The paper calls for greater prioritisation to be given to supporting kinship carers and the children in their care, including ensuring such households are able to access social protection, and receive psycho-social and health care support and assistance with education where needed.

This brief lays out the rationale for investing in social protection, care, and support for children affected by HIV and AIDS. It demonstrates how investing in these initiatives not only improves the resilience of HIV affected households but can also enhance HIV prevention and treatment outcomes.

The lack of care and protection facing children is a global crisis. This paper is part of an inter-agency series originally developed to feed into the global thematic consultation for the post MDG framework: ‘Addressing Inequalities. The Heart of the Post-2015 Development Agenda and the Future We Want for All.’ It looks at the relationship between this lack of care and protection and inequality. It explores how inadequate care and protection produces and contributes to inequalities and how inequality is itself a cause of inadequate care and protection. The paper also examines the long-lasting impact of inadequate care and protection which greatly affects children’s life chances into adulthood, suggesting that inadequate care and protection is in itself a form of inequity.

The lack of care and protection facing children is a global crisis with billions of children experiencing abuse, neglect or exploitation, and many millions growing up outside of families, on the streets or in harmful institutional care. This lack of adequate care and protection is commonly the result of inequalities. Children without adequate care and protection are stigmatized and have inequitable access to basic services which, severely diminishes life chances and creates a spiral of disadvantage. In order to break this spiral, the authors of this report recommend a three-pronged strategy.

In the recently released outcome document of the Fifth International Policy Conference on the African Child, conference delegates call for a reversal of the current trend of resorting to intercountry adoption as a primary solution for African children in need of alternative care, and for giving prime priority to enabling all children in Africa to remain with their families and communities.

The literature review, “Ethical Principles, Dilemmas and Risks in Collecting Data on Violence against Children” aims to capture current thinking around ethical issues and provide empirical support to guide recommendations for ethical research practice and decision-making in collecting data on violence against children (VAC). The review examines documentation that is of specific relevance to research ethics in collecting data on VAC and includes ethics guidelines, codes, protocols and practice related documentation, as well as research-based publications.

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.

The report provides guidance on achieving law reform which gives children in alternative care and day care the protection from all forms of corporal and other cruel and degrading punishment that is their absolute right.

The Proceedings report presents summaries of all presentations delivered and of all plenary discussions held during each session of the Fifth International Policy Conference on the African Child (IPC) held on 29 and 30 May 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which brought together experts, policymakers, and key stakeholders to discuss various issues and the implications of intercountry adoption in Africa.

This guide provides step-by-step guidance and recommendations on how to identify and address gender-related issues that negatively affect vulnerable boys and girls in the local program context. It is intended to be a practical tool for staff involved in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of care and support programs for vulnerable children. It provides directions and recommendations for programs to identify and address gender-related issues that negatively affect vulnerable boys and girls in the local program context.