What we do

Join us in building a healthier, more equitable future for all children – explore our mission, discover our initiatives, and see how you can help amplify the voices of young people worldwide.

Our Mission

The future for 2.4 billion children is under unprecedented threat, yet bad outcomes are not inevitable. We can, across the world, make better choices. CAP-2030 works to centre children’s health and well-being in all policies, to ensure an equitable, sustainable future. We implement the recommendations of the WHO-UNICEF-Lancet Commission by promoting children’s rights and protecting their health through science, advocacy and coalition-building.

Our model

CAP 2030 supports scientists, citizens, and activists who are already working together to make a healthier, safer and more equitable world for children and future generations. We know that scientific evidence is not enough: knowledge must be transformed into strategic political and social action. Our model is based on science, advocacy, and coalition building:

  • We make empirically grounded recommendations about what enables children to be healthy and well
  • We disseminate information, data and tools using impactful communication strategies to reach key decision makers and communities
  • We build coalitions of champions in the political sphere and civil society, linked with the voices of children and young people
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Our foundations

Following the seminal WHO-UNICEF-Lancet Commission report published in 2020 A Future for the World’s Children?, CAP-2030 was created to implement the recommendations of the report.
The report provides our foundations and we work with our partners to put this into practice.
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Climate Change

As Greta Thunberg has said, ‘Our house is on fire.’ The global climate crisis is the greatest challenge facing humanity – and children will suffer the most from its dire effects.

Urgent action is needed to drastically reduce carbon emissions, to improve children’s health and well-being today and ensure they inherit a liveable planet tomorrow.

At CAP-2030, we help drive action on climate change: by amplifying the voices and perspectives of children; and by supporting policymakers with evidence and data about the impact on children, and what works to protect them now and in the future.

Commercial Exploitation

Commercial exploitation of children through inappropriate marketing of products and services such as alcohol, tobacco, sugar-sweetened beverages, breastmilk substitutes, and gambling apps is an under-appreciated threat to their health and well-being.

Companies gain huge profits by exploiting children’s developmental vulnerabilities in advertising and by devouring their data on social media. CAP-2030 works to define the nature of this emerging threat and supports national and international regulations to protect children from harmful marketing.

Focus Countries

CAP-2030 works to build coalitions for action for children in all sectors in key focus countries, with leadership from governments, ministries, academics, civil society and other stakeholders.

Each country has different urgent priorities for children, but everywhere our partners seek to bring together stakeholders across sectors and institutionalize children’s concerns in national planning and policy implementation.
All countries are invited to join the movement!

Country Stories

Explore the interactive map

CAP-2030 works in countries around the world, bringing together policymakers, scientists, and advocates and children themselves to solve the most pressing challenges facing children and future generations. Our consortium is always welcoming new members - click on a country to learn more - or reach out to join our global movement for children!

Sweden

Sweden has one of the world’s highest rankings on the Child Flourishing Index according to the WHO-UNICEF-Lancet Commission report. However, children and adolescents still have issues, The Karolinska Institutet will lead an initiative focusing on children’s mental health and wellbeing, which has been getting worse.

Senegal

Senegal is a country which has in many ways prioritised children’s health in its policies. However, the needs of newborns and very young children are not adequately understood by families, communities, and policymakers. The Institute of Social Paediatrics at Cheikh Anta Diop University, which works to improve the health conditions of mothers and children living in disadvantaged rural and suburban areas of Senegal, will lead an initiative on the ‘first 1,000 days’ of a child’s life. This is a critical period for setting the health and development trajectory for the entire life-course. The work will include advocacy among key policymakers and decisions-makers to devote resources to protect and promote health during the child’s first 1,000 days, as well as sensitising families and communities.

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France

France ranks among the top countries in the world for ensuring children survive and thrive, although population inequities mean that not all children are equally valued and cared for. Furthermore, France’s excess CO2 emissions put the future of all children at risk by contributing to the climate crisis. CAP-2030 will work with the CRI (Centre for Research and Interdisciplinarity) and other partners to interact with children about their ideas, hopes and fears about climate change. They will then develop communications tools to help adults effectively engage with the ‘silent mass’ of non-activist children and sensitively process the stress of climate change with children and adolescents.

Ghana

Ghana has made significant investments in child health and well-being in recent years, resulting in large decreases in child mortality. However, despite recent momentum towards prioritising children in policy, their needs are not being addressed holistically using an all-of-government approach. CAP-2030 will work with the Center for Learning and Child Development in Ghana, which will hold sector-specific consultations to promote child-friendly strategic planning. They will also organize a multisectoral conference at national level to mobilise stakeholders to place children at the centre of Ghana’s pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Argentina

In Argentina, historical fragmentation of policy for children and adolescents has resulted in inequalities in service provision across provinces, with lack of coordination between sectors such as health, education, housing and water & sanitation. FLACSO, the Latin American School of Social Sciences, is leading an initiative to develop cross-sector approaches to promote children’s rights to health and well-being and build a more child-inclusive society. They will map the critical issues, bring together the relevant people to exchange knowledge, and advocate to centre the rights of the child in today’s political agenda.

South Africa

In South Africa, the negative effects of alcohol on children occur across the life course, beginning in the womb. The Western Cape province has one of the highest prevalence rates of foetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the world with long term consequences for children’s growth, education and life opportunities. Harmful alcohol use by parents also increases risk of child maltreatment, neglect and household poverty. Partners at the University of Western Cape, South African MRC and Stellenbosch University will seek to capitalise on the observed effects of recent COVID-19 alcohol sales bans. They will explore policy options for long-term, multi-sectoral alcohol policy reform, to improve the health and safety of children and families in South Africa.

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India

In part due to the large number of children living in poverty in India, the country ranks low on the WHO-UNICEF-Lancet Commission’s Child Flourishing Index. In particular, the number of children living in informal housing poses major challenges in terms of access to social services, social protection, welfare regimes, and other important policy interventions on children’s health and well-being. The Indian Institute for Human Settlements will lead a programme of work on children’s health, housing and social protection, in particular as this concerns children in families supported by informal workers.

Nepal

In Nepal, children’s health and well-being is inescapably linked to climate change: issues include poor nutritional status, challenges to agricultural production, loss of biodiversity and exposure to climate-induced risks such as droughts, extreme heat, floods, and landslides. The status of children tends to be more critical in remote areas with limited access to market, health, and educational facilities. The climate-related disaster risks for children differ by agro-ecological zone, which vary from south to north across the country. Kathmandu Living Labs and Avni Centre for Sustainability will explore a portfolio of citizen science activities focused on schoolchildren and youth, with the aim of documenting and monitoring climate-change related issues of interest to the children and their communities.

Pacific Island Countries

Pacific Island countries are among those most affected by the climate crisis, and Indigenous children and youth from these countries are some of the most powerful voices speaking out against climate change in the world today. CAP-2030 will work to amplify the voices and perspectives of Indigenous youth activists on climate change, especially on the issue of environmental justice, as these messages have important implications for all children living today.