Child Protection Systems

Ho Chi Minh City, 18 August 2026 – The Ho Chi Minh City Association for the Protection of Children’s Rights (HACR), in collaboration with Save the Children in Viet Nam (Save the Children), organised the Closing Workshop for the “Girls Unstoppable” component under the project “Connecting and Providing Support Services to Ensure the Rights of Children in Special Circumstances in Ho Chi Minh City.”The event brought together 90 representatives from government agencies, participating schools, teachers, parents, students and other stakeholders.

Day centres operated by local civil society organisations provide vital community-based social protection services for children facing the greatest barriers to their wellbeing and development. To help ensure that some of the most vulnerable children in the region continue receiving the support they need, Save the Children North West Balkans, together with local partner organisations Nova Generacija and Otaharin in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the Centre for Youth Integration in Serbia, has launched a new partnership with BingX, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange and Web3-AI company.

Ending child marriage takes more than a law. Save the Children, the Ministry of Gender and Children's Affairs, and the Child Justice Steering Committee brought together investigators and prosecutors to strengthen enforcement of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2024. Every child deserves a safe childhood and the chance to thrive.

Creating meaningful and lasting change for children requires more than policies and programmes. It requires strong partnerships, community leadership, and a genuine commitment to listening to children themselves. These themes stood at the center of the recent visit of Ahmad Alhendawi, Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe (MENAEE) at Save the Children International, to Kosovo, where discussions and field visits highlighted both the progress achieved and the continued need for collective action to protect and advance children’s rights.

Behind every coffee bean is a journey that connects land, livelihoods, businesses, and communities. Yet within that journey, there are also questions that go beyond quality standards or market requirements: How can children in coffee-growing areas be better protected? How can sustainability become more than compliance, and create real change for families and communities?In the below story, Nathan Y, who works on sustainability initiatives within a coffee company in Dak Lak, shares how his understanding of a sustainable value chain has shifted - from meeting standards to placing children’s safety, wellbeing, and development at the center of long-term change.

The worrying increase comes ahead of the region’s annual monsoon season, which brings heavy rains and winds, and puts refugees fleeing by boat at heightened risk of capsize on choppy seas.

"Collaborating closely between the School-Based Child Protection Mechanism and the Community-Based Child Protection Mechanism is crucial for solving issues and protecting children from violence, while also enhancing their mental and physical health," stated Meng Heang, who effectively handled and referred child protection cases at his school.Meng Heang is a 56-year-old school principal at a primary school located in a rural area of Kang Meas district, Kampong Cham, Cambodia, where some schools still face ongoing challenges, as many children report experiencing various forms of violence both at school and in the community. These issues persist due to the ineffective child protection system.

In collaboration with National Human Rights Commission (NCHR), we reaffirm children's rights to dignity, protection, and opportunity in Mozambique. Save the Children and NCHR co-hosted the 4th Regional Conference of National Human Rights Institutions in Southern Africa, addressing priorities like ending early and forced unions, strengthening child protection systems, and safeguarding children in humanitarian and climate crises, while highlighting challenges in weak law implementation and limited child participation.

Safeguarding the well-being of children and vulnerable adults is one of the most pressing challenges facing Kosovo today. Despite progress in policy and law, too many children continue to experience risks of neglect, violence, and exploitation in their homes, schools, and communities. Strengthening safeguarding is not only a legal duty under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Kosovo’s Child Protection Law, but also a moral responsibility shared by all sectors of society.It was against this backdrop that Save the Children Kosova/o, in collaboration with the University of Prishtina and with support from Sida, convened the Safeguarding Symposium on 17 September 2025 in Prishtina. The event brought together government representatives, academics, civil society, international experts, and most importantly the voices of children, to exchange experiences, explore solutions, and chart practical steps toward safer, more inclusive systems in Kosovo.

The 2004 Asian tsunami is still considered one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern history. Julian Chellappah, the Country Director of Save the Children Sri Lanka since 2019, tells us in this blog how he lived the day the tsunami hit Sri Lanka nearly 20 years ago.