Say Yes, Summer 2006: A Partnership for Children and Their Families

Students in the playground of a child-friendly school

Getting more girls into school and closing the gender gap in primary education will continue to be a priority of the new Government of Turkey/UNICEF Country Programme. Photograph by Rana Mullan © UNICEF Turkey 2006

The Country Programme of Cooperation (CPAP) is a unique agreement between the Government and UNICEF that proposes a range of projects to help fulfil the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and improve the situation of women and children throughout Turkey. Dating back to the original Basic Cooperation Agreement (BCA) in March 1954, the partnership is renewed in five-year cycles. The Government of Turkey and UNICEF have agreed the latest CPAP for 2006-2010 through which both partners will continue the work of previous CPAP agreements to to help build a Turkey fit for children.

Health outcomes for both mothers and children will be improved using existing resources within the framework of Turkey’s new health reforms. Photograph Rana Mullan
© UNICEF Turkey 2006

The new CPAP will contribute to Turkey’s National Plan of Action for children, which sets goals for implementation of the CRC with specific reference to A World Fit for Children, the outcome document of the United Nations Special Session on Children (UNSSC) in 2002. The CPAP will help Turkey to achieve the 2nd Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of universal primary education, the 3rd, to promote gender equality and empower women, the 4th, which is to reduce child mortality, and the 6th, which is to fight HIV/AIDS. The CPAP will also contribute to compliance with section VI of the Millennium Declaration, which is to protect the vulnerable.

Building on the experience and successes of the previous CPAP, UNICEF aims to support the Government’s priorities to: enhance child protection, education and early childhood development; expand services to meet the needs of hard-to-reach children -- especially those from low-income families; equip adolescents with life-skills and knowledge that will adequately prepare them for the particular challenges they face and implement policies and legislation that will increase resources for children.

Major objectives of the new CP include fostering a protective environment for children -- particularly those from the most vulnerable low income families …
Photograph Rana Mullan
© UNICEF Turkey 2006

The previous CPAP contributed to a remarkable reduction in infant and under-five mortality rates (IMR and U5MR) -- one of the most sensitive indicators measuring the well-being of children. The 2003 Turkey Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS) showed that IMR was reduced from 43‰ to 29‰ in the five-year periods between the 1998 and 2003 surveys and U5MR was also reduced from 52‰ to 37‰ during that time.

The findings of the TDHS confirmed the wisdom that sustained investment and implementation of low-cost, high-impact interventions reduce child mortality rates. The Government and UNICEF aim to consolidate the benefits of this approach through the new CPAP partnership -- one of the main targets of which is to reduce U5MR to less than 25‰.

Education of parents as well as children was a critically important theme of the previous CPAP -- in terms of its aims, achievements and the lessons learned. Although low income and lack of access to basic services contribute to consistently poorer human development indicators for families everywhere, the latest TDHS found that low levels of educational attainment amongst mothers were very much at the heart of the problem. The new CPAP will address this issue with an increased focus on the positive effects of maternal education -- and family training in general -- on the child’s potential for survival.

… and including adolescents and children in the decision-making processes that affect them.
Photograph Rana Mullan
© UNICEF Turkey 2006

The ongoing Haydi Kızlar Okula! girls’ education campaign successfully helped to reduce the number of girls who were out-of-school by 15% in the academic year 2003-2004 immediately following its launch. The strong focus of the Government’s work with UNICEF on girls’ education has also had a positive effect on boys’ enrolment, bringing the country closer to achieving the second MDG but it also means that the gender gap in education targeted by the third MDG persists. Both partners are nevertheless confident that the gender gap in primary education will be closed by the end of the new programme.

Increasing incidence of child abuse, neglect and deprivation of parental care led to a great deal of groundwork being done in the area of child protection during 2005 -- including the drafting of laws in line with the CRC. The new CPAP will focus on child protection by supporting the Government’s plans to reinforce institutional responses to the problem.

Following a parliamentary inquiry into gross violations of children’s rights, the Government launched Towards Good Governance, Protection and Justice for Children in Turkey -- otherwise known as Children First -- in August 2005 with funding from the EU. Children First will strengthen the protective environment for children by:

carrying out research to support the development of child protection measures;
developing child-sensitive models for all levels of intervention in the care and protection of children.

UNICEF will continue to offer technical support to Children First and other initiatives -- such as Child-friendly Cities -- that will help establish a protective environment for children in Turkey.

The EU will continue to be an important cooperating partner in the area of children’s rights. Other partners in the new CPAP will include service providers, policy and decision makers, the private sector, non-governmental organisations, the Turkish National Committee for UNICEF, the media, families and children.

UNICEF Representative, Edmond McLoughney and His Excellency Hasan Göğüş

UNICEF Representative, Edmond McLoughney and His Excellency Ambassador Hasan Göğüş, Director General of Multilateral Political Affairs, sign the new Country Programme Action Plan for 2006-2010 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 23rd August 2006. Photograph by Rana Mullan © UNICEF Turkey 2006

The Proposed Country Programme

The CPAP will target areas with low development indicators and families living on low income in urban and rural areas. The major programme components are:

Quality Education;
Early Childhood Care and Learning;
Protection and Participation of Children and Adolescents;
Advocacy, Information and Social Policy.

Some strategies will be implemented at national level while others will be tailored to work at more localised levels. The mix of CPAP strategies includes plans for:

strengthened national data collection and analysis that will inform policy and institutional changes;
capacity building of professionals, local authorities, community leaders and civil societies;
development of local solutions to local problems in health and education;
expanded implementation of successful gender-sensitive and child-friendly models;
building alliances with a variety of partners -- including the media -- to help mobilise resources for children.

Successful implementation of the CPAP strategies will help to:

achieve and sustain gender parity in primary education enrolment and improve completion rates;
reduce U5MR to less than 25‰ live births;
establish standards and legal measures that make institutions and individuals more accountable for violations of children’s rights;
implement and enforce policies and laws for the better development and protection of children.