Convened by: Dale Buscher of the Women’s Refugee Commission
The ways that households protect and care for their children is shaped substantially by their livelihood opportunities and constraints. In times of crisis, challenges between a household’s efforts to ensure their children’s security and well-being, on the one hand, and to address the threats to its livelihood and survival, on the other hand, are greatly exacerbated. In acute and chronic crisis situations — from natural disaster, to armed conflict, to post-conflict recovery, to the HIV-AIDS pandemic — there are household strategies which cut across these contexts that households use to improve their security and reduce risks. These household coping strategies may enhance or undermine child security and well-being. The strategies that households adopt may cut across the traditional categories of emergencies. Agencies which intervene in crisis situations need to recognize the profound significance for children of these different household-level decisions and the implications for intervention.
- What are the protective strategies and interventions possible for households?
- How can opportunities be reinforced or created that enhance children’s safety and well-being?
- How can humanitarian and development agencies make good decisions and incorporate relevant interventions into their interventions?
The Livelihoods and Economic Strengthening GTG seeks to enhance the protection and well-being of conflict-affected children through the economic strengthening of their households. The Livelihoods GTG further strives to improve the design, quality and effectiveness of economic programming targeting conflict-affected populations as a means of enhancing the protection and well-being of affected children. The core objectives are:
- to capture existing learning and identify learning needs within the sector,
- to assess the gendered impacts of livelihoods interventions,
- to serve as conduit to share learning with the field and Program Learning Groups,
- to provide technical support to Program Learning Groups,
- to develop criteria for and identify promising and proven practices,
- to develop core indicators for child protection and household security for livelihood interventions, and
- to mobilize resources for the work of the Global Technical Group.
The group will work collectively to identify evidence-based responses to the following questions: Are there household livelihood strategies that cut across different crises, from natural disasters to armed conflicts, to the HIV-AIDS pandemic? Or are livelihood strategies context and crisis specific? Do some of these household strategies support and protect children better than others? If so, can we identify what they are and how they work? Do livelihoods specialists understand the implications of their actions on child security and well-being? Do child protection specialists understand the economic pathways of child care and protection? Can linkages be improved? Can practice and policy bridges be built?
Please visit the Livelihoods and Economic Strengthening Group at the CYES Network website: http://www.cyesnetwork.org/
