1. Background (brief history)

The Ministry of Women and Child Development was first launched in India in 1985 under the Ministry of Human Resources Development and became a separate ministry in 2006 with the prime motive of promoting inter-Ministerial and inter-sectoral convergence to create gender equitable and child-centered legislation, policies, and programs.  The ministry aims to empower women socially and economically by coordinating cross-cutting policies and programs, mainstreaming gender concerns, and garnering legislative and institutional support for women rights policies to help them develop their full potential.

 

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   2. Areas of expertise

• Coordinating and guiding the efforts of both governmental and non-governmental organizations working in the field of women and child development.

• Implementing innovative programs for women and children covering welfare and support services, training for income generation and employment, and awareness generation and gender sensitization.

• Enacting and amending legislation to create more comprehensive policies that address key gaps in state action concerning women and children related to nutrition policies, sexual harassment, the uneven child sex ratio, child marriage, and dowry among other issues.

 

   3. Strengths in the ICPD

By implementing programs and coordinating policies aiming to empower and ensure the development of women and address gender inequality in India, MWCD has developed several initiatives that align with the ICPD agenda.   One example, in particular, is the Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls, otherwise known as the SABLA program, which was first initiated through the MWCD’s main outreach program, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), in 2011.  The initiative aims at improving the nutritional and health status of adolescent girls in the age group of 11-18 years, empower them by providing education in life-skills, sexual and reproductive health, and nutrition, and integrating non-school girls into the formal schooling system.  Through this program, the following services are provided to adolescent girls:

• Health check-up and referral services

• Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) Supplementation

• Counselling and guidance on family welfare, adolescent reproductive and sexual health, childcare practices, and home management

• Education in life-skills and on accessing public services

• Vocational training for girls from the age of 16 and above through coordinated efforts with the National Skill Development Programme under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

 

   4. Quality assurance/ previous evaluation

According to the 2007 National Report on “A World Fit for Children,” prepared by the Ministry of Women and Children of India as per the requirement of the United Nations, the MWCD collaborated with UNICEF on implementing various projects and initiatives concerning reproductive and child health, child development and nutrition, and HIV/AIDS, as well as, strengthening their evaluation and knowledge base of best practices on children.

 

   5. Experience in South-South Cooperation initiatives

In October of 2013, MWCD partnered with UNICEF to host the Second High-Level Meeting on South-South Cooperation for Child Rights in Asia and the Pacific in New Delhi, India ⁵.  Through this meeting and its participation in the First High-Level Meeting on South-South Cooperation for Child Rights in Asia and the Pacific held in Beijing, China in 2010, MWCD shared its experiences and best practices of addressing child rights and development with 32 regional countries and organizations and renewed its commitment to identify future opportunities that it could have to work with UNICEF and Asian-Pacific countries on issues related to early childhood development, maternal health and mortality, the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents, etc.