The Unit goes to Addis Ababa

Earlier this year, researchers Michael Little and Dwan Kaoukji had the opportunity to work with a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Ethiopia to help develop a service to prevent children from the risks of being sexual exploited.   

The unit contributed towards the design and evaluation of a new service aimed at reducing the number of children forced to migrate from rural areas to the capital city, Addis Ababa, because of difficult social and economical conditions. In many cases, these children are exploited by adults, forced into prostitution and exposed to severe risks to their health and development. 
 
The project was organised and facilitated by Childhope, a UK based charity working in partnership with ten NGOs across the developing world towards the protection of street and working children. One of these partners is an NGO based in Addis Ababa is Children Aid-Ethiopia (CHAD-ET), that provides services to children who have left their homes and rural villages to find work in the cities. Services include counseling, health care and vocational training to help children develop the skills needed to make a better life for themselves. 
 
Having recently secured funding, CHAD-ET and Childhope are working together to introduce a new prevention programme that seeks to change peoples’ attitude towards child migration. The unit will assist in developing a strategy for the service and evaluating its impact on reducing the number of child migrants.