A rights-focused Situation Analysis (SitAn) of Children and Women in Belize is about the importance of the ecology in which children grow. It examines the conditions necessary for the full achievement of children and women’s rights. One of the key messages that emerges relates to the importance of early and consistent investments across the lifecycle and how timely, culturally relevant investments translate into positive outcomes for boys, girls and women to shape lives.
The UNICEF review of the situation of children and women calls the attention of policy-makers, parents, teachers and other duty bearers to the need to build a strong connection between developmental programs and policies in order to construct a coherent set of supports and services. This system is needed in all spaces and across the lifecycle. Such a system would depend on integrated and multi-level support mechanisms and evidence-based policies managed by skilled providers. It emphasizes the importance that culture plays in a country as diverse as Belize and the need to tailor programs that place culture as a core component of most, if not all, developmental programs.
The last SitAn done on factors affecting children and pregnant women was completed by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the National Commission for Families and Children (NCFC) nearly a decade ago. Now, in September 2019, UNICEF and NCFC are working with stakeholders and other partners to compile a more updated SitAn. The most recent discussion began at the Best Western Biltmore Plaza on Monday, September 16, 2019 and saw the presence of Dr. Susan Kasedde, UNICEF country Representative in Belize. Dr. Kasedde says that despite not having done a SitAn since 2011 in Belize, this one “provides a really important evidence base for our (UNICEF) program action, our investments, our advocacy, and the way that we partner and prioritize the work that we do in the country.”
Since 2011, there have been numerous relevant documents compiled which all focus on a range of aspects affecting children and adolescents. As such, the group has the very tedious process of sifting through all those documents to analyze that data and compile a cohesive document which will give a precise and accurate report of the state of wellbeing of our children. According to Paulette Wade, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist at UNICEF, that report will officially be launched in December 2019.
The validation session took into account aspects that affect children and adolescents including survival and development; access to justice; information and participation; abuse, violence, and exploitation; education and development; social protection and adequate living standards; and protection from natural disasters. As such, there were representatives from each of these sectors at the validation session who all contributed their reports in order to have a comprehensive report which UNICEF will use to best prioritize their funds, focus, and action for their next country program. While the SitAn is on children and women, women are not a primary focus for this report other than when a child is in their womb. Wade says, for example, that women are considered on the survival and development phase of the lifecycle with “the idea of ensuring that children are born safe so that prenatal care is given to the mother.”
Dr. Kasedde concedes that while it might be too early for there to be clear indications of improvements or impairments, there are improvements “anywhere if we wish to be objective.” She says, for example, that there are clear advancements in health and early childhood as there has been a reduction in the number of stunted children or those suffering from malnutrition. There are also an increased number of children who have access to early childhood stimulation. “That suggests that the efforts that have been put in to raising awareness around the importance of early childhood development and what parents can do to make sure that children at the earliest age are supported to discover and start to discover a love for learning, these things are starting to take effect.”
On the other hand, Dr. Kasedde says that there has been a stagnation in the number of teenage pregnancies, “so definitely there needs to be improvements in the way that we support adolescents to learn about their development, to prevent negative outcomes of early sexual activity. We need to do better in terms of protecting adolescents from unwanted and forced sexual activity.”
While the report will be compiled as a national document, Dr. Kasedde says that it is important to dig deeper into the overall picture and to consider differences based on urban vs. rural communities, based on sex, based on geography, and other determining factors. For example, Dr. Kasedde’s group at the valuation focused on health data and she says that the chapter repeatedly looks at how “intentional injury or violence related injury differs very much across the country.” All these have to be taken into consideration when discussing with policy makers, partners, and the community on a whole.
