There is a lack of quantitative and qualitative data (particularly disaggregated data), research and verified information about vulnerable children, including children left outside of family -- care, street-connected children, children in institutions, and migrant and refugee children.
When children are counted, they are more likely to be included in government programs which help to ensure they grow up healthy, safe, and better-prepared to contribute positively to their societies. The SDGs aim to leave no one behind, committing states to providing basic health, education, and protection to all children. However, if we are not able to quantify the number of children that need support, it is impossible to effectively identify their needs and ensure their rights are realized
This session will bring together data experts and advocates for children to highlight the major data issues that limit the effectiveness of programs that target vulnerable children and discuss existing and new efforts to overcome these challenges. It will showcase a series of pilot exercises that work with spatially-referenced financial, administrative, and outcome data on vulnerable children and provide recommended next steps to improve our ability to effectively target and reach these children through future interventions.
This interactive session will create important connections between sectors, ensuring participants leave with actionable ways to test, scale and collaborate on new approaches.
This session will be co-hosted by Lumos and Aid Data, and the United Arab Emirates Permanent Mission to the United Nations, supported by the UK 's Department for International Development (DFID) and Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The main objectives of the session are:
- To share practical examples of how vulnerable children are counted and included -- drawing on evidence around the world. Examples may draw on new innovation in data sampling such as gridded population surveys in urban areas and collaboration between local governments and NGOs to collate data;
- To highlight and provide examples of the role of different stakeholders, including government, civil society and the private sector in collecting and validating data on vulnerable children;
- To promote global investment in data collection methods for vulnerable children and increase political will at the national and global level;
- To create connections between sectors, ensuring participants leave with actionable ways to test, scale and collaborate to count children outside families;
- To identify ways to ensure that these data are used by government to materially improve children 's lives, within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.