Nigeria

Zanzibar’s Department of Social Welfare has announced a series of policies that it will implement in order to enhance the protection of children in alternative care in Zanzibar, particularly for residential care facilities. 

Elisabet Purve-Jorendal was born in India and given away for adoption in 1973 when she was less than six months old. A Swedish couple adopted her when she was two-and-a-half years old. Forty-two years later, she tracked down her biological mother.

The nomination process for the International Children’s Peace Prize 2016 has started. KidsRights calls upon individuals and organizations across the globe to nominate eligible children. KidsRights Foundation each year awards this prestigious prize to a brave boy or girl, regardless of race, place of birth or social standing, who has demonstrated the skill and determination necessary to personally improve the rights of children. The deadline for entries is March 14th 2016.

A U.S. federal court has sentenced a former missionary from Oklahoma to 40 years in prison for sexually abusing children at a Kenyan orphanage. His arrest and conviction—one case among several recent instances of overseas abuse—highlights the need for more vetting procedures in international volunteering, experts say. 

This column advocates for greater investment and intervention for families at-risk to prevent adverse experiences in childhood.

Through this new "The African Child Information Hub" Facebook page, InfoHub aims to amplify advocacy efforts and awareness raising by engaging more people on social media. 

A woman flew from Istanbul to Paris with an infant girl hidden inside her hand luggage, Air France has said.

This week, the UN Statistical Commission is meeting in New York to discuss the Sustainable Development Goals Indicators.

This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

This animated video describes Indonesia's Families First Signature Program which began in 2005. The goal of Families First is to ensure that every child in Indonesia has a safe, family environment, recognizing that family-based care is best for child development. The video describes how the Signature Program has helped shift care away from institutions towards family-based care.