“When children are invisible in our data, they become invisible in our decisions,” Alison Parker warned.
Source: A new dawn for children on the move in southern Africa | UNICEF Zimbabwe
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe — The journey is often born of desperation. A family uprooted by relentless floods, a teenager fleeing conflict, or a child seeking a better life beyond the horizon—these are the faces of migration in Southern Africa today. For too long, their stories have been lost in the shadows, but here in Victoria Falls, a powerful commitment is taking shape to bring them into the light.
It is these human stories that brought leaders and experts together for the Migration Dialogue for Southern Africa (MIDSA). Welcoming the delegates, the Permanent Secretary of Home Affairs for host-country Zimbabwe, Ambassador Raphael Faranisi, framed the meeting’s central theme as “PROMOTING REGIONAL INTEGRATION THROUGH SUSTAINING SAFE, REGULAR, AND ORDERLY MIGRATION”. He described the technical experts as the “engine room,” tasked with laying the foundation for action. He highlighted that the “protection of Children on the move” is a critical focus of the dialogue.
High-level partners underscored the urgency of this focus. Leaders are confronting a stark reality that “the climate crisis is becoming a child rights crisis,” in the words of Alison Parker, UNICEF’s Deputy Regional Director. She revealed a staggering statistic: between 2017 and 2023, 8.8 million children in the region were displaced by weather-related events. “That’s 2,400 children every single day, forced from their homes by floods”.
These children face exploitation, violence, and exclusion. Yet, their whole story is often unknown. “When children are invisible in our data, they become invisible in our decisions,” Parker warned.
This challenge has prompted a shift in perspective. As IOM’s Regional Director, Frantz Celestin, noted, “the question before us is not whether people will move, but how we can make that movement safe, regular, and productive”.
Diving deeper into the practical solutions, Nankali Maksud, UNICEF’s Regional Advisor for Child Protection, laid out a clear roadmap. She emphasized that “legal frameworks are the backbone of effective child protection systems”. Maksud identified critical gaps, such as the “disconnect between child protection and migration policies” and “underfunded child protection systems”. To bridge these gaps, she called for specific actions: integrating migration into national child protection laws, investing in the social service workforce, and strengthening cross-border coordination.
This technical foundation supports the broader call to action for a “route-based approach” to protection that safeguards a child from their country of origin through transit to their final destination. The goal is to ensure that no child is detained because of their migration status and that every child has the right to go to school, receive healthcare, and be registered
The dialogue is a testament to a shared commitment, which Alison Parker powerfully summarised in her closing words: “Every child on the move deserves to be seen. To be safe. To be protected. Not invisible. Not excluded. Not left behind”.
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