By Tatenda Zinyemba (postdoctoral researcher, UNU-MERIT) Over the past three decades researchers have explored various aspects of the impact of the HIV pandemic. One focus area has been children who have lost their parents to AIDS. Less attention has been given to children who are raised by parents living with HIV. This group has become much bigger as more people have access to antiretroviral therapy and are therefore expected to raise their children. Our research in Zimbabwe looked at the effec...

A new book on ‘Socio-economic inequality and education outcomes’ by Prof. Louis Volante shows that while it is possible to raise disadvantaged children’s academic achievement, socio-economic education gaps are still high and in many countries increasing. Much more needs to be done to help students from lower socio-economic backgrounds to succeed. Download the policy brief here The book discusses how relevant education policies have evolved and evaluates across countries how suc...

“The one thing all children have in common is their rights. Every child has the right to survive and thrive, to be educated, to be free from violence and abuse, to participate and to be heard.” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for Universal Children’s Day, 20 November. Alan Kurdi was three when his body, lying face down on a Turkish beach, became one of the defining images of the recent “refugee crisis”. Like so many other Syrians caught up in the conflict between Islamic State...

This informal and interactive session provided a brief overview of the migration trends in Central America and, specifically, the issue of unaccompanied migrant children from the Northern Triangle (Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala). The session presented some examples of current challenges faced by migration practitioners and provided a brief overview of what the Inter-American Development Bank and multilateral development banks do.  ...

Disability is a global challenge, involving not just physical problems but also many social and integration issues. In 2012, around 1 billion people worldwide were living with disabilities, including 400 million living in poverty in lower income countries. Of these, many are children. In Kazakhstan in 2012, 1.33% of children under 18 were living with disabilities — higher than neighbouring countries such as Kyrgyzstan at 1.25% and Tajikistan at 0.80%. A new report commissioned by UNICEF​ a...