Vanuatu’s Ministry of Justice and Community Services (MoJCS) and Save the Children are supporting the rollout of the National Protection Response Pathway to strengthen Child Protection System in the country.
A Memorandum of Understanding signed recently would ensure a mutual understanding of what is expected of both partners for a successful implementation of the programme.
The programme which is funded by Save the Children New Zealand, is known as ‘Strengthening Child Protection Response Pathways in Vanuatu’.
Save the Children’s Child Safeguarding and Child Protection Lead, Annie Nicolls Benua said the MOU is a way of formalizing their partnership which will continue to bring the two partners to a table to continue the robust discussion and planning and provide support to the MoJCS as a lead in this project.
The “Strengthening Child Protection Response Pathways in Vanuatu” project aims to address violence against children in all six provinces.
While the project won’t be able to address specifically the lack of a centralised database for child protection reporting, it will be able to ensure that Child Protection actors are all following the same Response Pathway, thereby improving the coordination and reporting within the sector, and supporting the lead role played by the Ministry of Justice.
Benua said she believes this approach is one of many ways they would love to see for children, to be able to speak up and raising issues especially abuses or violence that is affecting their lives 24/7”.
Photo supplied Caption: MoJCS Officer in charge, Melvin Boesel and Jack French, Acting Country Director for Save the Children Vanuatu signing the MOU.