New agreement signed to benefit children

The Government of Antigua and Barbuda and UNICEF today signed a Basic Cooperation Agreement (BCA) that forms the basis of the UN children agency’s development cooperation in the country.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon. Charles Fernandez signed on behalf of Antigua and Barbuda while UNICEF’s new Representative to the Eastern Caribbean Area, Dr Aloys Kamuragiye, signed on behalf of UNICEF.

The BCA outlines in detail the terms and conditions of the cooperation between the Government and UNICEF. It also agrees on the basic principles of planning and implementation of programmes for the benefit of children of Antigua and Barbuda.

It will be the main plank on which UNICEF and government will continue to implement the current programme of cooperation which is aimed at supporting Antigua and Barbuda to fulfill its commitments to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child so that every child can grow and develop to reach his or her full potential.

The programme focusses on the key areas of Lifelong Learning, Safety and Justice for Children as well as Social Inclusion and Child Rights Monitoring.

In Lifelong Learning it seeks to ensure that all girls and boys, especially the most disadvantaged, have every opportunity to improve their education and developmental outcomes and access equitable and inclusive learning environments across the lifecycle, including in emergencies.

In the Safety and Justice for Children agenda, the partners will seek to ensure that national legislation is implemented to prevent, mitigate and address violence and other childhood abuses and the justice, education, public health, security and other sectors observe children’s rights to this protection.

The final plank seeks to ensure that national systems and policies are effectively addressing multiple deprivations affecting the most vulnerable boys and girls across the lifecycle, and building their resilience, through adequately funded social investments and rights-based quality social policies, and based on disaggregated data on children.

Antigua and Barbuda is one of 12 countries the Eastern Caribbean Multi-Country Programme.

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