The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF)

The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) is an independent, not-for-profit Pan-African centre of policy research and advocacy on the African child. We were established in 2003 out of concern about the situation and fate of the disadvantaged African child and the need for us, Africans, to recognise our responsibility to own our destiny and to collectively provide for the realisation of all rights to all our children. We are convinced that sustained change can come about only through vigorous state action by way of the articulation and implementation of appropriate and effective policies and laws. This requires greater African political commitment. And this can be brought about only through political pressure and advocacy especially by Africans themselves and African civil society. For advocacy to be credible and effective, it must be based on knowledge or good research, backed by an Africa-wide movement for Africa’s children. So we decided at the outset that the major pillars of our work would be: knowledge-building; policy advocacy; policy dialogue; and the creation of a stronger collective voice for children in Africa. Only by so doing, only by taking a multi-pronged approach can we hold our governments accountable and help establish an Africa where our children will have roots to stand on and wings to fly.