Save The Children International

A Gender and Power Analysis in Save the Children’s Sponsorship program impact areas, Uganda, 2024

Save the Children (SC) is implementing a sponsorship programme in both development and humanitarian settings in Uganda. The program operates in Wakiso district in Central Uganda and the refugee settlements of Kyangwali and Rwamwanja in western Uganda. The Sponsorship program is comprised of four core programs, one non-core program, and two cross cutting programs. The core programs are Basic Education (BE), Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD), School Health and Nutrition (SHN) and Adolescent Development (AD). The non-core program is livelihoods, while the two cross-cutting programs are Community Capacity Strengthening and Child Protection. A Gender and Power Analysis of the sponsorship programme was conducted to generate data that will help to understand the gender-age differences to ensure that the sponsorship program tackles gender inequalities and discrimination among boys and girls, men and women. The Gender and Power Analysis adopted a mixed method approach utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. We employed the community-based survey and the school-based survey. Both designs employed a two-stage cluster sampling design, with clustering on the villages (for household survey) or schools (for school-based survey). This approach was largely applied to the community-based survey. Gender Roles Responsibilities, & Time Use: There is high awareness and adherence to the gender division of labour and expectations. Distinct gender division of labour among women men, boys, and girls at the household level was noted across all study areas. Power and Decision-Making at Household level: Decision making on different aspects (such as land, finances, means of transport, communication) is still dominated by the male with more men making independent decisions than women, girls, and children. Access to services: Most adolescents do not have access to services in the communities, including transport (65.0%), job opportunities (88.4%), infrastructure (87.7%), social security (85.3%), safety or security (78.9%), education services (94.9%), and health services (94.1%). Awareness of the youth groups supported by Save the Children: Most adolescents were aware of the existing youth groups that are supported by Save the Children (57.1%), even though most were not members to any youth group (53.9%), but majority belonged to a social network (68.1%). Stakeholders engaged in promoting gender equality: The Government of Uganda has institutionalized several gender and child protection instruments aimed at promoting gender equality and inclusion. Several stakeholders including government institutions, CSO and community-level child protection structures, and cultural and religious leaders are engaged in promoting gender equality and inclusion. It is important the program continues to draw on the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) framework given its usefulness in helping different stakeholders to have a clear understanding of gender equality, social inclusion/ exclusion as well as discriminatory practices.

Afghanistan Joint Response DRA Project Endline Assessment

Afghanistan is confronted with the challenges of climate changes and drought, which has a massively impact on agricultural livelihoods and food security. Kandahar, a province greatly impacted by the issue, faces challenges in accessing water, which negatively impacts agricultural output and livestock farming. Different survey uncovered significant levels of food insecurity within households, characterized by severe hunger and decreased food consumption. These issues were further intensified by conflicts and economic difficulties. A survey conducted in northern provinces previously (mix method study) emphasized the influence of increases in food prices, the COIVD-19 pandemic, and droughts on water and sanitation concerns. The WASH cluster has identified pressing requirements, particularly in Kandahar, for a secure water provision. Save the children executed the Afghanistan joint response (DRA) in Kandahar, specifically targeting the adverse effects of conflict and displacements onvulnerable populations. The DRA baseline 2022 survey revealed pervasive challenges in fulfilling fundamental necessities, inadequate dietary diversity and acute hunger. During the endline, project primary outcomes indicators are assessed with a specific focus on WASH, health and nutrition, household food security, MPCA and humanitarian aid, and accountability. Data were collected from 370 households in four districts in Kandahar, by interviewing the head of households and caregivers of children aged 5 years old or younger. The key takeaways by outcomes are as below

Baseline Survey on Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice (KAP) for the Addressing Climate Threats to Integrate Children into Education 2023 (ACTIVE) project from Save the Children International, Vientiane, Lao PDR

The ACTIVE project’s objectives align with Save the Children’s broader mission, seeking to empower children, caregivers, and local authorities to understand and address the multifaceted challenges posed by the climate crisis. This involves enhancing knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to climate change adaptation and resilience-building in daily life. With a focus on Sepone District, where school enrollment rates are notably low and dropout rates are concerning, the ACTIVE project aims to bolster climate resilience in education. Climate change poses significant risks to children’s education, including disruptions to schooling, health impacts, and exacerbation of existing vulnerabilities in rural communities and among marginalized groups. The research questions are as below: RQ1: What level of knowledge (RQ1-I), attitudes (RQ1-II), and practices (RQ1-III) do school children, teachers, village authorities and caregivers in the target area have about the potential or actual impact of climate change on their everyday lives and the education sector? RQ2: Are potential or actual impacts of climate change on children’s school attendance known (RQ2-I), perceived (RQ2-II), and reacted to (RQ2-III) by the target groups? RQ3: What effects do children’s gender (RQ3-I), ethnicity (RQ3-II), and disabilities (RQ3-III) have on the conditions investigated above? RQ4: What are the most appropriate ways to convey topic-related information to the target groups?

Field Notes for Innovation: Developing a social-based approach for teacher absenteeism

Teacher absenteeism is a critical obstacle to education in Mozambique. Faced with this challenge, some schools in Mozambique have started to leverage their social networks, particularly the involvement of parents, as part of a ‘social-based approach’ to encourage teacher attendance. Initial reporting suggests that this may be an effective new strategy, however, there is a lack of official data and clear understanding of this approach. To better understand the underlying activities and mechanisms, Save the Children Mozambique together with the Center for Utilizing Behavioral Insights for Children (CUBIC) conducted a brief research project and documentation exercise. This document presents key insights gained from this work to help other groups further develop and test their own strategies to reduce absenteeism. The central principle for a social-based approach appears tobe increasing the engagement of the community in the decision-making and operation of schools. This allows the communityto take a level of ownership and responsibility – which inturn helps use resources from the community to address schoolchallenges – including absenteeism. Each community is different and therefore the necessary activities differ slightly from context to context. However, this booklet summarizes seven core activities that were commonly reported by schools as part of their approaches. Includingthe description of the activities, potential impact on relevantbarriers to teacher attendance, key stakeholders involved, and implementation tips.

Impact Evaluation Report: Malawi Catch-Up Clubs & CVA: Impact of Cash on Learning Outcomes

Save the Children implemented a Catch-up Club (CuC) project, funded by the Swedish Postcode Lottery (SPL), in 20 schools in Lilongwe, Malawi. CuCs are a short-term, data-driven intervention to build foundational skills in literacy, numeracy and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), during learning disruptions, as seen with the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted education for over 1.6 billion children, including 8 million in Malawi. CuCs are also beneficial beyond the COVID-19 pandemic or context as they can be implemented wherever children are experiencing learning losses. The project provided remedial education, layered with child protection support for at-risk children, and cash and voucher assistance (CVA) to economically vulnerable families. Child protection and CVA are integrated with the education and SEL components of CuCs to address protection, social and economic barriers to learning that may affect children’s participation in the clubs and school. There remain gaps in evidence both at the global and at country level on the impact of CVA on child learning outcomes. Hence this study is to build evidence on the effect of the cash on primary school learner attendance and learning outcomes, which will inform Save the Children’s programming particularly in program design.

Logros de la oficina de Bolivia año 2023

Les compartimos el boletín que presenta las actividades y los logros alcanzados en este 2023. Dentro del documento encontrarán los principales logros y actividades realizadas por área temática. Son muchos los retos y desafíos que tenemos, pero también hemos logrado avances significativos que queremos compartir con ustedes.

NSA CASE Project-Using Digital Data Management to Guide Agriculture Sector Nutrition Initiatives

In the current era of data revolution, addressing the prevalent challenges of food and nutrition insecurity necessitates the establishment of a robust monitoring and evaluation system founded on a proven and reliable data management protocol. In the contrary, the Ministry of Agriculture of Ethiopia employs a manual-based reporting system, utilizing methods such as phone calls and both soft and hard copy reports to gather data from various federal-level technical directorates, tracking the progress of planned activities and monitoring and evaluating achievements. The M&E Directorate from regions relies on manual-based reporting systems to communicate data to MOA directorates at the federal office through scanned copies of reports and phone communication. Data from district agriculture offices follows a manual-based system to reach the regional BOA, while data from kebeles is reported to district offices manually by Development Agents (DAs) or experts conducting supportive supervision at the lower levels of government (kebeles and woredas). The use of a manual-based reporting system to aggregate and develop annual and bi-annual NSA (food and nutrition) reports is not reliable, replicable, or validated for its intended purpose. Reliance on a third-party data source like Central Statistic (CSA) annual or five-year surveys, independent research works, and project reports are often not fully aligned with the Ministry’s nutrition objectives as well as its data needs for effective planning and decision-making. AGMIS indicators, including nutrition indicators, lack uniformity, coherence, and integration, presenting challenges in monitoring NSA implementation. Furthermore, AGMIS lacked standardized reporting formats, a well-organized data management system, and an established mechanism for sharing data within the Ministry. This has resulted in gaps in meaningful data reporting, analysis, and utilization for decision-making by the MOA, RBOA, and District offices regarding food production, access, and utilization. To address the issue, MOA with the support of NSA CASE project piloted Agriculture Management Information System (AGMIS) to digitize the agriculture data reporting management to improve effectiveness of data collection and reporting, its reliable and validity for targeted planning and implementation of NSA initiatives.

Programming in a Context of Increasing Climate-related Risk and Change: A climate risk-informed guide for all sectors

Children bear the brunt of climate change despite contributing least to it. Around 183 million children across the world face the triple threat of high climate risks, multidimensional poverty and conflict, putting their survival, education and protection at risk. The impacts of the climate crisis are accelerating rapidly, compounding inequalities and affecting children, particularly girls, first and worst: more than 99%of deaths attributable to climate change occur in developing countries; over 80%are children. Across regions, school enrolment has declined 20–30%due to prolonged droughts. By 2050, over 200 million people across regions will migrate due to climate change. Climate change is relevant to everything and in all contexts of Save the Children’s work. We need to ensure that our work for and with children is sustainable and adapted to increasing climate-related risk and change. This guide is a tool designed to assist Save the Children staff to identify and address climate-related risks to humanitarian and development projects. Managing climate-related risks in projects is critical to avoid loss, damage and harm to children and their communities, the environment and project investments, and to ensure that project outcomes are sustainable. Our legitimacy with communities, partners and donors depends on our ability to manage climate-related risks. Using this guide will support staff in designing proposals and projects with: Outcomes that realize humanitarian objectives and development progress, in contexts of climate-related risks to children’s lives and rights Outputs: That are informed by and reduce the impacts of climate change, and That will be more robust and less likely to be negatively impacted by climate-related hazards, which could lead to harm. Activities that are planned to minimize disruption and associated costs.

Refugee Education Integration Policy (REIP): Providing inclusive and quality education for all children in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

The report highlights the integration of Syrian refugee children into public schools in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I). By January 2024, over 70% of Syrian refugee children were enrolled in these schools, benefiting both refugee and Kurdish communities by providing quality education and fostering social cohesion. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) launched the Refugee Education Integration Policy (REIP) in partnership with UNHCR, UNICEF, and Save the Children to gradually integrate Syrian refugee children and teachers into the public education system. Despite significant achievements, such as enrolling nearly 50,000 Syrian refugee children and providing educational resources, underfunding remains a critical challenge that could jeopardize the program’s success. The report emphasizes the need for continued support and funding to ensure the sustainable inclusion of refugee children in the education system.