Presentation

Programme 070 ‘Social Protection for Children’ aims to guarantee the equity necessary to get a good start in life. The activities carried out under this programme are designed to promote early childhood development, particularly in the social protection area. In concrete terms, the Ministry is committed to ensuring social protection services for children in vulnerable situations

Strategic focus

Programme 070 emphasises the community-based nature of the various actions to be carried out for the benefit of children. As Cameroon is in the process of decentralisation, all the actions carried out should be implemented by the Local and Administrative Authorities as a matter of priority. Strategic government action is only a support.

In concrete terms, the aim is to encourage grassroots communities, and through them the Local and Administrative Authorities, to take ownership of the social protection for children, in particular through the development of specific programmes that concern them, the creation of appropriate support structures, the mobilization of the community and the direct action to promote and protect children's rights.

As far as direct childcare initiatives are concerned, a clear distinction should be made between those aimed at early childhood, those aimed at socially maladjusted children and those aimed at children who are victims of violence, abuse and exploitation.

With regard to Early Childhood, the aim is to firmly establish the Early Childhood Development Policy by creating an environment that takes into account the realities of this age group, in particular by setting up actions that target children aged 0 to 8 and by involving families and communities in the search for appropriate solutions to the needs and realities of Early Childhood.

With regard to children who are victims of abuse and violence, who find their roots within families and communities, the aim will be to guarantee actions for prevention, denunciation, detection, care and social reintegration.

With regard to the prevention of social maladjustment, the focus will be on mobilising community leaders to ensure that the spectrum of violence within families and communities does not include the supervision of children. It will also be a matter of ensuring the collaboration of these leaders in detecting and denouncing cases of child abuse, violence and exploitation. Focus will be placed, where appropriate, on the establishment of care structures for children who are victims of abuse and violence, traditional structures that can guarantee quality services for these children, and traditional health and social structures. It will also be important to ensure that the legal system adopts mechanisms to punish those who perpetrate violence and abuse against children.

The purpose of all these actions is to ensure that these children regain their place in society. It is important for the programme to ensure that, at all levels, these children can be directed towards their own environment, i.e. even if they are cared for in specialised institutions, close links should be maintained with their family environment, and even if they stay in hospitals, families and communities should be closely involved in their discharge from this environment and their return to their families.

The third focus of the programme will be on socially maladjusted children (children at moral risk who are outside the normal family cycle, on the streets, in games room, using drugs). The programme will provide psychosocial support, stabilisation and reorientation.

The programme will also target children in conflict with the law. They will benefit from care, including the application of the texts in force for criminal proceedings (Civil Code, Criminal Code), respect for their rights throughout their stay in the juvenile justice system and appropriate supervision in accordance with the State's legal commitments.

Overall, the programme 070 will ensure that children's rights are known, recognised, respected and applied at all levels of society. Recognised through social mobilisation actions, in particular the celebration of international days, the popularisation and multiplication of legal instruments and the involvement of the entire social chain in the celebration of the promotion of their rights.

Today, Cameroon can be proud to have ratified most of the legal instruments on child protection, to have a significant legal framework, and to have a National Child Protection Policy Paper (DPNPE) and an Early Childhood Development Paper (DDPE). The major challenge is to implement, promote and disseminate all these documents. Moreover, we are now witnessing an increase of social ills that were once minimally observed, such as children's addiction to drugs and violence against children, with the involvement of families, which instead of being a safe environment, are becoming a place where violence is exacerbated and where children no longer feel safe. We are witnessing the emergence of another type of phenomenon, namely children living in emergency situations (the Boko Haram and NOSO crises), in which children are among the main victims and require, among other things, special care, reparation mechanisms and reorientation of children who have strayed from the expected path, hence the need for social maladjustment measures.

It is important to note that most child protection strategies do not emanate from the Ministry of Social Affairs alone and involve other actors. Most of the strategies described above emphasise collaboration with other government actors, development partners and civil society.

For example, MINSANTE will be a key partner in early childhood care initiatives, as the child's main needs include nutrition and appropriate care to ensure adequate and quality care. In the meantime, MINAS is committed to identifying and sensitising the public. For children who are victims of abuse and violence, several actors need to be involved, including the Local and Administrative Authorities and community leaders, who should help to denounce and detect cases. 

Other government actors, such as MINPROFF, should be involved in strengthening family education Development partners will also be important actors.

The implementation of this programme requires coordinated action to 

• promote early childhood development initiatives (DPE);
• prevent social maladjustment and strengthen social protection for children;
• strengthen rehabilitation and support for the integration and reintegration of vulnerable maladjusted children;
• strengthen the institutional system for the social protection of children

Major objective
Ensuring an inclusive and appropriate service offer for children in need of social protection.

Indicator
Percentage of girls and boys receiving quality social services .

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