In a world grappling with multiple crises and challenges—including armed conflicts, climate change, and poverty—inequalities and discriminations relentlessly persist for women and children.
As the most vulnerable and marginalized social group, they are at the greatest risk of social marginalization and rights violations. As a result, they face inequalities that limit their access to opportunities, resources, and services. With women and children representing more than half of the global population, their needs and rights must count. It is crucial, therefore, to have a comprehensive understanding of their living conditions and the discriminations they face.
For nearly a decade, ChildFund Alliance member WeWorld has published an index monitoring these living conditions, identifying root causes, and highlighting the factors necessary for improving the well-being of women and children worldwide. The World Index 2024, the ninth edition that is now a flagship report of ChildFund Alliance, assesses the promotion, exercise, and violation of the rights of women and children.
The Index provides a global ranking of 157 countries and identifies areas most urgently in need of intervention. Tragically, it concludes that it will take 113 years for women and children to witness the full implementation of rights assessed by the Index. Addressing these issues will require targeted and inclusive policies to dismantle barriers that prevent women and children from fully enjoying their rights and accessing essential resources.
As a network of 11 child-focused development and humanitarian organizations working in more than 70 countries, ChildFund Alliance is deeply committed to engaging children, families, and communities to create lasting change. Leveraging our 80 years of collective experience, our members work alongside children and their communities to address emerging threats, and to create processes to ensure their rights are promoted, respected, and realized.
It is why during development of this year’s Index, we conducted a far-reaching child participation exercise with more than 10,000 children and adolescents in more than 40 countries where the Alliance operates. Our goal was to assess the extent to which children and adolescents involved in ChildFund Alliance projects realize their fundamental rights and to engage them in dialogue on issues directly affecting their daily lives.
From our consultations, we gleaned important insights on wide ranging issues including poverty, education, health care, violence, and the climate crisis. Despite differences in geography and culture, young people identified common themes and priority actions they believe are crucial for their future including access to and quality of education; protection from violence and discrimination; and the act of being encouraged and supported by adults. Further, their primary concerns about the future revolved around unemployment, poverty, and health epidemics.
Informed by our global consultations with children on the challenges they face, and the hopes they have for their future, ChildFund Alliance has developed a series of recommendations across all sectors in society and the international community to ensure children’s voices are genuinely heard and considered.
Our overarching goal is to strengthen mechanisms for engaging and involving children and young people, and to promote an open and inclusive dialogue that takes into account their unique perspectives and specific needs. Such work builds upon our long-standing commitment to engage children and elevate their voices through our programs and policies.
Though significant work remains ahead, ChildFund Alliance is committed to engaging in collaborative efforts to create a more inclusive world where children and women are guaranteed their rights and are able to achieve their full potential. Through the World Index, we will continue to monitor the living conditions of women and children around the globe and consider their inclusion from multiple points of view.
Such work is essential if we are to break barriers to build a better future and achieve a world where no woman or child is left behind.
Read more from the ChildFund Alliance World Index on the Rights of Women and Children, here.