Resources search

Orphans and other vulnerable children support toolkit

INTERNATIONAL HIV/AIDS ALLIANCE
FAMILY HEALTH INTERNATIONAL
December 2005

Expand view

This is a collection of information, tools and guidance on supporting orphans and other vulnerable children living in a world with HIV/AIDS. It covers a wide range of subject areas, including running a programme, health and nutrition, education, psychosocial support, economic strengthening, living environments and children's rights. It contains a wide range of useful resources on the different topic areas. It also contains a section on early childhood development

Child Development

NATIONAL CENTRE ON BIRTH DEFECTS AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES (NCBDDD)
September 2005

Expand view

This website summarises the milestones of child development containing simple and essential information about the development of infants (aged 0-1), toddlers (aged 1-3) and pre-school children (aged 3-5). The site also holds information about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Using social stories to ease children's transitions

BRIODY, Jennifer
MCGARRY, Kathleen
September 2005

Expand view

Social stories in teacher-made books written for children on topics relevant to an individual can provide assistance for those toddlers and preschool-age children who need help in the transition process

Counting on communication : the Uganda Nutrition and Early Childhood Development Project

VERZOSA, Cecilia
April 2005

Expand view

This publication presents the activities and lessons learned from a project which sought to halve malnutrition among preschool children, raise primary school enrollment, reduce dropout and repetition rates, improve psycho-social and cognitive development, and increase the number of mothers practicing appropriate childcare. A strategic communication programme was designed to help mothers and other caregivers adopt new behaviours needed to achieve project outcomes. It helped the project team identify necessary changes in behaviour, knowledge or attitude for all target audiences; frame project-related issues relevant to different stakeholders, such as parliamentarians, mothers, community leaders, educators, and local government administrators; craft persuasive messages according to their needs, concerns and perceptions; and use the most appropriate communication channels. The communication strategy included a: national advocacy effort aimed at parliamentarians, health and education ministry officials, district and community leaders; multi-media campaign that emphasized three behaviour change interventions; training programme for health workers and pre-school teachers on their role; and monitoring and evaluation component to ensure that materials were disseminated via cost-effective channels of communication and that messages reached target audiences. Lessons learned emphasize the value of developing a comprehensive communication strategy during project design.

HIV and young children : an annotated bibliography on psychosocial perspectives

SHERR, Lorraine
February 2005

Expand view

This annotated bibliography offers a practical guide to the content of the references which informed the literature review presented in BVLF Working Paper 33 (Young Children and HIV/AIDS: Mapping the Field). It is intended to help readers who want to go deeper into the issues and explore the original source material. The bibliography presents the references - mostly to peer-reviewed medical or psychology journals - under subject headings such as "disclosure", "interventions", "parentless children", "social development", and more

Mexico Forum 8

GLOBAL FORUM FOR HEALTH RESEARCH
February 2005

Expand view

The Global Forum for Health Research aims at addressing the "10/90 gap": less than ten per cent of research funds are devoted to 90 per cent of the world health needs. This CD-ROM contains the full text of papers and posters presented at Forum 8 in Mexico City in 2004. Forum 8 gathered around 900 participants from 450 institutions in 109 countries. Participants represented governments, multilateral and bilateral aid agencies, international and national foundations and NGOs, women's organizations, research institutions and universities, the private sector and the media. Topics covered include health research, disease prevention, child mortality, maternal health, substance abuse, mental and neurological health

Getting ready : findings from the National School Readiness Indicators Initiative. A 17 State partnership

RHODE ISLAND KIDS COUNT
Ed
February 2005

Expand view

This is a comprehensive report on school readiness indicators. The report explores why school readiness is important, and identifies core indicators in relation to children's development, families, communities and services. It also looks at indicators in relation to policy making and provides a sampling of policy options. The focus is on the US experience but findings and indicators can be adapted and applied to other contexts

Maternal survival : improving access to skilled care. A behavior change approach

CHANGE
February 2005

Expand view

This summary is based on the CHANGE Maternal Survival Toolkit, available online at: www.changeproject.org and on CD-ROM. It explores ways of influencing behaviours and encouraging use of health services and health professionals during childbirth and the postpartum period. A number of factors can prevent pregnant women from accessing skilled care, often putting themselves and the child at risk. They include availability of health services and high costs but also, and crucially, local culture, family and community behaviours and traditional practices. The CHANGE Project's approach and this document stress locally appropriate, behaviour-based interventions that integrate what is happening in homes, communities and health facilities. This tool is aimed at organisations and individuals working in the field of mother and child health, and willing to look at maternal and child survival issues from a behaviour change perspective

HIV risk exposure in young children : a study of 2-9 year olds served by public health facilities in the Free State, South Africa

SHISANA, Olive
MEHTAR, Shaheen
2005

Expand view

South Africa has, until now, focused its HIV prevention efforts on youth and adults, and now needs to expand its focus to include children. Much is already known about mother to child transmission, which is the dominant mode of HIV transmission among children. However, little investigation has been done into the potential for horizontal transmission of HIV on the population below reproductive age. This report focuses on children aged 2-9 years and, using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, presents evidence on the potential for HIV transmission in dental, maternity and paediatric service in public health facilities. A new finding concerns the practice of shared breastfeeding

Young children and HIV/AIDS : mapping the field

SHERR, Lorraine
January 2005

Expand view

This paper offers a concise and comprehensive overview of the literature from a psychological perspective. It explores a range of issues in emotional, psychological, social and physical development, and their relation to broader issues including poverty, nutrition and human rights. It idenifies gaps in knowledge and will help funders, policy makers and practitioners to locate their own work in the bigger picture. It is accompanied by an annotated bibliography

Make every mother and child count : World Health Day 7 April 2005. A toolkit for organizers of activities

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
2005

Expand view

This toolkit has been designed for organisations promoting activities and events for the World Health Day 2005, and particularly concerned with the survival and well-being of mothers and children. It spells out four key messages: too many mothers and children are suffering and dying each year; healthy mothers and children are the real wealth of societies; millions of lives could be saved using the knowledge available today; in order to make a difference stakeholders must join forces and act together

1990 - 2005 Celebrating the Innocenti declaration on the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding

INNOCENTI RESEARCH CENTRE, UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND (UNICEF)
2005

Expand view

In 1990, the Innocenti Declaration on the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding set an international agenda on breastfeeding and the recognition ofthe right of the infant to nutritious food enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This publication reviews the context of the Innocenti Declaration and analyzes the achievements that have been realized towards the targets that were established in 1990. It describes the continuing and new challenges that exist to optimal feeding of infants and young children, and suggests a way forward towards the global aim of ensuring universal enjoyment of children’s right to adequate nutrition.

The evolving capacities of the child

LANSDOWN, Gerison
2005

Expand view

The Convention on the Rights of the Child introduces for the first time in an international human rights treaty, the concept of the 'evolving capacities' of the child. This principle has been described as a new principle of interpretation in international law, recognising that, as children acquire enhanced competencies, there is a diminishing need for protection and a greater capacity to take responsibility for decisions affecting their lives. The Convention allows for the recognition that children in different environments and cultures, and faced with diverse life experiences, will acquire competencies at different ages. Action is needed in law, policy and practice so that the contributions children make and the capacities they hold are acknowledged. The purpose of the study is to open the discussion and promote debate to achieve a better understanding of how children can be protected, in accordance with their evolving capacities, and also provided with opportunities to participate in the fulfillment of their rights. Although the paper discusses children of all ages, section 2 (p.12) focuses on early childhood development and the cultural environment

Implementing child rights in early childhood

OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (UNHCHR). Committee on the rights of the child
2005

Expand view

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child publishes its interpretations of the content of human rights provisions, in the form of 'General Comments' on thematic issues. This 'General Comment' paper is about implementing child rights in early childhood. The definition of early childhood here is children from birth, through infancy and the pre-school years. Previous information available on the subject of human rights and early childhood development has been centred around child mortality, birth registration and health care. This paper aims to encourage recognition that ealy childhood is a critical period for the realisation of rights. Research has highlighted the particular risks to young children from malnutrition, disease, poverty, neglect, social exclusion and a range of other adversities. Proper prevention and intervention strategies during early childhood have the potential to impact positively on young children's current well being and future development

Universal birth registration : a universal responsibility

PLAN INTERNATIONAL
2005

Expand view

This publication is the final report arising from a Plan International campaign on universal birth registration. Article 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that 'the child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right to a name and the right to acquire a nationality'. Most recent statistics estimate that 36 percent of children are currently not registered. Without a birth certificate, children may have difficulty proving to officials that they are eligible for assistance at times of personal and national crisis. They may have problems accessing human rights such as care and education. They can be at risk of exclusion and not fulfilling their potential by operating at a disadvantage within social, cultural, economic and political spheres. This campaign aims to ensure that evey child is registered at birth

Child context relationships and developmental outcomes : some perspectives on poverty and culture

DAWES, Andrew
DONALD, David
2005

Expand view

In 2002 the Christian Children's Fund commissioned a comprehensive study on the experience and the impact of poverty on children. The results were published in a series of five working papers and are aimed at community organisations working on breaking multigenerational poverty. This working paper points out that programmes must be sensitive to the several contexts that simultaneously influence the child's development -- the ecology the child is in, the developmental period, and the social, cognitive, emotional and physical domain. Cultural practices form a central component of a child's context. The second half of the paper explores the ways in which cultures structure the experience of childhood. It stresses that cultural practices and local knowledge are integral in all developmental contexts. The paper focuses on children of all ages, but is aware of the different needs of the child at the different developmental stages, as outlined on page 12. The paper takes a very general worldwide geographical viewpoint, which contributes to some useful overall theories, discussion points and conclusions that can be applied to a variety of programmes around the world

The millennium development goals report 2005

UNITED NATIONS
2005

Expand view

This report assess progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals. It presents data collected by agencies and organisations within and outside the United Nations system, working through the Inter-agency and Expert Group on MDG Indicators

School readiness : closing racial and ethnic gaps

2005

Expand view

Research findings suggest that what happens to children early in life has a profound impact on their later achievement. This collection of articles focus on ethnicity and show that by focusing on essential aspects of children's lives before they enter school, we might ultimately be able to close the racial and ethnic gaps in educational outcomes

Pages

E-bulletin