Child-focused Agencies Give their response to Addis Ababa Conference

The International Conference on Financing for Development, to give it its full title, was held in Addis between 13-16th July. It was a crucial gathering, as decisions made by global society will have enormous ramifications for people in the developing world, and it particular, children. This was the first gathering of the global community to adequately address the needs of children, whose voices have been hitherto marginalised, and at times ignored. The reality is that children as a grouping make up one of the largest stakeholders in global society, they are also perhaps the most vulnerable. The Addis Conference went some way to addressing the need to enshrine children’s fundamental rights as an international priority, and incorporating these into global development policy.

The significance of the event as a milestone for children was acknowledged by child-focussed agencies like ChildFund, and has been expressed through a joint communique which you can read below:

Joint Communique from Child-focused Agencies at the Third International Conference on Financing for Development held in Addis Abba, Ethiopia, from 13 to 16 July 2015.

The Third International Conference on Financing for Development was held in a critical year for development where global goals are being set. We are convinced and have been striving for children to be at the center of all decisions that are being made as they will impact their future.

We are encouraged that the international community has come together to hold this Third International Conference building on the Monterrey Consensus (2002) and the Doha Declaration (2008). Most importantly because its outcome lays the financial foundation for future actions to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We realize that the expectations of a number of stakeholders have not been met. We wish to highlight that our agencies main call during this entire process has been the promotion and full realization of child rights and their well-being and the concrete financial commitments that need to be taken and implemented by countries individually and collectively.

From the child rights and well-being perspective, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda is a milestone agreement for children and represents a step forward toward the recognition of the vital importance of promoting and protecting the rights of all children, and ensuring that no child is left behind. Children are far more visible in the Action Agenda than the Monterrey and Doha agreements where children were severely under represented.

Governments have agreed through the Addis Ababa Action Agenda to invest in children. They have recognized children’s critical role to achieving inclusive, equitable and sustainable development. Furthermore, investing in children’s survival and health, nutrition, cognitive development, education, care, protection and improving the social and physical environments in which children grow up are crucial investments in a nation’s future human capital.

Governments have agreed to create a new social compact to deliver social protection and essential services for all with a focus on the most vulnerable, poor and vulnerable groups,
including children. When implemented this commitment will have very positive long term impact on the most vulnerable children.

The commitment to scale up efforts to end hunger and malnutrition is a promise being made to the 162 million children under-five years of age who are stunted. It is widely known that children are most impacted by malnutrition.

The Addis Ababa Action Agenda should now be translated into concrete and ambitious policy and fulfillment of financial deliverables that it creates and can constitute a positive change for the poor, vulnerable and marginalized populations especially for children.

The real success of this historic agreement of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development will be measured by what is taken forward and how it mobilizes domestic public resources, domestic and international private business and finance and international development cooperation to create sustainable and positive change for the most vulnerable and marginalized, particularly children, young people and women.

ChildFund Alliance, Plan International, Save the Children, SOS Children’s Villages, UNICEF, World Vision

Addis Ababa, Ethiopa. July 17, 2015

The highly important gathering saw world nations agree a blueprint for financing, both the SDG development goals and their practical implementation. For the first time children’s rights have been explicitly identified as a global priority..

Joint Communique from Child-focused Agencies at the Third International Conference on Financing for Development held in Addis Abba, Ethiopia, from 13 to 16 July 2015.

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disadvantaged children today

The highly important gathering saw world nations agree a blueprint for financing, both the SDG development goals and their practical implementation. For the first time children’s rights have been explicitly identified as a global priority..

Joint Communique from Child-focused Agencies at the Third International Conference on Financing for Development held in Addis Abba, Ethiopia, from 13 to 16 July 2015.

please support our work for disadvantaged children today

please support our work for
disadvantaged children today