Priorities - Childfund Ireland

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PRIORITIES

In 2008, ChildFund Ireland adopted four priority goals:

One - to strengthen ChildFund Ireland's capacity

Two - to maximise the effectiveness of ChildFund Ireland's programme focus

Three - to expand and consolidate strategic partnerships

Four - to promote within Ireland a specific focus on care and protection of children in development and emergency responses

Specific strategies and Key Performance Indicators have been identified for each of these goals.

UNDERSTANDING CHILD POVERTY

Using a child-focused development approach and working with communities, ChildFund aims to tackle the root causes of poverty. ChildFund believes that children experience poverty in three domains – Deprivation, Exclusion and Vulnerability. The DEV Framework has been developed to assist ChildFund staff in deepening their understanding of child poverty and consequently designing and supporting more relevant and effective programmes.

Children and Poverty Working Paper I

Understanding Children's Experience of Poverty: An Introduction to the DEV Framework

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Children and Poverty Working Paper II

Improving Children's Chances: Linking Developmental Theory and Practice

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Children and Poverty Working Paper III

Child-Context Relationships and Developmental Outcomes: Some Perspectives on Poverty and Culture

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Children and Poverty Working Paper IV

Promoting the Agency of Young People

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Children and Poverty Working Paper V

Children's Rights, Development and Rights-Based Approaches: The Way Forward

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ChildFund members and partner organisations provide practical assistance to needy communities, with children as the primary beneficiaries. Please take a moment to read through the following briefs about the most severe needs facing our world's children as written from the standpoint of child development.

Emergency Relief
Nutrition and Food Security
Early Childhood Development
Health and Sanitation
Living With HIV/AIDS
Access to Clean Water
Education
Family Income Generation (Micro-Enterprise Development)

In September 2000, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the United Nations Millennium Declaration out of which came the Millennium Development Goals or MDGs. (For more information, see http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/). ChildFund Ireland works to support the targets set by the United Nations and to join in the fight against poverty, illiteracy, hunger, lack of education, gender inequality, child and maternal mortality, disease and environmental degradation.

AIDS

HIV&AIDS have an enormous impact on the work that ChildFund is doing, particularly in East and Southern Africa. AIDS continues to be the leading cause of death in Africa (UNAIDS). The impact is particularly severe on children who are affected in various ways including illness, death of one or both parents, loss of family income /earning power, etc. The death of a parent can mean the loss of protection, love, care and support, with consequent long-term emotional, psychological and social effects. At a young age, children often have to assume the role of head of household, caring for ill parents and providing for their siblings.

ChildFund works to address the reality of HIV&AIDS in all its programmes, with a particular focus on prevention and care. Programmes for orphans and vulnerable children aim to build the capacity of communities to support the healthy development of their children, and to build the capacity of children to care for themselves. Appropriate activities to address HIV&AIDS are also included in other programmes.

ChildFund Ireland is an active member of Dochas HIV and AIDS Working Group which works to improve members' responses to the epidemic, and to share learning and expertise within the Irish development sector. See www.dochas.ie

GENDER BASED VIOLENCE

ChildFund Ireland is an active member of the Joint Consortium on Gender based Violence (see www.gbv.ie). The Consortium comprises 16 Irish human rights, humanitarian and development agencies, together with Irish Aid and the Defence Forces. Members are committed to more effective precention of and responses to gender based violence at programme level.

The Consortium has undertaken a number of advocacy and learning prijects since its establishment in 2004. These include publications, hosting exhibitions, conferences and seminars, participating in international campaigns against gender based violence, and learning days for members. An extensive resource library is available on their website.