Strengthen your approach to protecting and promoting the wellbeing of children in humanitarian settings using the latest evidence on childhood adversity and drawing on experiences from child protection practitioners.
About this course
Globally, an unprecedented 131 million people are affected by humanitarian crises worldwide. Children, who constitute just under half of the affected population, are particularly vulnerable in these situations, which present grave risks to their physical health and psychological wellbeing.
This course examines how children’s social environments at different levels, such as the family, community and societal levels, influence children’s adversity, development and resilience. Course participants will engage in critical thought about current international child protection practice and how to strengthen it. The course will invite participants to identify opportunities for using the learning from science and practice, to enrich current child protection approaches in humanitarian settings.
This course is aimed at child protection practitioners who work internationally in humanitarian settings and is also designed for those who want to learn more about, or start working in, the sector. The course is not intended to provide a comprehensive introduction to child protection programming in humanitarian settings. Instead, it focuses on select areas that are ripe for enrichment.
What you'll learn
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How humanitarian crises can affect children’s wellbeing and development
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What risk and resilience mean in the context of child development and child protection and what factors influence these at the individual, family, community and societal levels
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The importance of taking issues of context, agency, relationships and prevention into account when designing interventions
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How to think critically about different approaches to child protection in humanitarian crises and identify improvements for practice
Syllabus
Welcome to the Course
Child Development, Adversity, and Resilience
Supporting Children's Agency
Enabling Families as Protective Environments
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Families in Different Cultural Contexts
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Impact of Humanitarian Crises on Families
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Interventions to Support Families During and After Crises
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‘Do No Harm’ Issues
Enabling Communities as Protective Environments
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Communities As Resources and Risks for Children
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Ways of Engaging with Communities
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How Community Approaches Can Support Child Protection in Education
Enabling Protective Social Norms and Policies
Enriching and Transforming Practice
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Bringing Together the Science of Childhood Adversity and Child Protection Practice
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Identifying Barriers to Transformation
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Identifying Opportunities for Transformation
About the instructors
Hanna-Tina Fischer
Instructor, Program on Forced Migration and Health in the Department of Population and Family Health at Columbia University
Mark Canavera
Co-Director, Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network and Associate of the Program on Forced Migration and Health at Columbia University
Michael G. Wessells
Professor of Clinical Population and Family Health at Columbia University
For more details and to apply online, please visit here.
