Child risk indicator framework in the making |25 May 2005

They came from the Ministry of Health and Social Services, Ministry of Local Government, Sports and Culture, the Seychelles Police Force and other organisations, and met at the International Conference Centre.

During the workshop, which was facilitated by consultant Marie Pierre Lloyd, the participants discussed issues such as economic security, social environment, education and health which if denied of children are considered as threats to the well-being of children.

Mrs Lloyd has in the past been involved with the development and implementation of different projects for child protection in Seychelles.

She said the risks should be identified at an early stage so that prevention measures can be taken to improve and eventually better the system of child protection.

Stating that over the years a lot has been done to address issues relating to child well-being, Mrs Lloyd said that prevention still remains a key issue which should be dealt with profoundly. Therefore she has called on all agencies, which have the well-being of children at heart to work closely with each other so that an appropriate framework or model can be developed.

“The framework will be more of a system that will follow the child continuously and rely on hard objective facts to determine whether a child is at risk or not and alert the relevant agency or organisation so that the necessary action can be taken.

It is therefore expected to contribute to a more professional approach to promoting, implementing, coordinating monitoring evaluating of children’s issues in Seychelles specially relating to the protection and well being of the child,” she said.

The recommendations made by the participants will later be compiled and presented for approval by the cabinet.