This paper suggests that the aspirations of NEPAD's initiators, partners and stakeholders for progress, peace and poverty-reducing growth should find their foundation in Africa's human capacity development, which in turn must start with Africa's children. It reviews what has worked and what has not worked for children in the last decades; proposes strategies for human development within the framework of NEPAD, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and national Poverty Reduction Strategies; and identifies priority actions for and with children and young people which, in the favourable macroeconomic and institutional climate sought by NEPAD and the African Union, will help ensure sustained progress.