Stöd till UNICEF Liberia land program Support to UNICEF Liberia country programme UNICEF har inkommit med en ansökan om finansiering till Sveriges ambassad i Liberia om 8 MSEK för ett smidigt genomförande av organisationens landprogram i Liberia. Det övergripande målet med programmet är att möta behoven för utveckling och skydd bland landets barn och unga.

Ambassadens stöd är öronmärkt till programmets komponent som rör barns skydd, vars mål är att bidra till att bygga och stärka barns trygghetssystem genom kapacitetsutveckling på nationell och subnationell nivå. Detta kommer främst att göras genom uppbyggandet av gemenskapsbaserade trygghetssystem för barn, främjandet av allmän födelseregistrering, stärkandet av säkerhetsnät , lagar och policys för barns skydd, samt främjandet av ungdomars och ungas egenmakt med syftet att öka deras deltagande i besults- och fredsprocesser.

Den totala budgeten för landprogrammets komponent för barns skydd är USD 2 600 000, varav ambassadens bidrag utgör SEK 8 000 000 vilket motsvarar ca USD 881 000. 

UNICEF:s landkontor i Liberia kommer att genomföra programmet i samarbete med departementen som i första hand är ansvariga för barns rättigheter och skydd i Liberia (Jämställdhets-, Hälso- och Justitiedepartementet). Även interreligiösa råd, gemenskapsbaserade organisationer och andra icke-statliga aktörer förväntas spela en nyckelroll. UNICEF has applied to the Embassy for funding of 8,000,000 SEK to help address funding gap that has undermined smooth implementation of its overall country programme. The UNICEF country programme is aimed at addressing the development and social protection needs of children and young people. 

The Embassy’s support will be earmarked for the child protection component, with the objective of contributing to building and strengthening children’s social protection systems through capacity building at both national and county levels. The key activities under the programme are building community based child protection systems, promoting universal birth registration, strengthening safety nets and child protection laws and policies, as well as empowering adolescents and young people to participate in decision making and peace processes. 

The total budget for this component is USD 2.6M, of which the Embassy’s contribution will be the amount of approximately USD 881,000 (Eight Million Swedish Kronor). 

UNICEF’s Country Office in Liberia will implement the programme in partnership with the Ministries of Gender, Health, and Justice that have got oversight responsibilities over child rights and protection in Liberia. Inter-religious councils, community based organizations and other non-governmental organizations will play a key role as well. The objectives of the UNICEF Country Programmme, and specifically, the Child Protection Thematic Area from 2020-2024 have not changed substantively from the previous program period. Rather, after an extensive consultative review process of the previous country programme, UNICEF has focused its programming, and as a result, has tightened its intended objectives. They are as follows: 
Output 5.1: By 2024, Strengthened political commitment, accountability and national capacity of social, justice and education and health sectors in Liberia to legislate, plan, and budget for scaling up interventions that prevent and respond to violence, abuse, exploitation, and neglect and enhance access to child protection and birth registration
Output 5.2: By 2024, accessible and quality birth registration and child protection (prevention and response) services are in place and delivered by qualified statutory and non statutory service providers in most disadvantaged localities in Liberia
Output 5.3 By 2024, children, families and communities have increased capacities in the most disadvantaged localities to promote practices that protect them through addressing gender inequitable norms, values and practices that are detrimental to boys, girls including adolescents/young people
Output 5.4 By 2024, an improved knowledge base/baseline that inform programming and advocacy initiatives to increase access to birth certificates and to prevent and protect children and women from violence, abuse and exploitation