Partnership in Action for Children: Reviewing Progress and Consolidating Gains in Child Protection
Protecting children requires more than programmes. It requires partnership, coordination and sustained investment in systems that leave no child behind.
Maputo, Mozambique - More than 80 stakeholders gathered in Maputo for a high-level Annual Review and 2026 Planning Meeting co-led by UNICEF, the Ministry of Labour, Gender and Social Action, and the Ministry of Justice.
Participants included senior representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior, the Supreme Court, the Attorney General’s Office, the Centre for Judicial and Legal Training, the National Criminal Investigation Service, the National Human Rights Commission, the Ombudsman’s Office, the Institute for Legal Assistance, the Ministry of National Defence, the National Penitentiary Service, the Ministry of Health’s Forensic Medicine Department and the Ministry of Education, alongside civil society partners and UNICEF teams from Child Protection, Education and Social Policy.
Despite a difficult 2025 marked by conflict, displacement, floods and post-electoral instability, important progress was achieved. Key milestones included the rollout of a national electronic register for children in alternative care, strengthening case tracking, accountability and coordination across social services. Continued investment in the social service workforce also strengthened frontline response through newly trained social workers and reinforced supervision systems.
Integrated approaches linking social protection and child protection also gained momentum. Through Cash Plus interventions linked to the Child Grant Programme, vulnerable families received support that went beyond financial assistance. In six districts of Nampula Province, birth registration services reached Child Grant beneficiaries, helping children secure legal identity and improve access to essential services.
Progress was also visible in child justice. The endorsement and launch of PNAC III strengthened national policy direction, while diversion for children in conflict with the law became fully operational in Maputo. New child rights curricula for justice professionals helped reinforce child-sensitive practices across the justice chain. In response to emerging risks, a specialised online crimes investigation desk was established in Maputo in partnership with national authorities and international actors, strengthening capacity to respond to online child exploitation.
Partners also highlighted growing efforts to support children in the most vulnerable situations through a more coordinated national response. In 2025, UNICEF and partners supported the development of a national strategy for children in street situations, helping establish a more coherent framework linking outreach, case management, psychosocial support, family reintegration, education and social protection.
Looking ahead, partners agreed that 2026 will focus on protecting and expanding these gains. UNICEF and partners will prioritise the further integration of the national electronic register for children in alternative care into routine case management, while continuing the training and supervision of social workers to strengthen service quality. Integrated Child Grant and Cash Plus interventions, including systematic birth registration support for beneficiaries, will be expanded beyond Nampula to reduce exclusion and protection gaps. Efforts will also focus on sustaining and expanding pre-trial diversion for children, operationalising the PNAC III strategy, and ensuring the continuity of essential child protection services in conflict-affected, humanitarian and flood-prone areas.
The meeting closed with a clear message: protecting children requires more than programmes. It requires partnership, coordination and sustained investment in systems that leave no child behind.
