Streer Children Initiative

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I will undertake similar research in Russia and Ukraine in 2000.



World Bank Partnerships and Initiatives

Recognizing the need to address the economic and social problems that affect children worldwide, the World Bank launched an Initiative on Child Labor in 1997. Since then, the Bank has placed a stronger focus on child labor issues and other child welfare issues in dialogues with governments, helping them to understand the economic and social implications of these problems. The SCI complements the initiative by focusing on child labor among homeless street children.

Despite the two initiatives, which focus on children, there is much data that remains to be collected. We do not know the magnitude of the problem of street children in each country, nor do we have a comprehensive assessment of country efforts to deal with the problem in the region. Special studies are now needed to assess the number and needs of children in crisis situations such as those who are abandoned and living on the streets or caught up in illegal activities. The project attempts to measure the costs of providing services for these children versus the social cost of not addressing these problems. Given the considerable experience in coordinating studies of this type, the Bank is in a position to help client countries amass the basic data needed to assess their own programs and to develop national strategies and programs to improve existing services.

The SCI commissioned two comparative studies in Colombia and Brazil; the latter is still ongoing. Caroline Cederlof, of the World Bank is also writing a report on street children in Central America, which will be completed in the fall of 2000. A number of World Bank projects have incorporated components to larger social assistance loans directly and indirectly targeting street children in countries such as Egypt, Ghana, Romania, Turkey, and Brazil.

Background Note on Street Children in the Former ...