UNICEF in Bosnia and Herzegovina 2015 - 2020 (Country Programme Summary)

UNICEF Bosnia and Herzegovina: COUNTRY PROGRAMME 2015 - 2020

CHILDREN’S RIG HTS IN NUMBER OF CHILDREN IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

CHILD PROTECTION

According to the 2013 BiH Census the total population of the country is about 3.5 million of which almost 20% are children under 18.

According to the latest available data, more than half (55%) of children aged 2-14 years are subjected to some method of violent discipline, psychological or physical, by their parents or other adult household members (source: MICS 4, BiH, 2011-12).

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) calls on states to protect children from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation.

692,701

CHILDREN 0-17

2,838,458

48%

POPULATION ABOVE 18

2-4 YRS

33%

Source: BHAS, 2013 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings

47%

CHILD POVERTY

5-9 YRS

Poverty harms children not only at the time it is experienced, but evidence shows that it usually also has longer term consequences. Children are disproportionately hit by poverty and deprivation. Almost one in three children (31%) in BiH lives in consumption-based poverty. Poor children are significantly more deprived in every dimension according to the findings from the Multiple Overlapping Deprivation Analysis in BiH (2015).

31% PHYSICAL PUNISHMENT

Housing

30% 51%

11%

7%

Educational Resources

In the area of Justice for Children, the number of children in conflict with the law is one of the internationally recognised key indicators to measure the outcome of preventive and alternative measures. As shown in the graph, this number has been reduced in recent years but is still quite significant.

2,500

2,313

2,000

35%

1,659

1,099

2014

2016

1,500

1,000

28%

500 90

Non poor

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Deprived children(%)

PSYCHOLOGICAL AGGRESSION

NUMBER OF CHILDREN IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW IN BiH

21%

11%

Nutrition

2

43%

7%

Clothing

80%

29%

18%

Leisure

10-14 YRS

Source: MICS 4 BiH, 2011-12

Information Access Social Participation

44%

The YOUNGER the child is, the MORE likely s/he is to be PHYSICALLY PUNISHED

CHILD POVERTY IN BiH 12%

44%

Poor

Source: National Multiple Overlapping Deprivation Analysis (MODA) BiH, 2015

0

2012

Source: High Judicial Prosecutorial Council of BiH Report to UNICEF, BiH, 2017

B O S N IA AND HERZ EG OVINA PRESCHOOL EDUCATION The right to preschool education is universally proclaimed by international standards, most notably the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Early childhood education (ECD) can lay the foundation for later success in life in terms of further education, well-being, employability and social integration, especially for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. In BiH the percentage of 3-4 year old children attending ECD is still extremely low, although in recent years the percentage of 5 year olds attending pre-school one year before enrolment in primary school has significantly increased.

PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN 3-4 YEARS CURRENTLY ATTENDING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION BY COUNTRY

PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN 5-6 YEARS IN PRESCHOOL EDUCATION, ONE YEAR BEFORE ENROLMENT IN PRIMARY SCHOOL 60%

13% 14%

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA KOSOVO*

50%

MONTENEGRO SERBIA

30%

40%

31%

20%

50%

54%

45%

40%

10% 80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

0%

2011/2012

2012/2013

2016/2017

Source: MICS in selected countries

Source: UNICEF, 2017

IMMUNIZATION FULL IMMUNIZATION COVERAGE 100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

68%

4% 30%

KOSOVO* MONTENEGRO

12%

SERBIA

13% Country-wide

*All references to Kosovo, whether the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United Nation's Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.

30%

20%

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

10%

0%

Immunization is a core component of the human right to health and an individual, community and government responsibility. Protected from the threat of vaccine-preventable diseases, immunized children have the opportunity to thrive and a better chance of realizing their full potential. However, the full immunization coverage for children under 5 is relatively low in BiH. According to the 2011/12 MICS it was only 68% and the latest data show that it continues to decline, especially for measles i.e. from 91% in 2012 to 68% in 2016.

79% 60%

Roma settlements

70% Source: MICS 4 BiH, 2011-12

Full immunisation refers to children that have received a BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) vaccine and 3 doses of DPT (Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus) and the polio vaccine by 12 months of age as well as the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine by 18 months.

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ACHIEVEMENTS FROM 2010 TO 2017 WITH UNICEF SUPPORT: As part of efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in BiH, UNICEF is working together with Government ministries and agencies at state, entity and local levels, Ombudspersons, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), children and parents to strengthen the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). ↘ Integrated social protection and inclusion systems have been strengthened in 34% of the country’s municipalities over the last few years, resulting in over 1,300 of the most vulnerable children and families benefitting from a range of social services funded mostly by local budgets, such as day-care services for children with disabilities and mobile outreach teams for out-of-school Roma and rural children. ↘ A legislative framework has been put in place for integrated early childhood development (IECD). Services are expanding and are currently provided in 32 municipalities with trained professionals providing quality ECD services to over 2,000 children and their families through home visits. ↘ In 2017 a total of 29 primary schools across the country implemented an innovative secondary prevention programme model, which aims to reduce or eliminate identified risk factors for children. An estimated 13,000 children benefitted from this so far, and there is strong commitment from line ministries to replicate the model across the country. ↘ The enrolment rate of five year old children in the obligatory preschool programme increased from 31% in 2011/12 to 54% in 2016/17. ↘ The 5th and 6th Combined Periodic CRC Report by BiH was approved by the BiH Council of Ministers in November 2017. The development of country-wide Guidelines for the Best Interests of the Child (BIC) were initiated by the end of 2017, a key recommendation from the CRC Committee. ↘ During the last few years UNICEF, together with partners, conducted a number of studies and surveys, for example the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2011-12; Situation analysis on children with disabilities in BiH, 2017; and Voices of Youth Survey, 2016. These provide essential data for evidence-based policy-making in the country for all children, including those with disabilities, children from internally displaced families and Roma children.<

Children received humanitarian assistance and disaster risk reduction (DRR) education following the devastating floods in May 2014: UNICEF and partners established 32 child-friendly spaces reaching 3,840 children over a six-month period and also delivered furniture, didactic materials and equipment to more than 90 schools across the country.

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CROSS-CUTTING STRATEGIES

ADOLESCENTS After early childhood, the second decade of life represents a second chance for adolescents to build the resilience, skills, social and emotional competencies and connections required for a healthy and productive adult life. Investing in adolescents is estimated to bring a ‘triple dividend of benefits’: for adolescents now, for their future adult life and for the next generation as they eventually may have their own children and families. UNICEF BiH focuses on:

integrate disaster risk in the design, delivery and targeting of social assistance in case of emergencies. Through its efforts to mainstream DRR in the education and health sectors and to strengthen the preparedness and response of the social and child protection systems, UNICEF raised awareness, developed hazard assessments, and piloted field interventions in vulnerable communities.

1. Building effective, inclusive and sustainable systems and services that adequately respond to adolescents’ needs; 2. Creating and sustaining the opportunities to enhance adolescents’ participation and meaningful contributions, and changing the social norms and behaviours which are preventing this; 3. Strengthening the competencies and skills of adolescents, including through innovations, data collection, media and reporting, to enable them to contribute to promoting inclusive societies.

DISASTER RISK REDUCTION The May 2014 floods acted as a stark reminder of BiH’s vulnerability to natural hazards, both meteorological and geological. The total flood damage in 2014 amounted to approximately US$ 1.7 billion, according to the Bosnia and Herzegovina Floods Recovery Needs Assessment 2014. The 2015 Global Disaster Risk Assessment estimated the Multi-Hazard Average Annual Loss for BiH at US$ 69.3 million.

This underlines the necessity to implement Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) strategies that pay special attention to vulnerable children and women. Using a community-based DRR approach, UNICEF is working with selected municipalities to ensure that children, their families and communities are more resilient to hazards. With the development of a Manual on the Role of the Social Protection Systems in Emergency Preparedness and Response, capacity building initiatives and development of local Social Protection Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Action Plans in pilot municipalities, UNICEF is helping to

GENDER EQUALITY UNICEF BiH promotes gender equality for girls and boys from birth through adolescence by addressing the gender-specific discrimination and disadvantages that generally affect girls but also boys. On the one hand gender is mainstreamed across all programme areas, and on the other hand, targeted interventions are implemented, specifically focused on preventing and responding to early marriage and as well as advancing girls’ secondary education, learning and skills in ICT and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The equal participation of women and girls in programme design and implementation is systematically promoted.

PARTNERSHIPS • • • • • •

Government Members of Parliament Universities Civil Society Organisations Media United Nations agencies under the framework of Delivering as One • International community • Communities, parents, children, adolescents • Private sector

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LOOKING AHEAD

CHILD RIGHTS MONITORING, SOCIAL PROTECTION AND INCLUSION

CHILD PROTECTION AND JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN

UNICEF supports the strengthening of child rights monitoring and coordination mechanisms throughout BiH, the production of relevant up-to-date data on children in education, social protection, health, child protection and other sectors. Through this programme component UNICEF seeks to reduce poverty and address equity gaps through:

Through this programme component UNICEF aims to enhance all children’s protection from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation, prevent unnecessary family separation and improve children’s access to justice. Interventions will focus on the following:

1. Strengthening social protection systems. Following the progress made in 2017 with regard to the development of social protection legislation in the Federation of BiH and the adoption of a new Law on Child Protection in Republika Srpska, increasing the scope of cash benefits for children and mothers as well as social services, UNICEF will work with partners to implement these laws as well as the recommendations from the joint Call to Action from the 2017 sub-regional high-level Conference on Social Protection for Children.

2. Promotion and expansion of the Social Protection and Inclusion (SPI) local model. This will be achieved through: supporting the work of multi-sectoral commissions; strengthening the capacities of local Centres for Social Welfare, including for Disaster Risk Reduction; systematic participation of children, families and civil society in the local social development planning; and the provision of services to the most vulnerable children, such as day care centres for children with disabilities, family counselling, home care, etc.

3.

6

Ensure the availability of up-to-date disaggregated data on a broad range of SDG indicators on children and women, including through the 2019 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) at country level and a dedicated MICS for Roma, to inform planning and decision-making.

1.

Strengthening multi-sectoral coordination of child protection referral mechanisms and violence prevention programmes in at least 60% of all municipalities.

2.

Ensuring that professional development programmes and targeted behaviour change campaigns will contribute to: reducing the number of children in institutions; and increasing the percentage of municipalities implementing the response system guidelines in cases of violence against children.

3.

Building on previous achievements in juvenile justice, the programme will strengthen children’s access to justice. This will contribute to an increase in the number of prosecutors’ offices and municipal courts applying child-friendly procedures, as well as an increase in the percentage of children in conflict with the law benefiting from diversion and alternative measures.

LOOKING AHEAD

INCLUSIVE QUALITY EDUCATION

YOUNG CHILD WELL-BEING

To ensure the progressive realisation of every childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right to inclusive learning, UNICEF will focus on advocacy, capacity development and technical assistance in the following areas:

To further improve the health of young children and early childhood development, UNICEF is focusing on the following priorities:

1.

Promote inclusive early learning, through the continued expansion of preschool education programmes. The objective is to increase pre-school attendance to 80% with at least 10% of Roma children enrolled by 2022.

2.

Enhance Inclusive Education both at policy level and further institutionalization of good practices through support to model schools that include children with disabilities in regular schools and the general curriculum.

3.

4.

Support the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts to better assess learning outcomes through its participation in the first-ever PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) in BiH for 15 year old students in 2018, with a focus on reading, mathematics and science, and other international assessments. The PISA test will be followed by secondary analysis of the results, using an equity lens, and country-wide dialogues about learning outcomes with the overall objective to improve the quality of education in BiH. Promote peacebuilding and social cohesion, and strengthening reconciliation at various levels, with a focus on adolescents and youth.

1.

Support BiH in achieving European immunization targets, by closing equity gaps and advocating for targeted immunization programmes for all children including Roma children. This includes communicating for social change to address the anti-vaccine sentiment and restore overall trust in immunization.

2.

Expand sustainable, quality and inclusive early childhood development services, particularly for vulnerable and excluded families with young children, such as Roma and families that have children with developmental delays. UNICEF expects to reach by 2020 at least 35,000 children up to age 5 and their families to ensure they receive quality and inclusive services, including home visiting. The ECD services will be expanded through broader systemic changes in cooperation with Government partners.

3.

Provide further support to the accreditation of Baby Friendly Hospitals (BFH) in the country, using the BFH standards developed with UNICEF support, to ensure that 100% of all maternity wards in FBiH, RS and Brcko District are accredited by 2020. Greater promotion of breastfeeding (currently only 19%) among mothers will be one component of this.

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FUNDING STATUS 2015-2020 (all amounts in US$)

CHILD RIGHTS MONITORING, SOCIAL PROTECTION AND INCLUSION

FUNDED $4.2 mln

51%

CHILD PROTECTION AND JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN

FUNDED $8.9 mln SHORTFALL $4.1 mln

70%

SHORTFALL $3.8 mln

49%

30%

INCLUSIVE QUALITY EDUCATION

FUNDED $5.3 mln

55%

YOUNG CHILD WELL-BEING

FUNDED $2.5 mln SHORTFALL $4.4 mln

49%

45%

SHORTFALL $2.6 mln

51%

Notes: • Funded: actual amounts received in 2015-2017 and amounts pledged by donors for 2018-2020.

• Shortfall: unfunded amounts based on projected funding required for 2018-2020 according to the UNICEF BiH Country Programme.

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