“In our Judgment, we think that whether you talk about the best interest of the child as is the case in the above cited Conventions or you talk about the welfare of the child as is contained in the Act, this really is a question of semantics or nomenclature. They mean the same thing, and it is this; a court of law dealing with the adoption of an infant must pay attention at all times that the welfare of the child is not compromised by secondary issues. We therefore find that there is absolutely no conflict between what the Act provides and what Articles 3, 20 and 21 of the CRC provide. The provisions deal at some length with matters that can only be said to be for the welfare of the child which our courts are mandated to protect under the Act.” Article 5: Survival and Development 1. Every child has an inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. 2. States Parties to the present Charter shall ensure, to the maximum extent possible, the survival, protection and development of the child. 3. Death sentence shall not be pronounced for crimes committed by children. 43. Life and development are recognized as specific rights under the Constitution. The latter has especially isolated women, children and people with disability as entitled to special consideration in the application of the right to development. the detail of the right to development is that in order to realize it, there is need for equality of opportunity for all in accessing basic resources, education, health services, food, shelter, employment and infrastructure. The right to life is granted indiscriminately. 44. In order to entrench the rights to survival and development, the Constitution provides for the child right to know and be raised by parents. Survival and development may also be attained by accessing maintenance regardless of the circumstances of the child’s parents. 45. Early childhood mortality rates for the five years immediately preceding the survey (20052010), the infant mortality rate is 66 deaths per 1,000 live births. The estimate of child mortality (age 12 months to 4 years) is 50 deaths per 1,000 live births, while the overall under-5 mortality rate for the same period is 112 deaths per 1,000 live births. The neonatal mortality rate is 31 deaths per 1,000 live births. The post-neonatal mortality rate is 35 deaths per 1,000 live births. An examination of mortality levels across the three successive five-year periods shows that under-5 mortality rates have declined from 180 deaths per 1,000 live births during the late 1900s (circa 1995-2000) to 112 deaths per 1,000 live births in the late part of this decade (2005-2010). Most of the decrease in mortality occurred outside of the 13 | P a g e