Children on the Move Coalition

The Children on the Move Coalition is a group of faith-inspired organisations committed to working together to end violence against children on the move.

In 2017, a group of 14 faith-based organisations convened to end violence against children on the move, including refugee, immigrant and internally displaced children.

On October 16 -18, 2018, over 185 participants and 85 organisations gathered at the General Curia for the Society of Jesus in Rome, Italy for the Faith Action for Children on the Move – Global Partners Forum. The forum engaged religious and faith-based organisations, communities and children to build consensus and develop a high-level action plan around the three main evidence-based themes that illustrate the unique contributions of local faith communities and faith-based organisations:

2022

2018

Action Plan

The culmination of the 2018 event was a Forum Action Plan endorsed verbally and in writing by many of the steering group members built on the three evidence-based pillars and including a fourth targeted on working together. The action plan is being implemented both by individual organisations and the coalition as a whole. We have published a Faith Sensitive MHPSS to Foster Resilience for Children on the Move booklet (2021) and Policy Brief (2023) rooted in three regional roundtables comprised of 120 practitioners, policy-makers, academics and faith representatives engaged in working with displaced and migrating children from Syria, Ukraine and Latin America.

GPF

Current Initiatives

Spiritual and psychosocial support

A working group focused on building tools, resources and increased evidence on the essential role faith actors can and are playing in building resilience in children and caregivers.

This group is mapping and piloting approaches for faith actors engaging in faith-sensitive psychosocial support for children.

Peacebuilding and combatting xenophobia

A working group focused on building positive tools and approaches that prevent conflict and violence and creating accepting communities for displaced children.

Global Refugee Forum

In 2022, this group made a pledge to the Global Refugee Forum focused on faith-sensitive Mental Health and Psychosocial Support.

We commit to working together as faith, interfaith and non-faith actors in an effort to meet the needs and rights of Children on the Move contributing to the Multistakeholder Child Rights pledge and Health & Mental Health Pledge:

By 2025, the Faith Action for Children on the Move Coalition, in partnership with local governments will support roundtable discussions, policy briefs and specific identified action in collaboration with local actors to promote and ensure faith-sensitive MHPSS programming for refugee and host community children, ensuring meaningful participation of children and their communities.
By 2027, the Faith Action for Children on the Move Coalition will join government, multilateral, and local actors to develop training and capacity-sharing resources on faith-sensitive MHPSS for faith leaders and mental health practitioners, ensuring children and their communities are consulted in the development of content.
By 2028, the Faith Action for Children on the Move Coalition will partner with governments, academic and/or multilateral actors to support revision and update to the Faith Sensitive MHPSS guidance in partnership with local partners to ensure consultation of and a focus on children and their communities.
By 2028, the Faith Action for Children on the Move Coalition with governments, academic institutions, multilaterals and local partners will build evidence on the effectiveness of faith-sensitive MHPSS programming in influencing mental health and well-being outcomes for refugee and host community children.

Learn more about our engagement at the 2019 Global Refugee Forum.