Unicef and Children First join forces

MUSCAT: Unicef and the Children First Association, under the guidance of HH Sayyida Dr Muna bint Fahd al Said, have signed an MoU to raise awareness among the public about key issues relating to children on Sunday. “This is a strategic step to further improve our government endeavours towards enhanced services to children across a wide spectrum like education, health, inclusion and many more,” commented HH Sayyida Muna. The MoU comes as a part of Unicef’s strategic agenda to diversify partnerships and engage all levels of society, including civil society, to achieve better outcomes.

The Children First Association will support Unicef in their communication for development agenda, a pillar of the organisation’s Country Programme in the Sultanate. The programme will entail developing messages directed to raise awareness and encourage action towards health, education, nutrition, protection, and the inclusion of children with disabilities. Lana al Wreikat, Unicef Oman Representative, said of the partnership, “This is a key partnership for all of us and we are looking forward to working with Her Highness Sayyida Muna and the wider Children First Association to support children in Oman. This is our first partnership with a civil society organisation and a part of our efforts to broaden our partnerships beyond government and private sectors, to reach more levels of the community and better spread awareness about child-related matters. This partnership will unlock new potential for us to reach more children and achieve better outcomes. The Children First Association and Her Highness Sayyida Muna are a particularly pertinent partner as their core commitment to achieving a sustainable tomorrow for our children is at the heart of our shared agendas.”

The signing ceremony, hosted at the new Children’s Library in Shatti Al Qurum, also included the launch of Unicef mascots, ‘Saif & Muzna.’ The mascots, developed as a part of the partnership agreement, will be used to engage children and deliver the joint messages to the public.

Unicef will work on improving education and increasing awareness around specific child-related indicators to bolster institutional capacity and knowledge to produce better outcomes for children.