Egypt ranks 2nd among Arab countries on KidsRights Index 2024

12 / 09 / 2024

By Marwa Nassar - -

Egypt occupied the second position among Arab countries included on the KidsRights Index 2024 which comprised 194 world countries.

So far, only 1 in 3 SDGs related to children have been met or are on track to be met by 2030, and only 1

in 4 children will live in countries where child-related SDGs will be met, leaving behind nearly 2 billion

children.

Progress towards achieving the United Nation’s child-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is lagging, with only one-third on track to be met by 2030. Climate change-induced disasters and rising right-wing political sentiments are further complicating the situation. Countries like Denmark and the United Kingdom are noted for their positive climate policies, yet the overall global scenario remains grim.

“In addition to the original five domains – life, health, education, protection, and enabling environment,

in this edition of the KidsRights Index, for the 2nd year in a row, we report on our efforts to create a 6th

domain on climate change. This domain is based on the climate change mitigation efforts undertaken

by the countries, from the perspective that climate change is a major risk to the realization of children’s

rights, at present already and all the more so in the future. With the (still experimental) inclusion of

the climate change domain, Denmark, Finland and Luxembourg become the top 3 performers in the

KidsRights Index, while Chad, Afghanistan and Niger become the bottom 3 performers, said Founder and Chairman KidsRights Foundation Marc Dullaert.

This year marked the launch of the 12th edition of the KidsRights Index, the world’s first and only annual global index on children’s rights.

The KidsRights Index continued to monitor and assess the performance of countries against the child rights standards prescribed by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The KidsRights Index 2023 reported on the polycrisis – war in Ukraine, rise in inflation, climate change induced disasters and displacement, and the after-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on children.

This year, the situation for children is even grimmer due to the persistence of the polycrisis. Escalation of armed conflicts is undermining decades of progress made towards protecting and providing for children and otherwise creating conditions for children to flourish. It is concerning that the year 2023 recorded a 21% spike in grave violations against children in conflicts.

“I believe that the findings and figures from the KidsRights Index will aid in crafting a robust recovery plan. I hope that policymakers, governments, civil society organizations, international press and the international community can utilize the Index to work towards upholding children’s rights,” Dullaert added.

The KidsRights Index is published annually by the KidsRights Foundation since 2013, in close collaboration with Erasmus School of Economics and the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam. It is the first and only fully comparative worldwide annual index that systematically compares the child rights performance of (as of recent nearly all) countries that are bound by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.