Results for Children

Policy, Advocacy, Planning and Evaluation (PAPE) Programme

The PAPE programme helps Pacific Island countries place children at the centre of national policy, legislation, planning, budgeting and reporting. It supports the development of evidence-based social and economic policies that address the rights of children, youth and women, and assists governments to ensure that data on these groups of people are integrated into planning, monitoring and evaluation systems in (at least) Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. PAPE advocates for and promotes active participation of children, young people and women in these processes.

PAPE also works with the four other programmes (Child Protection, Health and Sanitation, Education and HIV and AIDS) to ensure there is a system of results based planning and management; that data and advice are available on specific areas like HIV, juvenile justice, youth, health and nutrition; to support communication for behaviour and social change; and to assist in research, monitoring and evaluations of UNICEF-supported programmes. PAPE also oversees UNICEF Pacific’s external relations and fund-raising and contributes strongly to the work of UNICEF Pacific’s Emergency Response Team as well as Regional Emergency Preparedness and Response initiatives.

Child-Centred Economic and Social Policy Analysis
The methodological design phase on a landmark child poverty and child-centred economic policy analysis was completed in Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu with key Ministries, Save the Children (Solomon Islands and Vanuatu), and the Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales. Technical support was also provided to the development and finalization of National Youth Policies in Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. An M&E Framework for Vanuatu’s National Child Policy was also drafted through consultation with stakeholders in Port Vila presenting opportunities to improve child-centred planning and reporting across government.

Child-Centred Budgeting
PAPE has begun documenting lessons learned by other development partners working in this area and from CRC Advocacy packages delivered during national election campaigns in 2008. Activities within this area of work require further consultation in 2009 with Ministries of Finance and Planning, ADB, World Bank (undertaking Public Expenditure Reviews in the Education and Health Sectors in several countries), Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Centre (PFTAC), AusAID (undertaking Public Expenditure Reviews in Health in several countries), and other donors. PAPE also contributed towards the UNDP Pacific Centre-led MDG Initiative regional training to provide a child-centred and rights-based focus on budgeting for Melanesian and Polynesian countries.

Child-Centred Legislative Reform
An initial group of delegates from Cook Islands, Fiji Islands, Kiribati, Palau, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu alongside representatives from the University of South Pacific, United Nations agencies, NGOs and young people gathered together in August 2008 in Port Vila, Vanuatu to consider three questions: (1) What have Pacific Island Countries achieved and what experience has been gained along the way as regards legislative reform for the realization of children’s rights? (2) What more could we achieve in the immediate future (2009-2012) towards a longer-term horizon? (3) What challenges will we face and how can we overcome these, drawing upon lessons learned and good practice in the Pacific and elsewhere?

Based on their own analysis of the meeting’s contents and national progress, participating country teams used the opportunity to develop a “Legislative Reform and CRC Action Plan” articulating: 2012 results, annual activities, mechanisms for participatory reform, monitoring and evaluation, and possible entry points for UN, NGO and donor agency assistance. A key feature of the meeting was the high level of engagement from school children and young people. The meeting was also attended by the current Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and benefited from literature resources provided by the UNICEF Innocenti Centre and UNICEF New York.

Child-Centred Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Skills
PAPE provided technical and financial support to various evaluations in 2008 including an evaluation of the government’s Outer Island Youth initiative conducted by young people trained specifically for the purpose was coordinated by MISA and UNICEF (Kiribati); and an External Evaluation of Live and Learn’s Peace Education Programme in Solomon Islands.

In Vanuatu, data analysis of the 2007 Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) and a Nutrition Sub-Sample Survey was completed with technical assistance provided to the MICS Task Force, the National Statistics Office, and key Ministry of Health personnel. The MICS Survey is scheduled for launch in mid-2009.

To prepare for the development of multi-year, multi-programme Communication for Development plans, assessments were completed by national consultants of NGO and Civil Society Organization (CSO) Capacity in Social Mobilization and Emergency Response in Fiji (n=20 agencies), Solomon Islands (n=12 agencies), Kiribati (n=15 agencies) and Vanuatu (n=35 agencies).

National communication plans to support Avian Influenza/Pandemic Influenza (AI/PI) Preparedness and Response were completed and based on detailed research and validated through desk-top exercises in Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Six AI/PI Advocacy Workshops followed by a Regional Communications Workshop have significantly developed capacity of stakeholders at national and sub-national levels on AI/PI knowledge and awareness, coordination and processes.

Child-Centred Data Systems
During 2008, PAPE built strong linkages with SPC’s Demography and Statistics Programme, ADB, World Bank, UNDP Pacific Centre and UNDP, UNFPA, the UNDAF M&E Group, AusAID and NZAID statistics focal points (including the respective National Statistics Bureaus) in preparation for the development in 2009 of a multi-year, multi-agency data and statistics capacity building framework. The development of this framework forms part of the new UNICEF Pacific/SPC MOU signed in November 2008.

PAPE, alongside other UNICEF Pacific staff and EmergencyINFO focal points in EAPRO, continued to provide technical inputs into an initiative led by UNOCHA and including regional partners (Red Cross Federations, SOPAC, Asia Foundation, and WHO) to establish national baseline datasets to inform National Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans as well as to develop Rapid Assessment Tools and Monitoring systems for Emergency Response.

Child-Centred Reporting
Technical assistance has been provided to National Committees for Children in Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. As a result, Committee Plans of Action were completed in all three countries while Committee TORs were finalized in Kiribati and Solomon Islands. Situation Analyses were published for Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Palau, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, as well as the published and launched the State of Pacific Children 2008 Report. The Governments of Cook Islands (Initial) and Vanuatu (Periodic) were assisted in submitting CRC reports. The Government of Solomon Islands was assisted in development a data-collection mechanism for the National Advisory Committee for Children to collect information from children for the preparation of the State Party Periodic CRC Report and other reports and research.

Moving forward

PAPE’s 2009 AWPs build on the new work initiated in 2008 on child-centred policy, budgeting, broad legislative reform, PME, data system strengthening, and reporting.

In the area of child-centred economic and social policy analysis, 2009 activities will include: initial analysis of available social and economic data to determine levels and recent trends in child and youth hardship/poverty; begin analysis of previous economic policy impact in relation to child-related goals and targets; and capacity building processes to improve child-centred policy formulation requirements. In the area of child-centred budgeting: consultations will continue with Ministries of Finance and key development partners to determine options for improving expenditure analysis for children. In the area of child-centred legislative reform: four year (2009-2012) plans of action for progressive legislative review and reform developed in 2008 will be initiated.

In the area of child-centred PME skills, 2009 activities will include: support for sub-national planning and monitoring; technical coordination of a multi-year Communication for Development plans; and joint Government/UN Monitoring and Reviews. In the area of child-centred data systems: a child-focused Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Diagnosis will be conducted (postponed during 2008 pending results of other agency work) to examine amongst other issues, roles and responsibilities of the main parties in the national M&E system, national-provincial-community M&E linkage, types of M&E indicators and tools in use, and capacity constraints and capacity priorities. In the area of child-centred reporting, 2009 activities include: further capacity building support to National Committees for Children. A “National Committee for Children Toolkit” for Pacific Island Countries will be developed and will include guidance on participation of children, monitoring status of children, preparation and monitoring of National Plans of Action and CRC preparation, submission and reporting to Geneva. The Toolkit will be developed alongside CEDAW implementation capacity building efforts being coordinated by UNIFEM, SPC and UNDP Pacific Centre. If resources allow, support will be provided to CRC Reporting processes in Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, RMI, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu.

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