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This report from SOS Children’s Villages and the University of Bedfordshire provides reviews and assessments of the implementation of the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children in 21 countries around the world. The report is aimed at enhancing knowledge around violence against children in alternative care (especially what makes children vulnerable and what puts them at risk) and providing policymakers and practitioners insight into the challenges of protecting children from violence as well as recommendations for change.
The report offers several key findings from an extensive…
Alternative Care Briefing of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
This presentation, produced by Better Care Network (BCN), International Social Service (ISS), Save the Children, and SOS Children's Villages, was given at a recent briefing of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC). The Committee met in Ethiopia on 12 April 2014 with the purpose of discussing how to increase visibility, understanding and support for child protection systems strengthening and child care reform within this process. The objectives of the Alternative Care Briefing were to increase the understanding of and recommendations on the…
This report - produced by SOS Children’s Villages, Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland, and the University of Malawi - is based on a synthesis of eight assessments of the implementation of the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children (“the Guidelines”) in Benin, Gambia, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
It considers common challenges to implementing the Guidelines identified in the eight countries and provides a platform for effective advocacy to promote every child’s right to quality care. At the end of each chapter, the report provides…
Thirteen agencies* working in Africa have issued a Joint Statement calling on African governments to strengthen their child protection systems to secure the right of children to a life free from violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect in both emergency and non-emergency settings. The agencies, which include UNICEF, as well as networks of NGOs, delivered their recommendations during the 22nd Session of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, on 6 November 2013, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The Joint Statement draws on a…
Cette déclaration a été développée à partir d’un ensemble grandissant de pratiques et de faits probants sur le renforcement des systèmes de protection de l’enfance en Afrique subsaharienne1 et s’inspire du dialogue et des résultats d’une conférence interinstitutionnelle sur le sujet qui a eu lieu à Dakar au Sénégal en mai 2012.
Son objectif est (i) de présenter une vision commune des systèmes de protection de l’enfance en Afrique subsaharienne et d’expliquer pourquoi ils sont importants et méritent des investissements et (ii) lancer un appel à l’action auprès des…
This brief was prepared by the Rwandan Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF), requesting the Cabinet to approve the proposed child care reform strategy and to support its implementation. The brief outlines the aims and long-term goals of the reform, including transforming Rwanda’s current child care and protection system into a family-based, family strengthening system and supporting vulnerable families to remain together. The brief also highlights the benefits of the strategy and describes the current situation in Rwanda in regards to children’s care, particularly orphanages and…
The sheer number of orphaned and vulnerable children is overwhelming. Many well-meaning donors are funding orphanages as a solution to the problem. However, orphanages are expensive and can only reach small numbers of children. Research by the World Bank in Tanzania, for example, found the cost of operating orphanages to be six times higher than the cost of caring for children in the community. Most importantly, orphanages separate children from family and community life. They often fail to meet children’s developmental needs and do not prepare them for adult life in the larger society. While…
This brief report addresses the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS on children and families in Sub-Saharan Africa, a region that is home to over 80% of the 15 million children under the age of 18 who have been orphaned by the pandemic worldwide. The health, education, safety, and survival of increasing numbers of children are particularly at risk in African countries that are heavily affected by HIV/AIDS, poverty and disease. The most promising solutions to this mounting crisis look beyond orphanages and institutional care to more sustainable, cost-effective, and developmentally appropriate…
Farm Orphan Support Trust of Zimbabwe (FOST) undertook this study into child headed households on commercial farms in April/May 2002 with the aim of identifying their problems and needs and planning potential interventions.
The unique nature of farm worker communities makes them particularly vulnerable to the effects of HIV/AIDS. In particular, the lack of traditional safety nets within these communities increases the vulnerability of children, especially orphaned children.
The methodology employed for the study was action research oriented and involved interviewing 17 child headed…