July 14 2015

Making the case for investment in children

Investing in children is vital to achieving sustainable development, a major international conference will be told.

Representing international child-focused organisations, SOS Children’s Villages is delivering this message to a high-profile gathering of world leaders in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the international Financing for Development conference is being held under the auspices of the United Nations.

Mr Dereje Wordofa

On Wednesday, 15 July, SOS Children’s Villages’ Mr Dereje Wordofa will represent child-focused organisations at a panel discussion sponsored by UNICEF and featuring government ministers from Argentina, Ethiopia, and Ghana, as well as other global development organisations. Mr Wordofa, International Director for the East and South Africa Region, will help the panel tackle challenging questions such as: What is the case for investing in the most disadvantaged children? What are the major steps we need to take to deliver on the Post-2015 Agenda for children?
 
This is the third international conference of Financing for Development. It is being held at a critical time in the Post-2015 process – the development of new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to build on the Millennium Development Goals.
 
The SDGs will guide global development over the next 15 years and will be finalised at a Heads of State special Summit in September this year. A ‘Final Draft’ of the agenda, including the 17 goals and their corresponding 169 targets, will go through the final negotiations next week and is available here.
 
There are some positive signs that the need to invest in children is understood by the development community. The draft ‘outcome document’ for the Financing for Development conference says:
 
“We recognize that investing in children and youth is critical to achieving inclusive, equitable and sustainable development for present and future generations, and we recognize the need to support countries that face particular challenges to make the requisite investments in this area. We reaffirm the vital importance of promoting and protecting the rights of all children, and ensuring that no child is left behind.”