The Day of the African Child was set up to highlight the challenges facing children on the continent. In South Sudan, those include being forcefully conscripted as a child soldier, not having access to education or medical care, and, the theme of this year's Day of the African Child, being forced into marriage at an early age.
South Sudan Children's Rights
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South Sudanese teen Akuot was beaten for three days after she refused to be married off in exchange for a dowry of cattle. South Sudan's Child Act says children should be protected against early marriage, but 48 percent of girls between the ages of 15 and 19 are married off, according to a Human Rights Watch report.
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South Sudan's Child Act says all children have the right to free medical care. Eighteen months of fighting have worsened health in South Sudan, especially for children like this one awaiting cholera treatment at Juba Teaching Hospital in May, 2014.
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Boys holding their rifles attend a ceremony for child soldiers' disarmament, demobilization and reintegration in Pibor, Jonglei State, South Sudan, overseen by UNICEF and its partners in February 2015. The Child Act 2008 says no child shall be used or recruited to engage in military or paramilitary activities.
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A child stands in floodwaters at a camp for people displaced by violence, Bentiu, South Sudan (G. Joselow/VOA).