Save the Children Sweden started working in Eastern and Central Africa in 1965. We have offices in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Juba, southern Sudan; Khartoum, northern Sudan; Nairobi (regional office), Kenya; and El Fasher, North Darfur. We have long-term child-rights based development programmes in Ethiopia and Sudan, and supports local partners in Kenya, Eritrea, Somaliland and Uganda - focusing on building the capacity of local people, community-based structures and organisations. In Eastern and Central Africa, we work with more than forty different non-governmental organisations and government bodies. In addition, we have adopted a direct implementation approach in southern Sudan.
All of the work in the region focuses on children’s rights, and tackles issues that affect marginalised children. The core of the work focuses on children affected by conflict, education, discrimination, abuse, exploitation, and HIV/AIDS. Our focus also include child participation and good governance in the best interest of the child. All countries in Eastern and Central Africa have signed the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, except Somalia. Most of the countries have also signed or ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Despite this progress, laws protecting children are not yet enforced, harmful traditions prevail in most communities and children are rarely given the opportunity to speak out. We strive to create awareness about children’s rights, build the capacity of local communities to protect those rights and lobby governments to respect them. Creating participation with children, listening to their opinions and criticisms, is a cornerstone of our work. As such, we insist that all our partners involve children in their programme planning, implementation and evaluation.
Save the Children Sweden also supports the writing of the complementary reports done by NGOs to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Sudan. We have brought together NGO and government representatives, who draft the complementary reports throughout the region, so they can learn from another and all reports will be of higher quality. We work with various ministries within governments, parliaments and supreme courts to advocate for the symmetry of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and national legislation. Once that is achieved, we work hard to ensure that the laws are implemented.
Save the Children Sweden publishes research reports, situational analysis, studies and advocacy briefings. These are available on subscription or through our bookshop. All new Save the Children Sweden publications can be accessed online. Our quarterly e-bulletin keeps more than 2,000 subscribers up to date with the latest news, developments and project updates in the field of children’s rights in Eastern and Central Africa.