ChildFund And MFAT Partnership To Have A Positive Impact In Pacific Communities And Southeast Asia

A new $11.2m partnership will reach more than 100,000 children and youth to create meaningful, lasting change and help them thrive

ChildFund New Zealand and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) have today announced a partnership to increase the social and emotional wellbeing of vulnerable children, youth and their families in the Pacific and Southeast Asia region.

Under the ‘Inspiring and Motivating Pacific and Asian Communities for Tomorrow’ (IMPACT) programme, MFAT and ChildFund New Zealand will co-invest $11.2 million in development assistance in Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Solomon Islands over the next five years.

The IMPACT programme will enable ChildFund to reach more than 100,000 people in those vulnerable countries by 2025.

IMPACT will focus on enhancing youth social and emotional wellbeing, keeping children safe from harm and improving community and household resilience to natural hazards, climatic risks and the impacts of COVID-19.

“We live in a world where change is happening at a pace we’ve never before experienced,” explains Paul Brown, CEO of ChildFund New Zealand.

“There are increased stresses, and the poorest and most vulnerable are most impacted by the unpredictable and unequal global economy, natural catastrophes and climate change. Women, children, youth, and people living with disabilities are among the most affected.

“Through this partnership, we will focus on social and emotional wellbeing and support young people to draw on their own strengths and contribute positively to their community,” says Brown.

The IMPACT programme resulted from MFAT’s ‘Partnering for Impact’ approach, a commitment by the Ministry to work collaboratively with NGOs, like ChildFund New Zealand, to maximise impact on communities.

MFAT will tap into ChildFund New Zealand’s expertise, existing relationships, resources and capability across Southeast Asia and the Pacific, to realise improved outcomes for those communities that need it most.

Key focus areas of the IMPACT programme:

· Education – training and courses to help bridge the gap for young people who have dropped out of or finished school and help them take the next step in their education

· Child protection – improve the safety of communities, so more children are protected. This will be achieved by helping parents increase their parenting skills and confidence along with increasing awareness on the reporting of child abuse and ending violence against children.

· Disaster risk management – training at a household level around unsafe water, sanitation/hygiene, poor solid waste management and nutrition. Developing emergency plans specific to each household.

The partnership enables ChildFund New Zealand to expand its work further into more remote parts of the Pacific such as Kiribati and Solomon Islands where, for the past three years, it has been building critical relationships and establishing community-led programmes that address the needs of the children and youth.

Under the IMPACT programme, the work in these areas will be expanded to reach even more vulnerable children, youth and their families.

“We are excited to be scaling up our work in the Pacific and Southeast Asia, and to be supporting our Pacific neighbours. Many see the Pacific as an idyllic tourism destination, but there is much more to the story. These perceptions will continue to shift as we share the progress being made with our loyal and generous New Zealand supporters,” adds Brown.

To learn more about the IMPACT programme, or how you can support ChildFund New Zealand, visit www.childfund.org.nz/IMPACT-programme.

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