Mission & Strategy 
 
 The Child Protection Initiative (CPI) was established in response to a recommendation made at the December 2002 “Children and the City”  Amman conference  for ‘building the capacities of municipal authorities, and establishment of a regional fund to respond rapidly to the risks faced by vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the MENA region’.  Municipal authorities in the region had been requesting support for capacity building in the domains of knowledge management and implementation of programs and policies, to be able to address the various issues of children in urban areas.  A flexible funding mechanism that can respond swiftly to the needs of urban children was also proposed. The CPI, which was launched in September 2003, is supported by the World Bank and the Arab Urban Development Institute (AUDI) which is hosting its secretariat in Riyadh. This secretariat conducts the CPI activities under the guidance of an advisory committee composed of representatives of donors, MENA mayors, childhood councils, NGOs and experts.   After three years, the CPI is expected to become an independent entity in the region with a reliable funding mechanism.

OBJECTIVES:

The CPI aims to upgrade the capacities of local authorities and municipalities to improve the well being of children, especially vulnerable and disadvantaged ones, and to enhance knowledge of effective policies and programs that address critical issues of children in the region. That aim is expected to be fulfilled through:

Building a knowledge base on the main issues that face children in the MENA region, and deriving lessons and best practices from the research and programs that address vulnerable and disadvantaged children’s issues, whether within the region or elsewhere.
Capacity building of local authorities to enable them address such issues with efficiency and to benefit from and facilitate exchange of experiences and lessons, through a network of municipalities and local authorities.
Assist those concerned, in their endeavor to mobilize resources and to establish a flexible funding mechanism, to be funded by donors, aiming to mitigate the adverse impacts and to enable dealing with risks that face children at the local level.