About UNICEF

Cape Verde is on target to achieve most of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) before 2015. Estimations show that constant GDP growth (10.8% in 2006 BCV) will halve the 1990 poverty level before 2015. In 2006, the National Institute of Statistics estimated extreme poverty at 28%. That means that extreme poverty significantly decreased from its level in 2002 (37%). In Cape Verde some of the MDGs have already been reached at the national level, some will be gradually achieved as a result of the implementation of the GPRS, whereas the ones related to infrastructures’ enhancement (such as improved access to sanitation) are expected to remain sectors of major concern because of the huge investment they would require. Inequality is also growing between rich and poor groups, urban and rural areas, men and women, and among islands. Women continue to be highly vulnerable. The country graduated from the LDCs list in January 2008.

Country Indicators

Population	432,000
Poverty (Extreme poverty rate)	28% (2006)
Percentage of severely and moderately malnourished children	15% (2006)
Net enrolment ratio in primary education	97% (2006)
Youth literacy rate	97% (2006)
Under five mortality	21,7‰ (2007)
Maternal mortality	16,2/100000 (2007)
HIV/AIDS prevalence	0.8% (2005)
Access to safe drinking water	85% (2006)
Access to improved sanitation	50% (2006)

UNICEF Interventions

In January 2006, the first UN Joint Office was established in Cape Verde. It consists of the four ExCom Agencies, namely UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and WFP. These Agencies had one programme, made of four pillars: Consolidation of Democratic Governance, Promotion of Growth and Opportunities for vulnerable people, Environment and Development of Human Capital and Social Sector Reform including social protection for children.

In the context of the UN Reform, UN Agencies decided to align and harmonized their programmes and interventions launching the One Programme on the 1st of July 2008. It is structured along four axes and nine Sub-Programmes, with UNICEF leading the SP9 “Child and Social Protection”.

Through the Delivering as One, UNICEF is working with the Government of Cape Verde to promote better life conditions for Capeverdean children, operating in many policy areas (such as health, education, protection and participation), building proper legal framework to address children's rights and ensuring appropriate resources allocation.

UNICEF, in collaboration with other UN Agencies, will assist the Government strengthening its capacity to respond to people’s needs and to provide quality basic social services for children and women in the new context of the Country Graduation from LDCs.

Child Survival

Health and Nutrition 

UNICEF Child Survival intervention in Cape Verde aims at promoting quality of services and at fighting the major causes undermining child survival.
UNICEF is supporting the Government in defining policies and implementing strategies in the health sector, at the national level. 

Immunization: UNICEF collaborates with the Government to reinforce the EPI Programme providing vaccines and consumables (procurement services), training and communication activities. UNICEF also supported the integrated immunization campaign in partnership with other UN Agencies.

Nutrition:  UNICEF is promoting children health together with other UN Agencies, combating malnutrition/micronutrients deficiency at the national level. UNICEF collaborates in Iron distribution, salt iodization, breastfeeding promotion working also at the legislative level (Artificial Milk Commercialization Code). UNICEF is also supporting the national de-worming programme for all children in school and pre-school age.

HIV-AIDS: The major intervention of UNICEF is on HIV/AIDS prevention, through the reinforcement of the PMTCT Programme, population awareness/mobilization, training of health technicians, providing laboratory equipments and materials, ARV and tests procurement.

Water, Hygiene and Sanitation: UNICEF main intervention in this sector is in partnership with the Ministry of Education, at the national and local level. The objective is to ensure the availability of safe water and of properly and functional hygiene infrastructures in schools. Concrete facilities’ provision, training for teachers and communication activities are all parts of this intervention.

Child Development

Education

Education is one of the national priorities for the Government of Cape Verde and the enrolment rate for basic education is one of the highest in Africa. The major investment in the sector should focus on the quality of basic education, contributing to better future participation in social, economic and political activities and to promoting the adoption of a healthy life style.
In Cape Verde gender parity is a reality in basic education.

Early Childhood: UNICEF is supporting training for teachers, strengthening capacities in all pedagogic aspects including specific training for the inclusion of disable children. UNICEF is also providing pre-school children with pedagogic materials while on the policy side is working in partnership with the Government on the generalization of the pre-school at the national level.

Basic Education:  As quality is one of the major challenges in the sector, UNICEF support is especially on policies, strategic interventions, data collection and evaluation. UNICEF is supporting the curriculum review and integration of new approaches. Also on education sector UNICEF is providing training for education programs experts, training teachers and pedagogic supervisors.   

Child Protection 

UNICEF intervention in this area contributes to establish a better legal and protection system for all children, especially for the most vulnerable ones, and to ensure their right to participation.

Legal framework: UNICEF is supporting a legislative review to ensure children rights are taken into account under an integrated approach: the review will culminate in the approval of the Children and Adolescents Statute (Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente).

Social Policy for Children and Adolescents: UNICEF will encourage strategic and coordinated interventions in all children-related policy areas and will ensure higher effectiveness in response to children needs.

Children Victims of irregular migration: UNICEF, together with national partners, is designing a system that will monitor the observance of these children’s rights in accordance with national laws and with the Convention of Rights of Children (CRC).

Birth registration: in order to ensure that all newborns in Cape are registered, UNICEF, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health, is supporting the establishment of official bureaus for birth registration in the major Country’s hospitals, providing also related training for involved professionals.

Orphans and Vulnerable: UNICEF is supporting at the policy level, contributing for the elaboration and implementation of a Strategic Plan for Social Protection and for National Policy for Child Protection. In other hand, specific initiatives, such as providing school material, are implemented with national partners, to promote the observation of children’s rights.

Children and Juvenile Justice: UNICEF interventions mainly focus on policy dialogue, towards the design and implementation of a National System for Juvenile Justice.