Advocacy for children
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© UNICEF Lao PDR/Jim Holmes |
UNICEF is working to put and keep children’s rights on the agenda in East Asia and the Pacific. This requires influencing and working with a wide array of partners, including policy makers, government and civil society leaders, academic researchers, bilateral and multilateral donors. UNICEF seeks to ensure that child rights are at the forefront of economic and social policies, legislation and budget allocations.
Due to the worsening economic crisis globally, UNICEF has been working with governments in the region to better protect children from the impacts. In January 2009, for instance, UNICEF joined with the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore to bring together more than 150 academics, policy advisors, finance ministers and senior officials in East Asia and the Pacific in a two-day conference to discuss how to maintain or scale up social spending despite tightening budgets. The global financial crisis is amplifying the effects of the food and fuel price crises, seriously challenging the abilities of families to cope and of children to thrive.
