Content Topic
Child protection systems
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Programme
Child labour and exploitation
UNICEF works with partners to accelerate the elimination of child labour, and provide sustainable solutions to ensure its effective prevention.
Programme
Violence against children
UNICEF works with partners to prevent and respond to violence against children. It aims to reduce violence at home, at school, in the community and online,
Programme
Justice for children
Justice for children is designed for the benefit of all children in contact with justice authorities to ensure that they are better served and protected.
Programme
Children separated from their families
A child has the right to know her/his parents, and be raised in a family environment. However, children can be separated from their families for a variety o
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Civil registration
Across the region, UNICEF is working to ensure that by 2030, all births that happen within a country are registered.
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Press release
New guidelines launched to protect children and pregnant women from heat stress in Bangladesh
Dhaka, 5 May 2024, –, , The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in Bangladesh, with UNICEF's support, launched today the National Guidelines on Heat-Related Illnesses to protect children and vulnerable populations, including pregnant women from heat-related health risks. This event marks a critical ste...
Report
A gendered analysis of child protection systems responses in COVID-19 programming in South Asia
Across South Asia child protection actors have been critical in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring children have continued access to services, mitigating new and increased risks and promoting mental health and wellbeing. This study explores the changes which took place in child protection systems acro...
Article
“Seeking counselling is not wrong”
Besides disrupting learning, the school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic is also causing children and young people to miss out on everyday moments like meeting with friends and participating in class. Twenty -year old Pema* is a class 12 student in one of the eastern districts. Until the schools reopened, she...
Report
Child Marriage in Humanitarian Settings in South Asia
While the rates of child marriage are decreasing in South Asia, the vulnerability and insecurity that arises during humanitarian crises threatens to undermine this progress. This report combines the findings from research with conflict-affected Rohingya refugees residing in Bangladesh, and 2015 earthquake affected...
Report
Birth Registration for Every Child by 2030
Society first acknowledges a child’s existence and identity through birth registration. The right to be recognized as a person before the law is a critical step in ensuring lifelong protection and is a prerequisite for exercising all other rights. A birth certificate is proof of that legal identity, and is the bas...
Report
State of the social service workforce in South Asia
This report provides information on the current status of the social service workforce in the eight countries in South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It is structured around global-level indicators outlined in a recent UNICEF ‘Social Service Workforce St...
Report
Review of child protection systems
The Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW Australia), in collaboration with the University of Melbourne, was commissioned by UNICEF to conduct a review of child protection systems in four countries in South Asia. The purpose of this review is to contribute to the global di...
Report
Structural violence against children in South Asia
The main objective of this desk review is to look at structural violence against children and adolescents in South Asia as well as institutional responses in the region. There have been some important and ground-breaking global efforts to address violence against children and adolescents, such as the Global Partn...
Programme
Child labour and exploitation
Challenge, A total of 152 million children – 64 million girls and 88 million boys – are estimated to be in child labour globally, accounting for almost one in ten of all children worldwide. UNICEF estimates 12 percent of the children aged 5-14 years in South Asia are involved in child labour, well over 41 million ...
Programme
Violence against children
Challenge, Violence against Children threatens not only children’s survival and health but also their emotional well-being and future prospects. Violence against children is widespread and pervasive and remains a harsh reality for millions of children in South Asia. Over half of the world’s children experienced se...
Programme
Justice for children
Challenge, Children can be in contact with the justice system as a victim, witness or offender. Yet the justice system is often structured to deal with adults, not allowing the necessary space for the child to participate. A child, particularly as a victim requires additional safeguards to understand the proceedin...
Programme
Children separated from their families
Challenge, Children can be separated from their families during a crisis. Children may also be inappropriately separated and placed in foster care or an institution, due to a perception of family need or sometimes for more illicit reasons. In an institution, the wellbeing of most children is most at risk with inst...