Activities
UNICEF activities in Bangladesh to promote child protection consist of two main elements. Birth registration UNICEF incorporated birth registration into its programme in 1997, supporting birth registration campaigns in 17 districts, several municipalities and four city corporations. By the end of 2003, more than 5 million children were registered. The average cost of birth registration remains quite low at US$ 0.14-0.15 per child. Before the start of the birth registration campaign, health workers and volunteers were given extensive training and supported with communication materials. All data collectors were trained in issues relating to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). They were instructed to inform the population about children’s rights and explain that birth registration was required for protection of children. They were then mobilized to make house-to-house visits in order to register all young children. Inter-sectoral committees at district, sub-district and community levels were set up to manage the campaign. A variety of activities are required for the effective promotion of birth registration. District administrations are first supported to train birth registrars, their staff and data collectors and to complete the registration of all children under six years of age. This work is then consolidated through follow-up activities involving other groups such as marriage registrars, schoolteachers and religious leaders, as well as more elaborate training for registrars. Electronic birth registration is promoted in city corporations. Linking the electronic birth register to a child immunization database ensures that all registered children receive vaccines on time. The city’s health authorities now have the tools to monitor both birth registration and child immunization. This system is operating with excellent results in Rajshahi, the fourth largest city in the country. Women and girls The Empowerment and Protection of Children and Women Project aims to create an environment where rural adolescent girls, and adolescents involved in sex work, can voice their concerns and take part in the decisions that affect their lives. The focus is on developing confidence, self-esteem, negotiation skills, problem-solving capacity and awareness of behaviour that puts them at risk. The project aims to promote better understanding of the CRC the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the implementation of articles concerned with protection of the rights of the child. An analysis of the causes of sexual exploitation, abuse and discrimination of the child is being carried out. Standards are being developed for the management of institutions that provide care for victims. Service providers are also trained in psychosocial care and protection. Life skills-based education and training for adolescents and training of children as peer educators and peer leaders is now available as a result of this project. A local NGO – the Acid Survivors’ Foundation – is being provided with necessary support to ensure medical, psychosocial care and protection for children and women including their families who have been affected by acid-throwing. A social policy on alternative models of care and protection of children is being formulated, with a focus on its legal aspects. A training manual for police, judges and magistrates, and training institutes is being developed and a handbook for police personnel will supplement this. Birth registration programmes reach out to indigenous groups
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