Progress in Child Well-being: Building on what works

This report shows that children’s well-being has improved dramatically thanks to increased political will globally, supportive policies and well-focused programmes and resources, but that the gains will be sustained only if the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children are reached. The report analyses the improvements to children’s lives during the past two decades in five sectors: health, nutrition, water and sanitation, education and child protection, and inlcudes case studies of countries that have made strong progress in improving children’s well-being: Bangladesh (MCH), Brazil (Nutrition), Botswana (HIV/AIDS), Philippines (School health), Chile (ECD), Ethiopia (Education), Sierra Leone (Protection), India (Child Labour) and Vietnam (Poverty Reduction).

The extraordinary progress achieved on many fronts should be celebrated. It’s a clear demonstration that, when the right steps and approaches are taken, ‘development works’. Building on this evidence, this report makes a compelling case for greater investment in ‘child sensitive’ development. It sets out the drivers of change and the key steps to achieving progress. The report “Progress in Child Well-being: Building On What Works” was commissioned from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) by Save the Children and UNICEF.