The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in 2015 developed Africa’s Agenda for Children 2040, otherwise known as Agenda 2040. The Agenda was developed during the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child which aimed at assessing the situation of children’s rights in Africa in the 25 years following the adoption of the Charter with a view of ‘looking behind to look forward’. Based on the findings of the assessment during the conference, Agenda 2040 was developed to set aspirations for African countries which will be implemented and achieved in the next 25 years of the Charter. The Agenda sets 10 main aspirations in the area of effective continental framework, child-friendly legal and institutional system, birth registration, survival and health, education, access to basic necessities, violence against children, the child-sensitive justice system, armed conflict, and child participation.

A two-day workshop organized by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) and hosted by the East African Community (EAC) was held in Arusha, Tanzania on 23rd and 24th October 2018. The workshop was part of a series of workshops planned to take place in all the Regional Economic Communities (RECs). Participants of this workshop included representatives of the Partner States, representatives from the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare (ACERWC), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the EAC and other stakeholders in the sub-region. The workshop was geared towards popularizing Agenda 2040, and also identifying main priorities, challenges, and possible strategies on the implementation of the Agenda. It also aimed at identifying cross border issues in the EAC in relation to children’s rights and the aspirations of the Agenda.