Mine Risk Education Project of UNICEF: A Formative Evaluation

Two decades of war in Sri Lanka have given rise to the problem of landmines and unexploded ordnances threatening the lives of civilians in the Northeast. The United Nations and government of Sri Lanka initiated a mine action programme, which includes a Mine Risk Education Programme. Supported by UNICEF, it has been implemented since 1997 in the Jaffna District and Vanni region in close co-ordination with UNDP. Today, MRE has reached a professional standard, using tried and tested tools to promote mine-safe behaviour. This formative evaluation study assesses the effect of MRE on the beneficiary communities. Field research was carried out in a total of six Divisional Secretary divisions. The evaluation involved the following procedures: Review of project documents and secondary data Key informant interviews Content analysis of selected educational material used in mine risk education A household survey covering a sample of 360 households The study discusses the findings, and concludes that MRE either through mass or small media, has been instrumental in forming information channels among beneficiaries. The evaluation also identified a few challenges affecting the current MRE activities and some possible remedial action

UNICEF 2012 Annual Report

2012 was a year of recognizing results for children. As the Millennium Development Goals deadline approaches, we have cause to celebrate declining poverty rates, the near eradication of polio, increased immunizations, more girls attending school, improved access to clean water and nutrition, and more children surviving and thriving beyond their fifth birthdays than ever before. But results are no excuse for rest. Too many children continue to struggle, clinging to the lowest rungs of the development ladder: a boy missing out on a vaccination because he lives in a remote, hard-to-reach community; a girl denied her rightful place in the classroom; parents trapped in conflict zones, desperate for food, water and medicine for their children; and millions of children socially excluded because of their gender or ethnicity, or because they have a disability. These children must be reached. In 2012, we set out to reach more of them by targeting our programmes all the more on these children, streamlining our operations and harnessing innovations in order to deliver greater, more cost-effective results. We celebrated the launch of Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed, an exciting new chapter in the global movement to end preventable child deaths. By the end of 2012, 168 governments and more than 400 representatives from civil society and faith-based organizations pledged to redouble efforts to give every child the best possible start in life. Humanitarian emergencies continued to dominate headlines – and much of our organization’s attention. In all, UNICEF and its partners responded to 286 humanitarian situations in 79 countries. For example, we provided almost 19 million people with access to clean water, and in the Sahel, treated more than 920,000 children under the age of five who were suffering from severe acute malnutrition. To help the children and families caught up in the horrific conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic, UNICEF worked with partners there and in nearby countries to supply vaccines to more than 1.4 million children against measles, to deliver winter provisions, medicines and non-food items to more than 263,000 people, and to provide an uninterrupted education for some 79,000 affected children. This assistance included the growing number of refugees beyond the country’s borders. We also brought increased accountability and transparency to our business functions by joining the International Aid Transparency Initiative and expanding public disclosure of internal audit reports, evaluations and country office annual reports. After a thorough review of results achieved and a vigorous debate around future goals, we are finishing a new strategic plan for 2014–2017 that places equity for children at its centre. Our goal is to reach every child, everywhere, no matter how distant or remote, no matter what barriers stand in the way. We will not reach this goal without your support. Despite these challenging economic times, you have given our work an unmistakably clear vote of confidence through increased financial support. Your dedication to UNICEF’s mission is a critical investment in the future of the world’s children. An investment we must make, for their sake and ours

External Evaluation of UNICEF support to Rehabilitation/Reintegration of Mine/UXO Victims and Disabled People

Support for the rehabilitation and reintegration of mine victims and disabled people provided through the Child Protection Programme is well targeted and guided by an appropriately informed and considered strategy. The choice of projects covers several of the Programme\u27s key focal areas including health and education, policy and mainstreaming of disability into humanitarian responses. Current partners provide the program good geographic coverage, effective use of existing resources and constructive engagement of government and community stakeholders. There is ample evidence that support from UNICEF\u27s Child Protection Programme has played a significant role in reducing discrimination and promoting the full development and inclusion of children with disabilities. Based on the findings of the evaluation, there does not appear to be any need for major shift in the direction of programming; rather refinement of existing strategies and adjustments in the way the Child Protection Programme works with other programs and supported partners. The evaluation recommends the Programme adopt a series of guiding principles and indicative strategies that will not only help better define its strategic framework, but provide clearer guidance to potential partners as to what is expected in terms of project design. Equally, resolving issues with how country level programming is translated into complementary and coordinated responses on the ground will significantly enhance program impact and achievement of UNICEF\u27s Child Protection Programme stated objectives. Over the next three to five years the program should focus on refining and further systematizing current strategies. It should also continue to fund partner efforts to build district and community level capacity and complete the transition of project activities to local players. As these transitions progress, levels of support needed by existing partners should decrease, allowing the Child Protection Programme to engage new projects. Most of the change required therefore rests in the Programme adopting a more strategic focus in the support it offers partners, arguing for greater flexibility in funding, and for the immediate future maintaining adequate levels of funding to current partners in order to achieve the successful evolution and localization of existing projects

United Nations Children’s Fund

The material in this publication has been commissioned by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The contents do not necessarily reflect the policies or the views of UNICEF. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply on the part of UNICEF the expression of any opinion whatsoever concerning the legal status of any country or territory, or of its authorities or the delimitation of its frontiers. The text has not been edited to official publication standards and UNICEF accepts no responsibility for errors. Any part of this publication may be freely reproduced with the appropriate acknowledgement. For more information, please contac

Defining goal terms in development and health

YesMost academic literature uses ‘goal’, ‘aim’, ‘objective’ and ‘target’ as synonymous terms, but development and healthcare sectors define them as distinct etymological entities with varied and confusing interpretations. This review sought to constructively harmonise and differentiate each definition using a thematic framework. An inductive synthesis of definitions of the goal terms collected from 22 literature sources selected through a systematic internet search. Thirty-three specific definitions were reduced through serial category-building to single general definitions, and a set of theoretical themes generated as characteristic framework of each goal. Seven conceptual themes evolved from the synthesis, including the object, scope, hierarchy, timeframe, measurability, significance and expression of each goal term. Two terms, ‘goal’ and ‘aim’ are thematically similar as broad objects of immeasurable terminal impact, with a long-term timeframe. They signify organisational success, expressed as general purpose statements. ‘Objective’ is differentiated as a specific object of measurable intermediate outcome, with short-term timeframe. It signifies intervention effectiveness, expressed as a SMART statement. ‘Target’ is simply a specific quantifiable level of an indicator. Goal, aim, objective and target are conceptually different. New frameworks for writing complete goal statements are proposed, including impact and timeframe; and outcome, indicator and timeframe frameworks for aim and objective respectivel

The translation of articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into education legislation:the narrowing of Article 12 as a consequence of translation

This paper is concerned with the inclusion, exclusion and reshaping of articles within the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as they are translated into English education legislation. The CRC comprises 54 articles aimed at outlining rights and freedoms for children and was ratified by the United Kingdom (UK) government in 1991. The paper builds on a previous publication by the authors which highlighted how the mobilisation of articles within the CRC into professional practice undergoes multiple translations. This paper takes an in‐depth and critical look at the first stage of the translation process in which articles are mobilised from the CRC into national legislation. Specifically, the paper presents findings from a documentary analysis which explored the translation of principles pertaining to Article 12 of the CRC into English Education Regulations, Acts and Statutory Guidance for schools. Findings demonstrate that the reshaping of the article within education legislation strongly reflects the government's priorities and agendas. The study raises new insights into the need to establish processes to ensure the full mobilisation of Article 12 and questions whether specific principles pertaining to the article could or should be incorporated into national legislative systems.Output Status: Forthcoming/Available Onlin

Achieving gender equality in learning outcomes: Evidence from a non-formal education program in Bangladesh

Non-formal education (NFE) programs have been a long standing approach to educating marginalized children, especially girls, across the developing world. Though such programs provide girls expanded access to learning opportunities, the evidence of whether enhanced access actually leads girls to achieve on par with boys remains limited. I analyze the academic achievement of girls relative to boys in a sample of 1,203 children participating in a NFE program in rural Bangladesh, known as SHIKHON which means “learning” in Bengali. I find strong correlational evidence that gender is not significantly associated with achievement; on average, girls achieve on par with boys across four subject areas including literacy (English and Bangla), numeracy, science and social science

Socio-economic factors associated with delivery assisted by traditional birth attendants in Iraq, 2000

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Traditional birth attendants (TBAs) are likely to deliver lower quality maternity care compared to professional health workers. It is important to characterize women who are assisted by TBAs in order to design interventions specific to such groups. We thus conducted a study to assess if socio-economic status and demographic factors are associated with having childbirth supervised by traditional birth attendants in Iraq.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Iraqi Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) data for 2000 were used. We estimated frequencies and proportions of having been delivered by a traditional birth attendant and other social characteristics. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between having been delivered by a TBA and wealth, area of residence (urban versus rural), parity, maternal education and age.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Altogether 22,980 women participated in the survey, and of these women, 2873 had delivery information and whether they were assisted by traditional birth attendants (TBAs) or not during delivery. About 1 in 5 women (26.9%) had been assisted by TBAs. Compared to women of age 35 years or more, women of age 25–34 years were 22% (AOR = 1.22, 95%CI [1.08, 1.39]) more likely to be assisted by TBAs during delivery. Women who had no formal education were 42% (AOR = 1.42, 95%CI [1.22, 1.65]) more likely to be delivered by TBAs compared to those who had attained secondary or higher level of education. Women in the poorest wealth quintile were 2.52 (AOR = 2.52, 95%CI [2.14, 2.98]) more likely to be delivered by TBAs compared to those in the richest quintile. Compared to women who had 7 or more children, those who had 1 or 2 were 28% (AOR = 0.72, 95%CI [0.59, 0.87]) less likely to be delivered by TBAs.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Findings from this study indicate that having delivery supervised by traditional birth attendants was associated with young maternal age, low education, and being poor. Meanwhile women having 1 or 2 children were less likely to be delivered by TBAs. These factors should be considered in the design of interventions to reduce the rate of deliveries assisted by TBAs in favour of professional midwives, and consequently reduce maternal and neonatal mortality rates and other adverse events.</p

Returning children home from care: What can be learned from local authority data?

International Human Rights and child rights conventions as well as U.K. wide legislation and guidance require that children in care should be returned home to one or both parents wherever possible. Reunification with parents is the most common route out of care, but rates of re‐entry are often higher than for other exit routes. This study used 8 years of administrative data (on 2,208 care entrants), collected by one large English local authority, to examine how many children were returned home and to explore factors associated with stable reunification (not re‐entering care for at least 2 years). One‐third of children (36%) had been reunified, with adolescent entrants being the most likely age group to return home. Three quarters (75%) of reunified children had a stable reunification. In a fully adjusted regression model, age at entry, being on a care order prior to return home, staying longer in care, being of minority ethnicity, and having fewer placements in care were all significant in predicting chances of stable reunification. The results underline the importance of properly resourcing reunification services. The methods demonstrate the value to local authorities of analysing their own data longitudinally to understand the care pathways for children they look after