Gender minister Kantema calls for stronger safety nets for Namibian children

Gender minister Emma Kantema has urged all sectors of society to unite in protecting children against abuse.

The minister of gender equality, poverty eradication and child welfare raised her concerns during a stakeholder engagement hosted by SOS Children’s Village in Windhoek on Friday.

The engagement brought together government officials and role-players to discuss how to improve on children’s development.

Giving her keynote address, the minister said while government leadership provides the necessary policy framework, implementing real change relies heavily on everyday collaboration across all sectors of society. Parents, caregivers, local leaders, schools, law-enforcement and non-governmental agencies organisations must operate as a unified network to safeguard the nation’s youth, she said.

“Protecting children is not just a statutory duty, it is a shared societal effort to ensure every child in Namibia grows up safe, heard, and given the space to thrive,” Kantema said.

She commended SOS Children’s Villages Namibia for its decades of dedicated work in alternative care and child protection, emphasising the critical role civil society plays in strengthening the country’s social safety net.

The event brought together key government officials and community leaders to align strategies on child protection and the prevention of violence.

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