UNICEF Children`s Rights and Protection 2016-2018 - Monitoring & Evaluation UNICEF Children`s Rights and Protection 2016-2018 UNICEF has applied for funding of SEK 49.4 million for support for its country program regarding the thematic areas of Child Protection and Social Inclusion between 2016 and 2018. The components and results of the proposed intervention have a strong equality and rights-based focus, with Social Inclusion 'As an overall theme as well as integrated with Children's Protection, HIV and Aids, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene and Education.

The intervention is in line with Swedish priorities, which aim to strengthen children's rights as part of social inclusion and poverty reduction. Sida's human rights perspective places children at the heart of the development agenda.

The social inclusion area will define strategies for strengthening resilience, especially in vulnerable areas that are particularly vulnerable to extreme climate such as drought. There is an urgent need to work with preventive interventions to protect children from suffering. The proposed interventions shall ensure that: (a) age and gender-based child protection services are available in the selected areas; and (b) communities and families in the selected areas have knowledge and skills to protect children.

The two main output targets address as well access as the demand for child protection. Strengthening the national case management system is the focus of the overall component, and the proposed interventions are consistent with and strengthening the National Action Plan on Violence Against Children in Zimbabwe.

The contribution of SEK 49 million will be thematic support for UNICEF's country program between 2016 and 2018. 400,000 SEK is allocated for evaluation and follow-up. DFID and Swiss Development Cooperation will simultaneously support the Harmonized Cash Transfer (HCT), which is a major component in reducing vulnerability. UNICEF har ansökt om finansiering på 49,4 miljoner kronor för stöd till sitt landprogram avseende de tematiska områdena Barns Skydd och Socialt Inkluderande mellan 2016 och 2018. Den föreslagna interventionens komponenter och uppsatta resultat har ett starkt jämlikhets- och rättighetsbaserat fokus, med ’Socialt Inkluderande’ både som övergripande tema och som integrerat med Barns Skydd, HIV och Aids, Vatten, Sanitet och Hygien samt Utbildning.

Interventionen är i linje med svenska prioriteringar, vilka syftar till att stärka barns  rättigheter som en del av socialt inkluderande och fattigdomsbekämpning. Sidas mänskliga rättigheters-perspektiv placerar barn i centrum för utvecklingsagendan.

Resultatområdet för socialt inkluderande ska definiera strategier för att stärka resiliens, speciellt i sårbara områden som är särskilt utsatta för extremt klimat så som torka. Det finns ett brådskande behov av att arbeta med förebyggande interventioner för att skydda barn från att drabbas. De föreslagna interventionerna ska säkerställa att a) ålders- och könsanpassad service för barns skydd finns tillgänglig i de utvalda områdena, och att b) samhällen och familjer i de utvalda områdena har kunskap och färdigheter för att skydda barn.

De två huvudsakliga output-målen adresserar så väl tillgång som efterfrågan av barns skydd. Att stärka det nationella ärendehanteringssystemet ligger i fokus i den övergripande komponenten och de föreslagna interventionerna är förenliga med och stärker den nationella åtgärdsplanen kring våld mot barn i Zimbabwe.

Bidraget på 49 miljoner SEK ska vara tematiskt stöd till UNICEF:s landprogram mellan 2016 och 2018. 400 000 SEK avsätts för utvärdering och uppföljning. DFID och Swiss Development Cooperation kommer samtidigt att bidra med stöd till det harmoniserade kontantöverföringsprogrammet (harmonised cash transfers, HCT), vilket utgör en stor del i att minska utsatthet. The Child Protection Fund (CPF) II’s goal is to realize the basic rights of the most vulnerable children in Zimbabwe through provision of critical child protection interventions within a child- and HIV-sensitive social protection framework. It builds on the 2011-2016 CPF to the National Action Plan for Vulnerable Children (NAP II) and adopts a multi-dimensional approach to child vulnerability which simultaneously addresses household poverty, gender disparities, disability, HIV and risk of violence, exploitation and abuse. Through a theory of change developed for CPF II, the programme aims to ensure that “children, families and communities access improved preventive and responsive child protection services reinforced by household and community economic resilience in targeted areas.” The CPF II outcomes are:
1)    increased availability and accessibility of age/gender-appropriate, affordable, and well-coordinated Child Protection services in targeted areas;
2)    families and communities in targeted areas have information, knowledge and skills on violence against children and how to protect children;
3)    improved evidence-based policies and legislative instruments to address violence against children implemented and reinforced by institutional capacity;
4)    Harmonised Social Cash Transfer (HSCT) beneficiary households have improved economic capacity to protect children from practices that expose them to violence, abuse and exploitation.
Taking lessons from CPF I, CPF II has a stronger focus on violence reduction/prevention, information management, sustainability of the HSCT programme and governance structures and capacity. An increasing body of evidence about violence against children in Zimbabwe shows that violence is widespread and cuts across age, gender, and socio-economic status.
These programme is in direct response to challenges faced by children in Zimbabwe around service provision, child protection and the law. The range and reach of services remain inadequate due to low staff capacity, concentration in urban areas, inadequate funding, weak referral pathways and use of tracking data, inadequate community knowledge and low confidence in systems. The effects of these barriers include less than 40 per cent of children that experienced sexual violence knowing where to get professional help. Only 2.4 per cent of female victims of sexual abuse access professional help and birth registration has stagnated. Constitutional provisions prohibiting marriage of persons under 18 years are yet to be operationalised. 
Lack of birth certificates limits children’s access to justice. National Case Management (NCM) workers interviewed endorse a system-based solution to birth registration – e.g. certifying health centres and hospitals to register babies at birth and enlisting health-workers for registering those born at home.