Speaker Wetang’ula: Boy child is an endangered species

By Jabali Media

National Assembly Speaker Moses Masika Wetang'ula has requested the United Nations International Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to consider including the support of the boy child in the organisation’s advocacy programs.

Wetang'ula said the boy child is an "endangered species,” adding that most organisations championing for the rights of children direct all their efforts towards girls at the expense of boys.

"The boy child in Kenya is suffering in silence. All efforts have been put on uplifting the girl child. UNICEF should intervene because they have the capacity," he stated.

"The boy child has been forgotten in this journey and this might lead to a society that is not balanced."

He made the remarks when he hosted UNICEF Kenya Representative Dr. Shaheen Nilofer, who paid him a courtesy call in his office at Parliament Buildings, Nairobi.

Even in his own Catholic Church during church services, the Speaker said, girls are at the forefront as they take part in liturgical dancing, while boys are left to watch at the periphery.

On her part, Dr. Nilofer pointed out that the National Assembly was a critical wing of government, noting that collaboration was necessary to actualize their agenda.

"UNICEF has worked closely with ministries and other government entities in our work and collaboration by the National Assembly will be a big win for us in our efforts to achieve our goal," she added.

She said UNICEF had stepped up campaigns to promote the rights of children in the country, adding that there was still a lot to be done.

"Kenya has achieved a lot on matters of children rights but it is still worrying that 2.5 million children are out of school because of various reasons," she added.

She committed that UNICEF will continue to support various programs in the agriculture, education and social protection sectors in the country.