CAP 2030 - Children in All Policies

Project Summary

CAP-2030 works to centre children’s health and well-being in all policies, to ensure an equitable, sustainable future. We implement the recommendations of the WHO-UNICEF-Lancet Commission by promoting children’s rights and protecting their health through science, advocacy and coalition-building.

We are committed to tackling the most urgent issues facing the world’s children today:

• Lack of dedicated policy attention. While children’s needs are often considered in health and education policy, they are more rarely taken into account in other sectors – all of which need to work to make sure children have safe environments, healthy food, spaces to play, and the preparation they need to become healthy, active citizens. 
• Commercial exploitation of children through inappropriate marketing of products and services such as alcohol, tobacco, sugar-sweetened beverages, breastmilk substitutes, and gambling apps is an under-appreciated threat to their health and well-being. CAP-2030 works to define the nature of this emerging threat and supports national and international regulations to protect children from harmful marketing
• Climate change, which is already negatively affecting children’s health and well-being, and constitutes a dire threat to their future. By amplifying the voices and perspectives of children, and by supporting policymakers with evidence and data about the impact on children, CAP-2030 shifts the emphasis to what works to protect them now and in the future.
• Lack of voice. Children have the right to voice their opinions and be heard on issues that affect them. CAP-2030 is developing tools to facilitate children’s participation in policy issues across the board.

Focus Countries

CAP-2030 works to build coalitions for action for children in all sectors in key focus countries on every continent. Each country has different priorities for children, but everywhere our partners seek to bring together stakeholders across sectors and institutionalise children’s concerns in national planning and policy implementation.

Our Model

CAP 2030 supports scientists, citizens and activists who are already working together to make a healthier, safer and more equitable world for children and future generations. We know what scientific evidence is not enough: knowledge must be transformed into strategic political and social action. Our model is based on science, advocacy, and coalition building:

• We make empirically grounded recommendations about what enables children to be healthy and well
• We disseminate information, data and tools using impactful communication strategies to reach key decision makers and communities
• We build coalitions of champions in the political sphere and civil society, linked with the voices of children and young people.

Child Health and Well-being Dashboard

The Child Health and Well-being Dashboard, jointly developed by WHO, UNICEF and CAP-2030, allows policy makers, governments and organisations to easily monitor and compare a selection of indicators by region, country, age group, domain and income. The Dashboard is developed in support of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.

A screenshot of the dashboard. The dashboard can be accessed from any of the three websites: WHO, UNICEF and CAP-2030.