Areas of Work

ANPPCAN's activities anchored on promoting the rights of children in Africa fall into four broad areas. These are:

These are some of the key areas that ANPPCAN is focusing it's efforts.  This is only a general guideline.  If you would like more detailed information on what we are doing in these areas of work, please view our Current Programs page.

A more detailed explanation of each of these areas follows:

Research, documentation and monitoring

The aim is to undertake research, document findings and disseminate information in order to initiate or strengthen programs for children. Through its resource centre, the organisation provides information to all. Also published is Childwatch newsletter, a quarterly magazine on issues affecting children.

Networking and establishment of chapters

To reach out to children in need across the continent, ANPPCAN strengthens and develops networks with its chapters and other key players in the cause of child protection. ANPPCAN, in particulars, works with its Chapters, continental arrangements, partner organizations, Governments, UN Agencies and other institutions that handle children issues.

Capacity building

ANPPCAN utilizes its experience and expertise to strengthen existing chapters and create new ones. This expansion of Chapters will enable ANPPCAN to shift its orientation from a project-based organization to a continental capacity building organization. It will also strengthen the capacity of its partner institutions to address child protection issues. Through its child rights and child protection program, ANPPCAN conducted training on child rights to various groups of professionals including doctors and clinical officers, teachers, the police, early childhood teachers, nurses, and children officers.

ANPPCAN-FK Exchange of Personnel:
This involves exchange of personnel (25 - 35 years old) among ANPPCAN Chapters and the regional office to learn and share experiences, thus strengthening ANPPCAN as a continental organisation. It takes place among ANPPCAN chapters in Africa and involves staff from a chapter being attached at another to work, learn and share experiences. The overall purpose of the exchange program is to enhance the capacities currently available at Chapters while sharing all the best practices available within ANPPCAN Chapters.

Child Protection

We are involved in many different areas of Child Protection. We have streamlined our focus into these four areas.  Please view our Current Programs for more info.

ANPPCAN seeks to enable a relatively large number of children in the continent to access child protection services. This is in line with ANPPCAN’s reasons for its existence, thus:

  • To enhance prevention and protection of African children against abuse and neglect.
  • To promote children’s rights in Africa.
  • To provide preventative and protection services to African children in need.

Under the child protection department, ANPPCAN runs long-term action programs to deal with child abuse and neglect in the various forms that it manifests itself.  The programs include the following:

Child Labour:
The program avails appropriate development models for combating child labour in Kenya. The program is currently targeting fourteen districts in Kenya, namely, Bondo, Busia, Homa-Bay, Kericho, Kiambu, Malindi, Makuyu-Maragwa, Mombasa, Muranga, Mumias-Butere, Nairobi, Siaya, Suba and Teso. The program aims at involving communities in prevention of child labour and withdrawing children from work.

Child Participation:
It seeks to build the capacity of young persons as advocates for protection of rights of orphans and other vulnerable children in Kiambu, Kenya. It is a direct and practical approach to attaining child rights. By its very nature, children themselves are trained to advocate for their rights as opposed to waiting for the rights to be realized for them by others.

Promoting the Right of the Child to be protected from Violence:
This project contributes to stopping of all forms of violence against children in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya and Somalia. The program works to enhance knowledge and the capacity of various actors in the four countries to respond to and minimize the occurrence of violence against children, and to strengthen their operational capacity for effective advocacy and execution of laws against violence on children.  The violence against children project contributes to stopping of all forms of violence against children. The program works to enhance knowledge and the capacity of various actors and strengthens their operational capacity for effective advocacy and execution of laws against violence on children.

Foster Care:
The Foster care program encourages and facilitates foster carers to look after children in need. It identifies vulnerable children and thereafter assesses, trains and supports foster homes to take in the children, treating them as if they were their own by promoting their well-being.

Anti-Child Trafficking:
This project works to minimize and eventually eliminate child trafficking. It undertakes action-oriented studies on child trafficking, increase the level of awareness of child trafficking among different groups, builds the capacity of key actors, develops and enhance networks and alliances to effectively contribute to the fight against child trafficking

Children and Armed Conflict:
This program raises awareness in Africa on the state of children in situations of armed conflict. Also aims at facilitating the enforcement of concrete policy measures to prevent the involvement of children in armed combat and to protect children who are already in situations of armed conflict.