Final Assessment of the ‘Prevent and Protect: Armed Violence and Weapons in Child Protection’ Programme

Supported by SIDA, UNICEF launched the “Prevent and Protect: Armed Violence and Weapons in Child Protection” Programme to strengthen interventions addressing armed violence and issues related to weapons in Child Protection programmes in selected countries. The programme was two-fold, targeting both armed violence reduction in countries that are not experiencing conflict as well as the impact of weapons with indiscriminate effects in conflict and post-conflict countries. This assessment focuses on the former. The first phase of the programme (2011-2014, USD 5.1 million) allowed the definition of armed violence intervention in countries not in conflict as well as the development and launch of a Regional Programme for Armed Violence Reduction in Central America and the Caribbean. The second phase (2014-2017, USD 5.1 million) was more focused on country level interventions with respect to armed violence, aiming for stronger child protection systems and global advocacy. The programme was extended for a final year in 2018. Following this consolidation phase, the armed violence programme will be integrated into UNICEF’s VAC programming. Universalia was contracted by UNICEF to conduct an independent assessment of phase II in 9 LAC countries to provide recommendations to further integrate the issue of armed violence and weapons into UNICEF’s Child Protection priorities and overall work on violence against children. The assessment will examine the programme design, identify lessons learned on programme implementation and management, provide insights on UNICEF’s comparative advantage in addressing armed violence, and make recommendations as to how to further enhance efficient and effective programming in this area. It will rely on case studies and provide a brief landscape analysis of the institutions working on addressing the issue of armed violence against children and youth.