Cebu
City, 5 August 2005. “Investing in children is
investing in our future.” His Excellency Peter Sutherland,
Ambassador of Canada to the Philippines, said at the launching
of the Sixth Country Programme for Children (CPC 6) in the
Visayas.
The government
of Canada, through its Canadian
International Development Agency (CIDA), has committed
to provide more than US$5 million(PhP 300 million) in grants
for CPC 6 projects. CPC 6 is a joint programme of cooperation
between the Philippine government and the United Nations Children’s
Fund (UNICEF).
CPC 6 aims to create
a critical mass of advocates of the Child-Friendly Movement,
a development framework which urges all decision-makers and
service providers to put children at the heart of democracy
and development.
“The Child-Friendly
Movement echoes the commitment of the Canadian government
to spur progressive reforms in democratic institutions and
practices,” Ambassador Sutherland said.
Improving local
governance thru child-friendly policies and services is a
major thrust of CPC 6. UNICEF and its partners implement an
integrated set of activities to improve the situation of children
and women. These projects focus on education, health and nutrition,
child protection, child-friendly governance, and advocacy
for the rights of children and women.
From 2005 to 2007,
CIDA and UNICEF will assist the provinces of Antique, Capiz,
Guimaras, Negros Oriental, Eastern Samar and the city of Cebu.
These provinces are among the areas with the highest poverty
rates in the Philippines. Rural areas particularly in Eastern
Samar continue to suffer from poor enrolment rates and poor
access to basic health services. In Cebu City, the focus of
CPC 6 is to protect the growing number of street children
and victims of abuse and exploitation.
“Canada’s
commitment will bring the children and women of the Visayas
closer to our dream of a better quality of life,” said
UNICEF Representative to the Philippines Nicholas Alipui.
Ambassador Sutherland
signed a Statement of Commitment with the local chief executives
of the CPC project areas in the Visayas.
# # #
For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact:
Dale
Rutstein
UNICEF Manila, 901 0177 or 0917 866 4969, drutstein@unicef.org
Alexis Rodrigo
UNICEF Manila, 901 0173 or 0917 858 9447, arodrigo@unicef.org
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