Day of the African Child is commemorated every year on 16 June. The 2026 theme is firmly grounded in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child – ensuring universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene for every child in Africa.

Through this collection of blogs published on the UKFIET website, we reflect on all of the rights of African children – in particular their education:

Early childhood education in a time of polycrisis: A call for systems thinking

Challenging the false dichotomy: Education innovations that reach the most vulnerable AND at scale

Why are we silent? 9 out of 10 children in Sub-Saharan Africa are not learning, and the elephant in the classroom is still being ignored

Scalability of educational innovations in West Africa: The role of civil society organisations

Prioritising early learning research in sub-Saharan Africa for equitable learning outcomes

Harnessing implementation science to drive educational transformation in sub-Saharan Africa

Teacher professional development in Africa – A decolonial synthesis of the research evidence

Making assessments more accessible for children with disabilities

A crisis on two fronts: How emergencies stall girls’ education and G7 progress towards the Global Objectives

The right to education for pregnant girls and adolescent mothers: Breaking barriers and biases

Girls and climate justice education: Experience from two initiatives

Scaling up an education initiative that supports marginalised girls in Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Inclusive Education for marginalised girls in Malawi: what worked in Link Education’s Leave No Girl Behind Project