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Accelerating momentum towards child-sensitive, shock-responsive social protection
Social protection has emerged as a crucial policy and programme measure to reduce poverty and help those impacted by crises to prepare for, cope with and recover from shocks. Despite the recognition of the value of social protection, only 26.4 per cent of children globally receive social protection benefits. Global data on access to social protection for displaced children is not available, but gaps are likely even higher as displaced children and their families are often excluded in policies and…
This research report, developed by the IPC-IG and the UNICEF MENA Regional Office for Middle East and North Africa, presents five case studies that demonstrate how integrated social protection and child protection systems enhance efficiency, especially of the social service workforce, and improve socio-economic and child outcomes: Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Egypt, and Brazil.
Children account for 2.5 million (almost half) of the Syrian refugee population, and child protection remains a core element of UNHCR’s protection response.
UNHCR has been promoting research projects aimed at assessing the contribution of different cash assistance modalities for enhancing child protection outcomes and improving the well-being of refugee children and their households. UNHCR cash assistance programs in the MENA region are some of the largest and most advanced cash programs in the world. UNHCR distributed over US$ 230 million in cash assistance across the region in 2018…
The aim of this report from SOS Children's Villages is to increase the knowledge and understanding of the needs and rights of young people ageing out of alternative care around the world, in order to inform strategies, policies and services to improve their life chances and outcomes through appropriate preparation for leaving care as well as after-care support. The specific objectives of the research were to highlight facts and figures (or in some cases, lack thereof) on the experiences and challenges of young people leaving care, including through their own voice and the testimony of experts…
This report examines what family means to children and adults in the following countries: Brazil, India, Guyana, South Africa, Egypt, Mexico, Russia, Kenya. The storytellers use evidence from 59 short films made using digital storytelling technique.
Through this technique, it was found that there are a range of family types, all with equal value in children’s lives. Many who made the films spent significant parts of their childhood living with extended family. Many spoke on the pain of separation.
The report notes that policies should not support one family type from another…
This paper describes a study that assessed the attitudes of people in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan toward the implementation of foster care as an alternative to institutions for children. According to the paper, many middle and low-income countries continue to utilize large institutional settings as the predominant model of alternative care for children, despite growing evidence that these settings are detrimental to children's development. Middle Eastern children and youth who have been institutionalized often experience a high degree of stigma upon returning to…
This report presents an overview of the Millennium Development Goals and ‘A World Fit for Children’ commitments, the situation of children in the Islamic world, and the constraints and challenges facing children in the region in regards to health, education, poverty, child protection, and HIV/AIDS. The report asks “are we fulfilling our commitment to children?”
Based on research undertaken in 2003, evidence indicated that an average of 110 new born babies were being abandoned in Khartoum every month. Half were estimated to die before receiving any assistance while those who survived abandonment were admitted to a state orphanage.
Social stigma attached to children born out of wedlock: while Islam positively values the care of orphaned and abandoned children by others, the legal recognition of the relationship between the orphaned child and their caregivers is based on the system of Kafala — the Islamic duty to save any…
Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, reducing child mortality and achieving all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) related to health and education are largely dependent on progress in nutrition. If undernutrition is not successfully addressed, it will be difficult to reach the other MDGs. Every year, it is estimated that undernutrition contributes to the deaths of about 5.6 million children under the age of fi ve. One out of every four children under five – or 146 million children in the developing world – is underweight for his or her age, and at increased risk of an early death.…
As the HIV/AIDS epidemic strikes at the heart of family and community support structures, large numbers of older people are assuming responsibility for bringing up orphans and vulnerable children. Family structures are changing. Often the middle generation – both men and women – is completely absent, leaving the old and young to support each other.
This means that families of older carers and orphans and vulnerable children are compelled to take on new roles. Older people make up a significant proportion of the poorest, and HIV/AIDS exacerbates the extreme poverty faced by older-…