CAPE TOWN, South Africa, 30 April 2014 – Press elease. Africa needs to do more to translate its commitments to social protection into practical programmes that reach the poorest and most marginalized children, participants said today at the conclusion of the African Union Expert Consultation Meeting on Children and Social Protection.

3 April 2014 – Attacks Show Urgent Need to Protect Civilians.

16 March 2014 - Halima, a 25-year-old Muslim, could not hold back tears when we met again recently in Bossemptele, about 185 miles north of Bangui, in the Central African Republic. She was living under the protection of the Catholic Church, after the anti-balaka militia slaughtered more than 80 Muslims in Bossemptele.

20 January 2014 – Over the past 72 hours, senseless violence has resulted in many deaths and created tension throughout the Central African Republic in the lead-up to today’s vote to select an interim president of the country.

14 January 2014 - In Burkina Faso, delinquent juveniles are usually given prison sentences although, according to the Convention of Child Rights, depriving a minor of his liberty should be a measure of last resort and limited to exceptional cases.

2 January 2014 - Attacks against children in the Central African Republic (CAR) have sunk to a “vicious new low,” the United Nations children’s agency warned today, saying that at least two children have been beheaded, and one of them mutilated, in the violence that has gripped the capital since early December.

4 December 2013 – The Commission of the African Union (AU), convened a two day consultative workshop from 3-4 December 2013, to review the AU DDR operational guidance documents on issues of Detention, Women and Children in armed conflict, Reintegration and developing frameworks for National DDR initiatives, which will assist the AU’s engagement in DDR related activities.

The RIATT-ESA invites you to join our time-bound discussion forum "How should the New Investment Framework for the Global HIV Response work for children?"

Background

In June 2011 a policy paper was published in The Lancet periodical that laid out a new framework for investment for the global HIV response. The new framework is based on existing evidence of what works in HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. It is intended to facilitate more focused and strategic use of scarce resources, and sets out a model for HIV investment and HIV programming for the next decade.

The framework was developed by an international group of experts from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), The Global Fund to Fights AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The World Bank, the World Health Organization (WHO), and academic and policy institutions.

The New Investment Framework for the Global HIV Response (NIF) is now being widely adopted and promoted by key partners, donors and stakeholders across the region. This eForum discussion therefore aims to facilitate a wider regional knowledge and understanding of the Framework and its key components. It also seeks to foster a regional dialogue on the Framework and  explore the avenues by which children’s care and support issues can be more fully and clearly included within the Framework’s rationale i.e. critical enablers, programmatic areas, and synergies).

Objectives of the eForum

This eForum discussion aims to:

* Raise awareness and understanding of the New Investment Framework and its various components and rationale;

* Identify regional priority areas and gaps with regards to vulnerable children and HIV that should be addressed through the New Investment Framework;

* Identify opportunities for advocacy and further action to ensure vulnerable children and HIV can be included and addressed through the New Investment Framework.

Discussion Topics

The eForum will be structured around 3 main topics:

* What is the New Investment Framework? Examination of the components and rationale of the NIF.

* What are the gaps relating to the care, support and protection for children affected by HIV in the New Investment Framework? Determining the regional priority areas and defining what evidence is needed to support advocacy for their inclusion in the NIF.

* How to engage with, and advocate for better inclusion of vulnerable children and HIV priority areas within the Framework? Who are the key stakeholders to engage, what are the specific entry points, and what is now required to move forward?

Guest Contributors

Guest experts participating in the discussion include:

* Mike Podmore – International HIV/AIDS Alliance
* Kate Iorpenda  – International HIV/AIDS Alliance

Target Audience

The eForum discussion is aimed at the RIATT-ESA partners and external stakeholders involved in child and youth focused HIV programming in the east and southern Africa region. These include local, regional and national implementing partners (CSO and Government), policy-makers, academics, donors.

Timing

The eForum will take place over 10 days from July 4 – 13, 2012. The outcomes of the discussion will be documented and used to develop a brief on the vulnerable children and HIV and the NIF.

Source: RIATT Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Inter Agency Task Team on Children and AIDS

Les groupes islamistes installés au Nord du Mali procèdent à l'enrôlement de plusieurs mineurs dans leurs rangs.

21 May 2013 - Press release. As the African Union (AU) prepares to celebrate its 50th Anniversary at a time when consultations on what will replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are gathering pace