News & Views

Find out about the High-Level Political Forum — what is it, and why is it so important to the global community.

More than 2,000 representatives of government, civil society, business and United Nations (UN) agencies are meeting at the annual High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) this week in New York.

They’re figuring out if the world is on track to meet six of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set in 2015 for completion by 2030.

The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, of which ChildFund Alliance is a member, issued the following statement on 27 June 2018. 

The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action is an interagency coalition of nearly 100 member organizations working to protect children who face adversity. We call for urgent action to rapidly reunify separated children with their families and end detention, in accordance with their best interests.

Based on our collective experiences, lessons learned, and accepted standards of care and protection for children, we urge all responsible parties to:

• Facilitate rapid family reunification;
• Provide mental health and psychosocial support to children and their families;
• Ensure that administrative and legal procedures meet their best interests; and
• Prevent further family separation by ending the use of detention.

ChildFund Alliance members are undertaking a project in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua designed to improve the well-being of children and youth who are at risk of irregular migration.

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Preventing Irregular Child Migration in Central America (PICMCA)

Christian Children's Fund of Canada (CCFC) is leading a CAD $15.2M regional project in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua designed to improve the well-being of children and youth who are at risk of irregular migration. The Government of Canada is contributing CAD $12.6 million to the four-year project. The initiative addresses a number of the root causes that fuel irregular migration — from high levels of crime and violence, limited employment and educational opportunities, to social exclusion and a lack of information on the inherent dangers of migrating without following the normal immigration procedures. For this project, CCFC is partnering with two non-governmental organizations: ChildFund International and EDUCO.

Annual UN report names 66 perpetrators for abuse and exploitation of children in conflict, including the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen

NEW YORK, June 26, 2018 – The UN Secretary-General’s latest report is evidence of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition’s continued disregard for children’s rights in Yemen, Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres released his annual report on children and armed conflict to UN Security Council members. The report details grave child rights violations in conflicts around the world in 2017, including Yemen. According to the UN’s findings, the Saudi-led coalition was responsible for killing or maiming 670 children in Yemen, out of a total of 1,316 child casualties documented in 2017. It also found that the coalition was responsible for 19 out of 20 documented attacks on schools and nearly half of all attacks on hospitals in Yemen last year.

Right now, as policies and procedures surrounding children separated from their families continue to evolve, a major concern has yet to be resolved: the plight of those thousands who remain removed from their parents. ChildFund International is deeply concerned about their wellbeing. We have been working with children and families on both sides of the border for decades, and will apply that unique expertise and insight to assist these children until they can be reunited.

“These kids are doubly traumatized, first in the dangerous journey from their home countries and then in being taken from the people who love them,” said Anne Lynam Goddard, ChildFund’s president and CEO. “They need much more than basic sustenance. They need emotional support and care. Children who are not in the care of their parents are also even more vulnerable to exploitation and neglect.”

As CEO and Director of ChildFund India, Neelam Makhijani is working to give excluded and vulnerable children the capacity to improve their lives and become adults who bring positive change in their communities.

As a journalist in New York, Neelam Makhijani worked for a leading Asian weekly, where she wrote and commented on South Asian political issues. Her job connected her to many humanitarian initiatives and she decided to take her job on-ground and “be the change she wished to see”.

Today, thousands of people worldwide are beside themselves with excitement at the kickoff of the world’s foremost soccer tournament. Here at ChildFund International we have something else to celebrate: We have teamed up with Coca-Cola, Walmart International and One World Play Project to #PassTheHappiness. Through this worldwide campaign, we will receive a share of 100,000 unpoppable soccer balls for teenagers in our programs.

As the voice behind the Coca-Cola Anthem for the 2018 World Cup, artist Jason Derulo joined Coca-Cola as spokesperson of the #PassTheHappiness campaign to help bring the power of play to underprivileged youth globally.

“This is a great opportunity to give back, not only to my home country of Haiti, but to teenagers around the world,” Jason Derulo says, juggling a One World FutbolTM at his home outside Los Angeles. “This ball is amazing.”

Recent reports have shown that Papua New Guinea (PNG) is one of the most dangerous countries for mothers and pregnant women. According to the aid agency ChildFund Australia, women in PNG are 35 times more likely to die during pregnancy than women in Australia.

One of the biggest issues that leads to death or severe complications for both the mother and child is a lack of supervised births at adequate birthing facilities. In 2016, only 40 percent of women in PNG gave birth at a health facility with a specialized birth attendant.

“No woman should die giving birth. Yet in a country just 160 kilometers north of Australia, women are losing their lives every day during childbirth due to unsafe conditions and causes that are completely preventable,”

Our progress for positive change in Paraguay is setting the stage for collaboration with governments and civil-society organizations around the world

If you’ve ever been to Paraguay, you might understand the feeling of community you experience from people in all corners of the country. I experienced this genuine welcome on my recent trip there a few days ago, but my eyes were also opened to one side of the country I couldn’t see.

I couldn’t see what happens behind closed doors. Jorge Méndez Rheineck, our country director in Paraguay, spoke frankly about the situation: “Violence against children in the home is a problem for too many. Worse, children suffer sexual abuse from adults they trust — relatives, family, friends and neighbours,” he said.