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Campaigning for every last child

Over the past few decades, the world has made tremendous progress in the fight against poverty. The number of children dying from preventable causes has halved since 1990. However, this progress has not been spread fairly among all children. It comes down to much more than money: these children experience a mix of being poor and discriminated against. They are forgotten, ignoredand victimised on the basis of who they are and where they live – because they are girls, refugees, have a disability, belong to a specific ethnic or religious group or because they live in poor or deprived areas.

If we are going to secure further progress and fulfil the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals, then reaching and including these children is essential.

In 2016, we launched our global campaign, Every Last Child, in 60 countries to help remove the barriers that these children face.

Two of the most excluded groups of children are girls and refugees. And so at the global level, we are focusing on bringing about real change by 2030 for these children. Specifically, we are campaigning to help end child marriage, and to ensure that every refugee child is in school and learning.

In our first year, we’ve made significant contributions to real progress.

Changing laws and policies that harm children

Changing laws that affect an entire country’s children is one of the most impactful ways to improve lives. It’s hard and complex, but working with partners we’ve helped secure significant breakthroughs this year. In Burkina Faso we drove a landmark decree allowing free healthcare for children under five, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers. Our campaigning in Malawi, Zimbabwe and Tanzania contributed to bans on child marriage. In Nepal and Australia, we helped secure protection for refugees. And in Peru, we ensured government budget to help prevent teenage pregnancy.

Gaining public support

In Jordan, we live-streamed our work from the Za’atari refugee camp, raising public awareness of child refugees’ lack of education. In the US, we lit up the Empire State Building in red to raise awareness of the barriers girls face. In the UK, we mobilised tens of thousands through online petitions supporting refugees.

Together with partners, governments, civic society and the public, we are building a world where the world fulfils its promise – a life of safety, dignity and opportunity – for every last child.

A commitment to fair financing

Ensuring that governments properly invest in children, and that this finance is distributed fairly, is key to securing a future for all children.

In 2016, we helped develop a UN General Comment on open, inclusive and accountable investment. It became the first UN document to provide guidance to states on their legal obligation to invest in children and makes it clear that states must not discriminate against any child through the budgeting process.

In June, the UN Committee of the Rights of the Child General Comment on Public Budgeting was adopted. We helped launch the General Comment in 27 countries, 85% of which were attended by children, who shared their recommendations with decision-makers.

"At the UN General Assembly, we pushed governments to agree a global commitment to get all refugee children back to school within one month of displacement."

Investment in education

US$42m

approved for a global initiative to secure education for child refugees