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There is growing global recognition that violence against women and violence against children, and in particular intimate partner violence against women and violence against children by parents or caregivers, intersect in different ways. As global evidence of and interest in these intersections continue to grow, strategies are needed to enhance collaborations across these fields and thus ensure the best outcomes for both women and children. In response, the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI), the UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight, and the UNDP/UNFPA/UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction hosted by WHO’s Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health, partnered to coordinate a global participatory process to identify research priorities that relate to the intersections between violence against children and violence against women.
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In an effort to mitigate the negative socioeconomic consequences of the COVID-19 containment measures in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), UNICEF and the World Food Programme initiated a cash transfer programme in the peri-urban commune of Nsélé, near Kinshasa, the capital of DRC. The intervention reached about 23,000 households in the initial humanitarian phase which lasted for 3 months, and then scaled down to reach about 16,000 of the most vulnerable households for an additional 6 months of a social protection phase. A complimentary intervention to the cash transfer trained local associations and communities in women’s leadership, women’s rights, gender-based violence and positive masculinity, and financial management of income-generating activities. This report presents the design of an impact evaluation of the intervention, the findings from the evaluation, and recommendations for policy and further research. The quantitative analysis found limited impacts of the intervention on household food security, resilience based coping, and dietary diversity which were the primary outcomes of interest. Qualitative interviews however showed more positive experiences and appreciation for the intervention. The study attributes the limited impacts of the intervention to challenges with implementation which needs to be addressed before scaling up. Important lessons about targeting will help the Government with designing the national comprehensive register for social protection.

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Vera Bersudskaya; Frank Otchere; Nyasha Tirivayi; Mathilde Van Drooghenbroeck
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The Government of Angola and its Development Partners developed and implemented Apoio à Protecção Social - APROSOC (‘Strengthening and expanding social protection to the vulnerable population in Angola’) between 2014 and 2022 as a first step towards establishing a national social protection system. A key component of the programme, Valor Criança, the first-ever cash transfer programme in Angola, was a child-sensitive unconditional social cash transfer programme targeted at households with children zero- to five-year-olds in selected municipalities prone to food-insecurity. Beyond the cash, the programme adopted a cash ‘plus’ approach providing linkages to services such as support to birth registration, early childhood development, nutrition counselling, income generation activities, adolescent empowerment, and Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS). Evidence on the effectiveness of social assistance programmes in Angola is limited. This study addresses this evidence gap by examining the impacts of the Valor Criança programme on various domains of child and household well-being. The study also investigates the impacts on gender equality outcomes using the conceptual framework developed as part of the Gender-Responsive Age-Sensitive Social Protection (GRASSP) research programme (2018-2023) led by UNICEF Innocenti and funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The study examined in detail the following research questions: 1) What are the impacts of the Valor Criança on caregivers and children?, 2) What are the broader impacts of the Valor Criança on households?, 3) How do design and implementation features of the APROSOC and Valor Criança influence programme objectives and outcomes? and 4) How do household and caregiver characteristics shape the impact of the cash transfer programme? Lastly, the report findings help formulate policy and research recommendations in support of policy actions towards creation of a nationwide social assistance programme in Angola.
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Including Refugee Learners in National Education Systems identifies key factors that underpin effective inclusion of refugee learners in national education systems and outlines barriers to achieving this goal. Based on an in-depth review of global evidence and literature and interviews with key stakeholders in refugee education, the report highlights key findings, including the importance of: • Government leadership and coordination efforts • Effective international cooperation • Awareness of policies and guidance with education systems • Capacity to support refugee inclusion. The report presents in-depth country case studies from Ecuador and Rwanda, providing information on diverse regional and country frameworks relating to educational inclusion. The Rwanda case study suggests that refugee inclusion in education can be achieved with a broad orientation towards inclusion and non-discrimination, even in the absence of specific policies and strategies focused on refugees. The Ecuador case study emphasizes that positive policies do not always filter down to those with responsibility to implement them and highlights the importance of efforts to ensure that teachers, school administrators and district-level staff are aware of new policies and have the capacity to enact them.

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Rachel Marcus; Susan Nicolai; Carmen León-Himmelstine; Shelby Carvalho; Asma Zubair; Ruth Rodas-Kamminga
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How can countries engage teachers, parents, and learners in the successful of scale-up digital learning solutions? EDUINO, North Macedonia's platform for digital learning, fostered a community of practice and successfully crowdsourced a large amount of educational content from teachers and educators around the country within weeks of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This research presents factors that enabled the rapid development and scale-up of EDUINO at a systems, school, and classroom level. Research findings in the brief are organized around four key implementation strategies: 1. Developing and crowdsourcing curriculum-aligned learning content 2. Fostering user engagement through a community of practice 3. Furthering teacher capacity for digital learning, and 4. Reaching students with disabilities and other learning barriers.

In this publication we report our Evidence and Gap Mapping (EGM) of “Inclusive Interventions for Children with Disabilities in LMICs”. It shows that research is lacking in many critical areas: awareness and non-discrimination, protection, adequate standard of living, family and community life, and empowerment – that represent critical areas of policy and programming in need of robust evidence to improve inclusion and participation. Specific areas overlooked include tackling harmful stereotypes, tackling abuse and violence and ways to reduce stigma; on improving accessibility to water, sanitation, hygiene, housing and food; and interventions that aim for children with disabilities to enjoy their right to be heard, to play and to have their views considered in all matters affecting them. Health research covers 3 in 4 of all studies in our EGM, but there is little evidence on improving access to general health services and accessibility for children with disabilities in healthcare settings. Inclusive education was moderately represented, but lacked the detail to understand how it was implemented or if inclusive education was effective in improving (or harming) academic outcomes, school readiness, graduation rates or the quality of educational services. The companion protocol for the EGM can be found at this link Please also see our EGM on Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Interventions

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Anil Thota; Ebele Mogo; Dominic Igbelina; Greg Sheaf; Rahma Mustafa; Shivit Bakrania; Alberto Vásquez Encalada; Gavin Wood
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This brief undertakes a regional analysis of the impact of the war in Ukraine – and subsequent economic downturn – on the situation of children in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. We specifically examine the impacts on child poverty, school years lost, and infant mortality. Based on a demographic snapshot of the region, our models predict that an additional 10 million people – including about 4 million children – will be pushed into poverty compared to pre-war predictions. About 4,500 more children will die before their first birthday, and 117,000 years of schooling will be lost. The brief concludes with implications for the work of UNICEF and government partners in addressing these poverty risks.

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Dominic Richardson; Frank Otchere; Alberto Musatti
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Integrated social protection programmes are increasingly being pursued as more effective and efficient ways to improve children’s health and nutrition outcomes.

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Maja Gavrilovic; Erin Cullen; Essa Chanie Mussa; Frank Otchere; Tia Palermo; Sarah Quinones; Vincenzo Vinci
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Integrated social protection programmes are increasingly being pursued as more effective and efficient ways to improve children’s health and nutrition outcomes.

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Maja Gavrilovic; Erin Cullen; Essa Chanie Mussa; Frank Otchere; Tia Palermo; Sarah Quinones; Vincenzo Vinci
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According to children and youth in Canada, what were the negative and positive impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their lives? How did they experience changes in their relationships; daily schedule; time at home; use of technology; or feelings of anger, worry, loneliness or gratitude? How were these experienced by marginalized groups, including LGBTQ+ and Indigenous children and youth? To date, research on Canadian children’s and youth’s experiences during the pandemic has lacked a broad exploration of their own perspectives. This qualitative study, however, was informed by three child and youth advisory teams, with input from 10 focus groups; 23 semi-structured interviews and a total of 74 young people (10–19), from four provinces and one territory. The report concludes with a set of 4 policy recommendations – by its participants – addressed to federal, provincial/territorial and local governments, as well as to school districts, and child and youth service sectors.

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Heather L. Ramey; Heather L. Lawford; Yana Berardini; Sarah Caimano; Sarah Epp; Chantelle Edwards; Lisa Wolff
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134 items found