BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
The Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs (MWYCFA) with MHMS- Social Welfare Division with support from UNICEF, have hosted a Child Protection Partners Dialogue.
The event took place yesterday at the Heritage Park Hotel in Honiara.
The dialogue provides an important platform for partners, government agencies, and donors to strengthen coordination, update on on-going programmes, share lessons, and identify investment priorities for child protection system in the Solomon Islands.
The dialogue also featured the soft launch of the study on the Economic Cost of Violence against Children in the Solomon Islands, highlighting the social and economic impact of child abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
It also complements the roll-out of the Child and Family Welfare System Multi-Sectoral Plan (2025–2030), which outlines ten strategic outcomes for strengthening child protection systems across sectors.
The partners dialogue seeks to document progress, improve inter-agency collaboration, mobilise resources and create a shared understanding among donors and partners of priority areas requiring joint and collaborative investment. It will ensure alignment between national priorities and partner-supported initiatives under the Child Protection Multi-Sectoral Plan.
The objectives of the Dialogue aim to, present and launch the findings of the Study on the Economic Cost of Violence against Children in Solomon Islands, present the Child and Family Welfare System Multi-Sectoral Plan (2025–2030) priority outcomes.
It also aims to engage key government line ministries, development partners and civil society organizations to provide feedback ongoing programmes and lesson learnt for effective strategies for addressing and preventing child protection issues; Identify areas for joint resource mobilization and investment in child protection programs and services in 2026 and beyond and strengthen coordination and accountability among key ministries, NGOs, development partners, and donors in implementing child protection initiatives.
The expected outputs are to ensure;
• Partners and donors are informed of the study on the economic cost of violence against children in the Solomon Islands.
• Shared understanding of the Multi-Sectoral Plan 2025–2030 outcomes and priorities. 3. Documented feedback from partners and donors on effective approaches to strengthen child protection systems.
• Agreed potential areas for collaboration, resource sharing, and investment in child protection services.
• Strengthened multi-sectoral partnerships to support implementation of the Child and Family Welfare System Multi-Sectoral Plan.