Introduction
The following pages discuss how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can reach children without parental care. Although there is no precise statistical data on these children, there are estimates that approximately 220 million children are growing up without parental care – ten percent of the world’s child population. This figure includes children who have lost or are at risk of losing parental care and live in extremely vulnerable circumstances where they lack adequate care and protection.
Children without parental care are disproportionately affected by a number of development issues addressed in the SDGs and associated targets. These include extreme poverty, poor physical and mental health, and lack of access to education and basic services. Moreover, these children are more likely to experience violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect during childhood. Upon entering adulthood, they often face greater challenges adapting to living independently and becoming fully integrated into society, in addition to being more likely to experience discrimination, social exclusion, employment insecurity, poverty and poor health. Coordinating and integrating programmes to effectively address issues related to health, nutrition, education, protection and caregiver support go a long way in ensuring that vulnerable children and families have what they need to succeed. Coordinated, evidence-based action can also help to ensure that children in vulnerable situations, including those without parental care, benefit fully from policies and services and achieve better outcomes in the immediate and long term. The actions taken to implement, monitor and evaluate the SDGs along with the commitment to strive for and invest in better data are key to turning the tide for these children.
Additional Information
This briefing describes how the needs of children without parental care can be addressed through the SDGs. Five of the Sustainable Development Goals are discussed in these chapters, with specific recommendations that fall within each:
Goal 1 - No Poverty
- Strengthen child-sensitive social protection and the economic capacity of vulnerable households
- Enhance parenting support and the quality of alternative care settings
- Strengthen the social service workforce working with children without parental care
Goal 4 - Quality Education
- Expand access to quality early childhood care, development and education
- Ensure access to relevant training and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education
- Provide educational opportunities to develop relevant skills for decent jobs and entrepreneurship
- Ensure access to educational programmes and staff able to address the specific needs and challenges of young people in vulnerable situations
Goal 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Develop labour and childcare policies that avoid leaving children with working par - ents without supervision and care
- Develop targeted measures to support young people without parental care in accessing further education, vocational training and employment opportunities without discrimination
Goal 10 - Reduced Inequalities
- Establish legal and social protections against discrimination and exclusion of people who have grown up without parental care, and develop programmes to foster their full participation in all areas of social, economic and political life
- Identify the child population groups that are being left behind, through improved quantitative and qualitative data
Goal 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
- Collect comprehensive data and expand research on the magnitude, nature and consequences of violence against chil - dren living without parental care
- Implement and enforce national legislation and policies and adequately fund programmes to protect children from violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect in all settings, including alternative care
