNICEF says that it needs more than $92 million to protect children in emergencies across West and Central Africa, more than half of which is not yet funded.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 23, 2021 09:24 UTC