Around the world, discussions are currently taking place on the framework that will replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) when they come to an end in 2015. Commitments have been made to ensuring that the process of developing this new framework is inclusive and consultative. Children’s participation is crucial to these discussions. Not only do boys and girls constitute nearly half of the world’s population, they are the majority demographic affected by poverty. Just as many of the issues outlined in the current MDGs have a major impact on children’s lives, so too will those included in the post-2015 framework. Boys’ and girls’ experiences of deprivation and inequality are different to those of adults, as are their experiences of their impacts. Children have important perspectives to share, and a right to have their voices heard.
Between July 2012 and March 2013, members of Family for Every Child consulted with children living in seven different countries. This report summarises the main findings that emerged from these consultations and incorporates the views of almost 600 children between the ages of 8 and 17 in Brazil, Ghana, Guyana, India, Kenya, Malawi and Russia. In all, 89 workshops were held, with 293 boys and 297 girls participating.
These consultations involved highly vulnerable groups of children, who are commonly marginalised and excluded from policy debates. In order for a new framework to effectively address those in greatest need, the views and experiences of these boys and girls cannot be ignored.
Read the individual country reports in this series: