Sharjah: The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has announced Sharjah a candidate city for its ‘Child Friendly Cities’ initiative. Unicef’s initiative works with city partners to guide them in the furthering of children’s rights.
The emirate’s candidacy is the first of its kind in the region.
The announcement was made at a press conference on Monday at the Maraya Art Centre in Al Qasba.
The Sharjah Baby Friendly Office (SBFO) and 23 other government and private institutions working for children are strengthening their Child Friendly City Initiative (CFCI) core components laid out by Unicef.
This will guide the emirate to become the region’s first ‘Child Friendly City’.
Executive Director of the SBFO, Dr Hessa Al Ghazal, underlined Sharjah’s efforts to provide children access to health and safety, as well as opportunities for growth.
Dr Al Ghazal revealed that SBFO and its partners have achieved the 50 per cent growth laid out by the UN growth indicator targets for the year 2025, nine years in advance of the deadline.
In December 2015, Sharjah became the world’s first Baby Friendly City.
“Sharjah’s ongoing efforts to provide a conducive environment for children and young adults to thrive, have resulted in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Unicef, to conduct a joint study on the status of children in Sharjah, based on Unicef’s ‘Child Friendly Cities’ initiative criteria,” she said.
Unicef defines a Child Friendly City as one in which children are safe, have equal access to resources and opportunities, and have a voice in shaping their and their community’s future.
Dr Al Ghazal said that an action plan had been prepared for the emirate to meet the requirements of the global ‘Child Friendly Cities’ initiative.
“We are very pleased to see all the different efforts and initiatives that have been going on in Sharjah,” said Vanessa Sedletzki, International Child Rights Expert at Unicef.
“We also want to see all children — regardless of who they are or their nationalities, whether boys, girls, or children with disabilities — to be included in everything that happens in the emirate. This would make Sharjah a truly “Child Friendly City,” she said.
Sedletzki also laid out several steps for Sharjah to follow to receive the ‘Child Friendly City’ title.
“The emirate should agree on an action plan towards becoming a Child Friendly City, define time frames, identify responsibilities for relevant parties, and finally put into place a strict follow-up process and address outstanding gaps, building on its particular strengths,” she said.
(Alison Xiao is an intern at Gulf News)