Human rights advocate Nelson Mandela and his wife have won a global award for helping to promote children's rights over the past 10 years, the prize foundation told AP news service.

Mandela and Graca Machel will get about half of the R12.43-million prize money of the Decade Child Rights Heroes award. The remainder will be shared by 12 annual prize winners, including Cambodian woman activist Somaly Mam, who has spearheaded her country's battle against sex traffickers.

Equal rights for children

Since 1999, the Swedish Children's World Association has awarded the annual World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child for outstanding contributions in defending the rights of children and youth.

This year it was turned into a prize of the decade to celebrate the award's 10th anniversary, with candidates picked from previous winners.

Mandela was cited for his equal rights work for children in South Africa and continuous efforts to defend children's rights. Machel was honored for her long struggle for the rights of vulnerable children and girls, mainly in Mozambique.

Mandela and Machel, who won the annual prize in 2005, described the decade award as "very, very special given the place children occupy in our hearts and lives."

But, too many children "still suffer from hunger, no education, preventable diseases, abuse and neglect," they said in a joint statement to the foundation.

7 million children voted

More than 7 million children took part in the global vote.

Last year's prize went to girls' rights activist Betty Makoni of Zimbabwe for helping girls in her country avoid being victims of human trafficking, sexual abuse and child labor.

The awards ceremony will be held in Stockholm on April 26 in a ceremony attended by Sweden's Queen Silvia.

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