Sustainable Development of a nation depends on investment in Children. In this regard, a legal commitment has been assumed by 193 Governments (including Sierra Leone) through the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The Government of Sierra Leone is presently putting these plans to action through various local policies and programmes.
In Sierra Leone, children make up 41% of the country’s population thus, the challenges of realizing their rights to enable them develop to their fullest potentials can therefore be deduced. The magnitude of the challenge continues to be reflected in several national statistics.

It is against this back drop that the NCC in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, local government authorities and children has embarked on the promotion of a child friendly budgeting process. This is aimed at tracking expenditure patterns on children’s issues with a view to promoting transparency and efficient utilization of national resources, to influence local and national priorities and expenditure patterns so that issues that affect children are not overlooked and also to enhance child participation in local and national budgeting processes. The overarching goal is to promote the well-being of all children and provide them with opportunities to develop to their fullest potential.

Resource allocation for basic social services has the greatest impact on the realization of child rights. Thus, the ‘maximum extent of available resources’ should prioritise children in resource allocation and facilitate the provision of quality basic social services for children. Investment in children today is the best guarantor of equitable and sustainable development tomorrow.

In implementing the CRC, Article 4 states that “States Parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized in the Convention. With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, States Parties shall undertake such measures to the maximum extent of their available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international co-operation.

Sierra Leone has initiated an open and transparent budget process, but the NCC wants to give increased attention to the provision of information regarding fiscal commitment to bearing in mind that in order to effectively improve child wellbeing, children’s rights should be addressed through specified child targeted programmes as well as mainstreamed into broader macro-economic and social sector development policies.

This is not aimed at carving out a separate budget for children, but rather at studying existing budgets for their content, process and impact on children, and advocating for and devising more equitable procedures and allocations. Ultimately, the process of budget analysis is a way to ensure that the rights of children are accounted for in public sector decision –making.

The National Commission for Children is convinced that enhancing child friendly budgeting and systematically monitoring the funds allocated to address children’s right and welfare concerns, will squarely contribute to the improvement in the conditions of children in Sierra Leone.
It is believed that it is how resources are mobilized; allocated and utilized that could worsen or better the lives of all segments of the population particularly vulnerable groups such as children.
So far a working group made up of the NCC, MOFED and Civil Society has been established. A historical analysis of budgetary allocations by the Government of Sierra Leone for children programmes from 2013 to 2016 has been undertaken.

A training of Trainers for Key Actors and CRC SL Members for engaging with the children at District Level has been done.
Furthermore, the NCC would work with children focusing on educating them on the importance of the national budgeting process and capacitate them with skills to actively participate in the budgeting process at the local and national levels of government. This is in fulfillment of Article 31 in the CRA (2007) which specifically states that ‘No person shall deprive a child capable of forming views the right to express an opinion, to be listened to and to participate in decisions which affect his welfare, the opinion of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.’

Over the years, children often remain invisible in the debates and decisions on allocation of public resources and have limited opportunities to participate in the different stages of the budget cycle. Yet, children know their own situation best. Drawing from examples from other countries, involving children in the budget process, and helping them access child friendly information, can assist governments to design more accurate and relevant interventions for children and allocate resources for its most effective use.