PROTECTION AND SOCIAL WELFARE
CHILD AND YOUTH PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT The IRC promotes the protection of war-affected children and youth through child welfare committees, advocacy campaigns, peer education, trainings, and coordination with government and other organizations. As the lead agency in child protection in Nimba and Lofa counties, the IRC is the focal point for coordination of child protection activities between the Ministry of Social Welfare, UN agencies and INGOs, as well as local partners and communities.
COUNTERING YOUTH AND CHILD LABOR THROUGH EDUCATION (CYCLE) The CYCLE Initiative is a four-year project funded by the United States Department of Labor seeking to contribute to the sustainable reduction of exploitative child labor in Liberia and Sierra Leone through improving the quality of, access to, and flexibility in the delivery of education for children already engaged in or at risk of engaging in exploitative child labor. This is achieved by strengthening the economic and education alternatives to child labor for families and communities and increasing awareness of the risks and loss of human potential for the children engaged in child labor, their families and their communities. The project is implemented in close collaboration with the Government of Liberia and local NGO partners.
HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION AND PROMOTION Developed in late 2004, this cross-cutting program leads the IRC’s efforts to develop post-conflict development programs that effectively address protection issues. Its goal is to mainstream protection principles into the programming of the IRC and its local partners by contributing to program design and constantly monitoring and evaluating programs throughout implementation. National and international legal mechanisms are given particular attention, including laws protecting children and women, inheritance, anti-discrimination laws, and property rights.
GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE The IRC’s GBV program is premised on a three-tiered intervention model. This model recognizes that effective short and long-term response to violence against girls and women can only be achieved if interventions target structural protection through international laws and instruments; systemic protection by building the capacity of the humanitarian community and various national systems and mechanisms; and individual protection, where direct services are provided to women and girls who have experienced violence. The IRC is the lead GBV coordination agency in Liberia.
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CAPACITY-BUILDING The IRC is committed to strengthening the capacity of Liberians to rebuild and revitalize their communities and institutions. To this end, this overarching department advises the various other sectors, enabling the IRC to work toward durable solutions in Liberia by favoring partnerships with Liberian civil society, business and government entities.
EDUCATION IRC Liberia is working with local communities and the Ministry of Education to rebuild the educational systems in post-conflict Liberia. The education sector supports communities to rehabilitate damaged schools, provides supplies and curricula materials, trains teachers and administrators, develops parent-teacher associations, develops non-formal education and community resource centers, and provides accelerated learning opportunities for older Liberian youth who missed out on formal education during the war.
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Access to safe water and proper sanitation facilities is essential to reducing water-borne diseases. The IRC works hand in hand with communities to construct wells, hand pumps, and latrines and establish and trains local committees to sustain this vital infrastructure. To complement these efforts, the IRC conducts workshops and trainings on proper hygiene practices to bring about positive change in the knowledge and practices of the targeted communities.
HEALTH The main objectives the health sector are to provide direct health services, distribute medicine, rehabilitate health facilities, and train medical staff. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, IRC Liberia provides primary health care services in seven Ministry of Health clinics. The focus of the direct health services are general practice and reproductive health, with the goal of reducing morbidity and mortality of the war-affected population.
COMMUNITY-DRIVEN RECONSTRUCTION Having effectively transitioned out of emergency-orientated programming, the IRC is implementing a community-driven reconstruction project that seeks to empower community members to identify and implement reconstruction project in their communities. Through an integrated model and with a strong focus on capacity building, the IRC is empowering vulnerable communities to take the lead in identifying and addressing their problems.
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES Recognizing that social exclusion and vulnerability of youth and women often results from economic disenfranchisement, the economic opportunities program provides skills training through apprenticeships and support to vulnerable youth and women, including former child soldiers, to improve their livelihoods. Through training opportunities and small business support, youth and women get improved employment opportunities and income.
In Liberia, the IRC program approach has transitioned from one of emergency relief to post-conflict recovery. While maintaining its capacity to respond in emergencies, the organization is implementing a number of programs assisting the reintegration of various vulnerable populations returning to their home communities, such as women and children formerly associated with the fighting forces and people displaced by years of fighting. The IRC has created an innovative organizational structure to facilitate its integrated programming delivery model and maximize its effectiveness on the ground. By focusing on concepts of accountability and building the human capacity of its own staff, as well as partner organizations and institutions, the country program demonstrates a keen awareness of the challenges and opportunities in Liberia’s post-conflict environment.
May 2006
