This presentation to the 2012 Sofia Conference by Valentina Buliga, Minister of Labor in Moldova, Social Protection and Family, introduces Moldova's ongoing collaboration between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labor to reduce infant mortality and the placement of children under the age of 3 in institutions.

This inter-agency paper was written by Family for Every Child, Better Care Network, Consortium for Street Children, Save the Children, SOS Children’s Villages, and World Vision, for submission to the United Nations consultation: ‘Health in the Post-2015 Development Agenda.’ It examines the links between child protection and health and argues for a continuing focus on health and child survival that encompasses particular goals and indicators on children’s protection.

Although the relationship between child sexual abuse and mental disorders life has been well established, the health consequences of other forms of child maltreatment, including physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect have not been systematically examined. This study summarizes the evidence relating to the possible relationship between child physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect, and subsequent mental and physical health outcomes.

Care related section of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia's third and fourth combined report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (dated 18th October 2012).

This report presents the findings from a two-year peer research project which includes the testimony of more than 300 young people with care experience in Albania, the Czech Republic, Finland, and Poland. More than 40 care leavers from the four countries were selected and trained to play an active role in the all aspects of the projects. The interviews revealed widespread inadequacies regarding the process of leaving care, promoting the research team to draw up recommendations to address them.

In this report, Retrak examines the situation of girls living on the streets in Kampala, Uganda and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and provides key recommendations on the development programs required to address their needs. The report urges for scaling up services, building new facilities for street girls, and building staff capacity to handle issues related to this population.

This publication by SOS Children’s Villages International brings together research findings, learning and policy recommendations about sibling relations in alternative care gathered from five different SOS Children’s Villages associations (Germany, Austria, France, Italy, and Spain).

Care related sections of the Government of the Russian Federation's fourth and fifth combined report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (dated 3rd June 2011).

Helping families and their kin develop care plans for orphaned and vulnerable children was the objective of the family group conferencing (FGC) training that took place in Guatemala City from July 10-12, 2012. This family preservation approach for developing strategies to prevent the institutionalization of children emphasizes the strengths of families and their capacity to solve their own problems and develop their own care plans.

Research was conducted in five Rift Valley towns in Kenya in 2011 to understand the link between emergencies and the perceived increase of children joining the streets. Findings show that emergencies such as Post Election Violence and drought have caused children to join the streets. By far the biggest reason for children joining the streets was food insecurity. The authors advocate for an urgent, large-scale response to place children currently connected to the streets in durable situations in tandem with a multi-sectorial development approach to tackle and address the root of the crisis.