Tunis: The number of children benefiting from the “Our kindergarten in our neighborhood” programme will reach 30,000 children in September 2025, said Minister of Family, Women, Children and the Elderly, Amel Belhaj Moussa, following a meeting with UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Adele Khader, at the ministry’s headquarters.
During the meeting, which was attended by head of the UNICEF office in Tunisia, Michel Le Pechoux, the minister stressed that the department is working with the support of the UNICEF office in Tunis to open a new batch of kindergartens of “inclusive” public children in densely populated and priority areas, adding that for two years, about 45 public kindergartens were opened.
«UNICEF is an important partner of the ministry in the implementation of its programmes and projects in the field of childhood,» she declared, affirming that the cooperation programmes developed between the ministry of the family and UNICEF have made it possible to obtain fruitful resul
ts.
The ministry was able to integrate children with autism spectrum disorder into early childhood schools, launch the national strategy for children’s rights and climate change, and develop the 1908 hotline which now operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
According to ministry data, the hotline received 10,827 calls this year, compared to 3,885 calls last year.
For her part, the UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa welcomed the Tunisian experience in anchoring children’s rights and providing care to vulnerable children, praising the efforts child protection delegates in protecting children against different forms of violence and threats, such as household violence and cyber violence.
She expressed concerns over the difficult situation of children in Gaza and Yemen, stressing the need to increase efforts to strengthen child protection mechanisms in stable regions as well as in areas of conflict and wars.
She also stressed the need to continue to support the efforts of the mi
nistry in its various programs and to develop the capacities of workers in the childhood sector through the continuing training of professionals in order to improve services in the field of early childhood and protect children from all forms of violence.
The UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa is currently visiting Tunisia as part of her participation in the high-level regional meeting on «youth learning, skills and transition towards decent work” scheduled from June 26 to 27.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse