Conference on Family Strengthening and Alternative Care in Sub-Saharan Francophone Africa
Save the Children, the Better Care Network and UNICEF, in collaboration with key regional stakeholders, hosted a Conference on Family Strengthening and Alternative Care in Sub-Saharan Francophone Africa.
The Conference took place May 10 and 11,2012 in Dakar, Senegal and was the first meeting of its kind in Sub-Saharan Francophone and Lusophone Africa providing an occasion for the high-level launching of the Guidelines on Alternative Care of Children to a Francophone and Lusophone audience. The conference hosted 128 delegates from 17 African countries.
The event provided an opportunity to mobilise key actors to:
All documents and presentations as well as the final outcomes and commitments will be uploaded by the end of May on the conference website: http://www.conf-famillepriseencharge-dakar.org/(French only).
In 2006, members of the Better Care Network formed the FBO outreach committee in order to promote better practice within the faith-based orphan care community. This committee formalized in 2008 and is now known as the Faith to Action Initiative.
The Faith to Action Initiative brings together Christian faith-based organizations, churches, and individuals seeking to respond to the needs of orphans and other vulnerable children in Sub-Saharan Africa. The core focus of the Initiative's work is to promote approaches to orphan care that uphold the value of family and community in the life of a child.
For more information on the Faith to Action Initiative please visit their homepage.
In September 2009, BCN partnered with ANPPCAN, UNICEF, Feed the Children, Department of Children's Services, Kenya, SOS Children's Villages, Compassion International, Give a Child a Family, USAID, and Lakarmissionen to hold the First International Conference in Africa on Family-Based Care for Children in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference was attended by over 450 participants from approximately 30 African countries. Representatives from government ministries and parliament; donors; non-governmental organizations; faith-based organizations; community-based organizations; and international organizations were in attendance. The conference objectives were to: (a) improve knowledge on family based care for children through sharing information and experiences; (b) enhance the legislative and policy environment to support family based care for children in Africa; and (c) improve skills of actors in the provision of family based care for children in Africa. To learn more about the conference, visit the links below or contact the BCN Secretariat.
On 30 November – 3 December 2009, Better Care Network, partnered with BCN Steering Committee members Save the Children and UNICEF, to hold a high-level conference on children without adequate parental care at Wilton Park conference centre in the UK. The conference brought together leaders from Government, bi-lateral donors, international agencies, private foundations, and academia to explore challenges and opportunities in protecting these children. The Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, together with the UNCRC, provide a clear framework for action to support families to care for their children and to develop quality family-based alternatives to residential care. This conference sought to bring energy and drive into realizing the changes needed to better care for and protect vulnerable children. For more information on the conference, visit the links below:
Continue to visit this page for updated information regarding BCN's efforts to support country and regional level support of alternative care work.