Lesotho, April 9 -- Stakeholders in child development and protection ecosystems have made heightened calls for child-centered budget planning by the African governments.

These calls were made at the ongoing 45th Ordinary Session of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) which commenced on Monday this week and will conclude on April 11th.

The ACERWC is charged with overseeing the African Union's Charter on the Rights and Welfare of African Children's Rights. The Chairperson of the ACERWC Wilson Almeida Adao reiterated the Committee's mandate stating that the children's voices are critical to the decision making by the governments.

He called on the governments to budget in a way that takes into c...