Tanzanian Activist Wins Franco-German Award for Children with Disabilities Rights Advocacy

18 January 2022, The French Ambassador to Tanzania, H.E Mr Nabil Hajlaoui, together with his German counterpart, Mrs Regina Hess, presented the Franco-German Human Rights Prize to Noelah Godfrey Msuya, the Executive Director of Child Support Tanzania-a civil society organization (CSO) advocating for the rights of children with disabilities in Mbeya region.

According to the United Nations. Over1 billionpeople live with some form of disability. Current demographic trends and the increase in chronic health conditions are among the causes of drastic increases in the number of people with disabilities.Eighty per cent of persons with disabilities live in developing countries. In Tanzania, 4.2 million people live with disabilities

Noelah Msuya appreciated the recognition of the Franco-German Award and thanked all stakeholders for supporting her work.

‘’I thank the French and German Embassies for recognizing our contribution towards changing the lives of children with disabilities and working for their inclusion. I am grateful to all partners, donors and stakeholders for supporting our work. I would like to tell CSO advocating for children with disability rights that the award is for all of us. I am also thankful that the nomination was extended to Child Support Tanzania hence were able to receive the award,’’ Said Noelah, ‘’We pledge our commitment to work even harder for children with disabilities as they face a myriad of challenges.”

Noelah commended the government for creating an enabling environment conducive to advocating for children with disability rights. She also thanked Foundation for Civil Society (FCS) for providing funds to Child Support Tanzania from 2016 to 2020. Through FCS, Child Support Tanzania implemented an intervention on Public Expenditure Tracking (PETs), Demanding Access and Inclusion for Children with Disabilities in Mbeya City Council.

”Partnerships among various stakeholders and funding from FCS have made a tremendous impact on the community. We have been able to make a difference in the lives of children with disabilities. ”, she added

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