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FROM THE FIELD

How partnering with governments on policy reforms can change children’s lives
20 Jul 2009 13:28:05 GMT
 Source: World Vision Middle East/Eastern Europe/ Central Asia office
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A survey on recent efforts to reform policies and services for the most vulnerable children and their communities has shown remarkable opportunities for impacting the lives of the most vulnerable children in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

The World Vision report lists some 30 examples of systemic reform initiatives, both on-going and actually achieved, mostly through partnerships at national levels.

In Azerbaijan, for example, World Vision is currently partnering with the Azeri government to integrate children with disabilities into the public school system. For the first time, nationally, approximately 49,000 children will be 'welcomed' from the backrooms into community life when 'inclusion' becomes an official governmental policy.

Some 50,000 Iraqi refugee children in Jordan are now able to access the Jordanian public school system following international coalition work, lobbying, research and aggressive media outreach.

'With comparatively little money, we can impact the lives of entire nations of children through effective legislative and policy initiatives', says the director of advocacy for the region, Sharon Payt.

'The real story is the work on the ground – where centuries of inequities and oppression are being challenged in hard places', says Payt.

World Vision staff in country are adept at maximizing positions of trust to facilitate needed governmental reforms for the poorest children and their communities, she adds. They take the initial 'risk' by refining models which are then transferred and scaled up by government.

The report is a practical tool to better support systemic reforms for the most vulnerable children. It also seeks to inspire new efforts, provide strategic resources, share approaches, and increase professionalism to maximize the impact of World Vision's work for children and their communities. Ultimately, it seeks to build a one-stop platform for systemic reforms, offering the best internal and external resources available to national offices in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

By maximizing the impact of integrated advocacy, relief and development work, World Vision is positioned to impact entire nations of children in a much more effective and lasting way.

The survey outlines how systemic reforms are achievable through a combination of approaches; from drafting new legislation or significant amendments for child-related services and policies, co-developing National Action Plans to be officially adopted by national governments, to governing strategies and implementing pilot projects to model new systems for eventual hand-over to government.

'Imagine the implications, if World Vision as the largest NGO worldwide with the largest programme base and governmental reach, intentionally targets systemic reforms for the poorest and most vulnerable?' asks Payt.

-Ends-

For further information on Systemic Reform approaches, media queries and to obtain a copy of the report, please contact sharon_payt@wvi.org


[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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