World Vision deepens its commitment to improve the lives of vulnerable children by joining forces with peer organisations in Senegal and Kenya

Jeudi 10 septembre 2020 - 15:41

In mid-April, Joining Forces Alliance for Children (JFA) members (ChildFund, Plan International, Save the Children, SOS Children’s Villages, Terre des Hommes, World Vision, and Educo) were invited by the European Commission to submit a proposal that would address the needs of children in terms of child protection, with a particular emphasis on child participation/consultation during the COVID-19 crisis. JFA members in five selected countries (Senegal, Kenya, Mali, Ethiopia and Uganda) gathered and documented current country contexts in light of COVID-19, key humanitarian concerns, ongoing initiatives evolving around child protection and participation, as well as possible target groups. Since not all seven agencies could implement in all five project countries, discussions took place at global and national level about implementation structures and strategies.

On August 7th, World Vision and JFA partners signed a €10.7 million grant for a new project, ‘Joining Forces for Africa (JOFA)- protecting children during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond’. The project seeks to reduce the levels of violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect experienced by children and adolescents in the selected countries over the next three years. More than 718,000 children and adolescents will actively participate in project activities across the five implementation countries.

With support from World Vision Germany, World Vision’s teams from Senegal and Kenya were nominated to steer the design process in-country. In Senegal and Kenya, World Vision is responsible for the oversight, coordination and effective implementation of the JOFA project. The intervention revolves around four specific objectives: strengthening national and local protection and response systems (SO1); improving the protection of children living in resilient families, communities and institutions (SO2); increasing the capacity and agency of children themselves to prevent and respond to violence against them (SO3); increasing learning and sharing of knowledge and best practices related to child protection approaches during the COVID-19 crisis and recovery phase (SO4).

The JOFA project is designed to respond rapidly to the global COVID-19 pandemic emergency, with the involvement of over 718,200 children, 23,600 parents and caregivers, 3,100 child protection service providers and 2,800 education actors across five countries. More than 2,508,000 children from zero to 17 years and 9,831,000 adults will be indirectly impacted by the project. The intervention seeks to address the most marginalised vulnerable populations in the five target African countries. The grant comes in the middle of a global pandemic that will continue to evolve, both in terms of disease prevalence as well as social and economic impacts. JOFA partners seek to address the immediate protection needs of children and will regularly assess the evolving needs of the target populations and ensure implementation approaches are modified for maximum impact.

In Senegal, the project will in particular target adolescent girls and boys in the regions of Kolda, Dakar, Diourbel and Kaolack that are most at risk of sexual violence, physical and emotional abuse and harmful practices against girls. This concerns particularly girls that face enhanced risk of sexual exploitation, child marriage and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Another focus will be put on talibé (West African equivalent of madrasa) children (mainly boys that study in Koranic schools) that are often forced to beg in the streets and left without parental protection.

“We are proud to lead this initiative in Senegal.  The Government of Senegal, through the Ministry of Women, Family and Gender, initiated the emergency protection plan for street children against COVID-19. This plan is a historic opportunity for all actors to converge towards a common strategy to address the immediate protection needs of children and build a longer-term structural approach to the protection, health and education of these children. Through this project, together as Joining Forces partners, we have the opportunity to contribute to this plan, and to minimise the vulnerabilities of children –especially girls, who are forced to stay at home or go to the streets where they face greater risks, especially in the context of school closures..” Antoinette Habinshuti, National Director, World Vision Senegal.

In Kenya, the project will target children living in Kakuma Refugee Camp, in Turkana county; children living in communities along the Kenya and Uganda border, in Bungoma and Busia counties; and children living in the informal settlements in Nairobi city. Girls living in Kakuma Refugee Camp are mostly at risk of sexual violence, which often results into teenage pregnancies. Along the Kenya-Uganda border, girls are mostly at risk of commercial sexual exploitation, while in the Nairobi informal settlements, the risk of all children to sexual violence remains a persistent concern.

“A children’s rights crisis is brewing in Kenya as COVID-19 ravages parents’ and caregivers’ ability to meet the basic needs of their children. We are already witnessing alarming levels of secondary effects of COVID-19 on children due to lost income and livelihoods by families.  As a result, child abuse in the form of child labour as children are exploited as under-age labourers to supplement lost family income, early marriage for economic gain, children begging on the streets, child sexual exploitation, amongst others, are on the increase at unprecedented levels.  Children also lack access to basic health services as already-weak health systems become overburdened and de-prioritise basic vaccinations and immunisations for children as they focus on COVID-19 responses. We are observing a worrying reversal in gains made over the years in fighting child violence and vulnerability.  This funding from EU is therefore timely, and will make a difference in supporting our efforts, as Joining Forces Alliance in Kenya, to come to the aid of the most vulnerable children who are hardest hit by the secondary impacts of COVID-19 in Kenya” – Lilian Dodzo, National Director, World Vision Kenya

As European Union policy makers have recognised, children are the hidden victims; facing threats to their wellbeing and protection as a result of the increased risks of violence and abuse. Infection prevention control measures that national governments have taken to limit the spread of the disease have a direct impact on the lives of children and their increased exposure to violence. The project targets countries where the pre-existing child protection needs were severe; where COVID-19 infection is present and already impacting children’s protection; and where the unique collaboration of the Joining Forces agencies (represented by a consortium of experienced EU fund implementers) could achieve greater impact to strengthen government and community capacity to protect children from violence during COVID-19. This project is therefore a demonstration that, through an effective collaboration between members of the Alliance, we can have a bigger impact on children’s wellbeing.

---

Authored by:

Antoinette Habinshuti | National Director, World Vision Senegal; Lilian Dodzo | National Director, World Vision Kenya; Caroline Klein | World Vision Deutschland; Antoinette Chibi | Resource Acquisition & Management Director; World Vision Senegal

---

Also Read: