Etleva Kadilli, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa 

In 2025, MTN strengthened its contribution to child safety by joining the Africa Taskforce on Child Online Protection, launched at the Mobile World Congress Africa in Rwanda. The Taskforce brings together mobile operators, global technology companies, regulators, academia and civil society to co-ordinate a unified, Africa-wide response to emerging online risks affecting children.

The Taskforce is structured around shared objectives to strengthen prevention, protection and response across the continent. These include advancing safety-by-design in digital products and services, improving the accessibility and effectiveness of reporting and referral mechanisms, enhancing digital literacy and resilience among children and caregivers, and supporting greater policy coherence and regulatory alignment on child online protection. The initiative also seeks to promote stronger data-sharing, cross-sector collaboration and collective action to address rapidly evolving risks such as AI-generated harmful content.

As an early participant, MTN contributes operational insight and digital human rights expertise across multiple workstreams, including advocacy, policy alignment and technical safeguards. Our involvement helps elevate child protection as a regional priority, informs more consistent approaches to online safety across markets and supports the development of safer, more resilient digital environments for children across Africa.