Alliance Initiatives
- by Ariana Zambada
ChildFund Alliance’s global network of 12 members help nearly 23 million children and their families in 70 countries to overcome poverty and the underlying conditions that prevent children from achieving their full potential. We work to end violence against children; provide our expertise in emergencies and disasters to ease the harmful impact on children and their communities; and engage children and youth to create lasting change and elevate their voices in decisions that affect their lives.
Over the years, our members have engaged in global initiatives to achieve a world free from violence and create sustainable solutions that protect and promote children’s rights and their well-being. In recent years, major ChildFund initiatives have included our Child-friendly Accountability initiative, ChildFund Pass It Back, and Free from Violence.
Child-friendly Accountability
ChildFund Alliance developed the Child-friendly Accountability initiative to meaningfully engage children in the global effort to eradicate all forms of violence against children. This initiative is helping children access age-appropriate data and information to contribute to monitoring child protection systems, to support children in holding their governments and local authorities accountable to their commitments in SDG target 16.2, and to advocate for international, national and local systems and policies focused on eliminating violence against children.
Pass it Back
ChildFund Australia implemented a major international partnership with World Rugby to change children’s lives through the transformative power of sport, as part of Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan. The partnership has helped young people in developing communities in Asia learn essential life skills through the ChildFund Pass it Back sport for development program, and assisted with emergency relief efforts in disaster-affected areas in Japan.
Preventing Irregular Child Migration in Central America (PICMCA)
In spring 2017, ChildFund Alliance members Children Believe, Educo, and ChildFund International launched an initiative in partnership with the government of Canada to improve the conditions driving the irregular migration of unaccompanied children to the United States. The joint effort aims to reduce the threats to migrant children and youth while improving the conditions that cause them to flee their homes.
Free from Violence
ChildFund’s Free from Violence campaign urged stakeholders to prioritize the protection of children from violence and exploitation. ChildFund gathered opinions on violence against children from more than 16,000 children worldwide. Their top three calls to world leaders were to create and enforce legislation against violence, to fund and run awareness campaigns at all levels, and to ensure offenders are punished so that children feel safe. As the United Nations General Assembly prepared to discuss the future global priorities, children delivered a resounding statement on the importance of eradicating violence against them. The United Nations’ new Sustainable Development Goals, adopted shortly after the campaign in 2015, included a stand-alone target on violence against children.