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Prepared over a period of one year from September 2015 to September 2016, UNICEF, in partnership with relevant agencies and governments, presents feedback and lessons learned from the Child Protection Programme during the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) epidemic response in West Africa from August 2014 to December 2015.
The report examines three affected countries – Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea – to analyse the degree to which the response was successful in addressing the scale and unique nature of the child protection situation that arose due to the epidemic. Key lessons learned and…
Abstract
Traditionally, Ghanaian families facing difficulties address their problems by engaging kin, with the State being the last point of call. However, in recent times, more families facing difficulties are contacting social services to seek redress. So what contribution are kin and other informal social support networks providing to the care and safety of children of such families? This paper presents findings from 15 families receiving services from the Department of Social Welfare in Sekondi, Ghana. Through semistructured in‐depth interviews, the families shared their views on the…
ABSTRACT
Using inter-agency action research in Sierra Leone, this chapter provides a case study on how a highly collaborative approach can enable child protection research to achieve a significant national impact. The chapter describes how the inter-agency research facilitated a communitydriven approach to addressing teenage pregnancy. The promising results obtained before the Ebola crisis helped shape a new Child and Family Welfare Policy that featured the role of families and communities rather than formal structures. Then it examines how the social process of the research enabled it to…
Abstract
Background: Kogi State recognizes the necessity of meeting the needs of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) with compassionate care as a result broad range vulnerabilities faced by these children and their families. This paper therefore presents achievements and implications of care and support programme among OVC in Kogi State, Nigeria
Methods: Five civil society organizations were engaged by Kogi State Agency for the Control of AIDS under HIV/AIDS fund (HAF) II project to provide care and support services for OVC. A total of 3700 OVC were reached with this intervention and…
This chapter discusses the practice of child circulation in Ghana. Coe notes that in Ghana, child circulation is not meant to break a child’s connection with biological parents. It is meant to increase the child’s social connections and support structure. Per Coe, when Ghanaians go abroad, they often look to place their children in other households, generally in the homes of people not related to them in the country of migration. Traditionally in Ghana, children are known to belong to multiple mothers and fathers.
Coe discusses the two types of circulation associated with…
Abstract
Côte d’Ivoire has one of the highest adult HIV prevalence rates in West Africa; HIV has directly affected an estimated 440,000 orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). Some support programs use community caregivers (CC) to provide care and support to children left vulnerable by the epidemic. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact that the use of a CC service provision model had on outcomes for children orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS in Côte d’Ivoire. A sequential mixed-methods design was used, making use of both quantitative (survey) and qualitative (focus…
The primary objective of this document is to provide a “linking and learning forum” for member organizations of the Parenting in Africa Network (PAN). The document, which highlights best practices in parenting and family strengthening interventions, is also intended as an advocacy tool to promote skillful parenting. The document evaluates several programs and interventions throughout Africa, most of which are implemented by PAN members and which are all aimed at strengthening families for the wellbeing of children. All of the programs surveyed regard parents and caregivers as significant…
This video, presented by Better Care Network and UNICEF, highlights the increased risk of family separation faced by children with special needs and advocates for the provision of quality family-based care to children who cannot be with their parents or extended families. The video gives an inside look at an assisted family setting in Ghana where children with disabilities live with their foster mothers. The video features interviews with the foster mothers, who describe the care and affection they provide to the children, as well as an interview with Iddris Abdallah, …
This presentation describes research undertaken in Sierra Leone by an inter-agency group to map the child protection system in the country, including the community-based child protection mechanisms (CBCPMs) in place. The presentation asks "have we mapped CBCPMs adequately in mappings of national systems? Which CBCPMs do people actually use, and how they are linked with and supported by formal aspects of the national child protection system?"
Les enfants et les familles vulnérables ont besoin d’un système de soutien social qui réponde aux problèmes qu’ils rencontrent grâce à des solutions efficaces et durables. Les observations présentées dans ce rapport sont un « cliché instantané » des pratiques prometteuses en matière de développement et de pérennité de la communauté. Ce rapport explique comment SOS Villages d’Enfants contribue à l’autonomisation des communautés, qui soutiennent ensuite elles-mêmes les enfants vulnérables et leurs familles.