Alongside ambassador Barry Keoghan, the Foreign Secretary will
lead a campaign to advocate for family-based care for all
children across the globe.
- Alongside ambassador Barry Keoghan, the Foreign Secretary
will lead a campaign to advocate for family-based care for all
children across the globe.
- The Foreign Secretary announces Global Charter to work with
governments around the world to progressively end the use of
children's institutions.
- Reform of care poised to transform economic and social
development – delivering the Plan for Change.
The Foreign Secretary and actor Barry Keoghan will push for every
child across the globe to have the right to a safe and loving
family environment on a visit to Bulgaria today (Friday 17
January).
As part of the campaign, the UK will lead a new global alliance
to advocate for sustainable, lasting reform of children's social
care around the world. Six countries across four continents
have already signed up to this alliance and are committed to
driving forward progress on this issue. Partners include UNICEF,
the UN Special Representative on Violence against Children,
Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, Paraguay, Philippines and Rwanda.
This includes strengthening families to prevent child separation
and championing alternative forms of family-based care, such as
kinship care, where a child is cared for by a family member,
relative or friend. The alliance marks the first step in the
Foreign Secretary's campaign to progressively end the
institutionalisation of children, which is up to five times more
costly than family-based care. This will be followed by the
launch of a Global Charter later this year.
Children brought up in family-based care are given better starts
in life – breaking down the barriers to opportunity and giving
them the chance to prosper within their local economies. The
Foreign Secretary and Barry Keoghan will see how transformative
this support can be at two children centres in Sofia who use
education and extracurricular activities to accelerate vulnerable
children's development.
Foreign Secretary, , said:
The best thing my wife and I ever did, along with having our two
boys, was adopt our beautiful daughter. Nothing compares to the
happiness and meaning she has given to our lives.
Every child deserves a loving and safe family environment where
they can thrive and get the best start in life. Too many children
are facing a life of neglect and abuse in harmful institutions
such as orphanages, which do not have children's best interest at
heart.
I am proud to drive this global campaign alongside Barry, who has
first-hand experience of growing up in the care
system.
Global care reform is not only the right thing to do but will
have transformative impacts on economic and social development –
delivering our Plan for Change.
Ambassador, Barry Keoghan, said:
These are the moments I am incredibly grateful and appreciative
of to be able to use my platform to shine a light on the care
system that means so much to me and I can only hope to help
improve it.
The Foreign Secretary is such a wonderful man and together we
both can share our stories and upbringing by coming together to
do everything we can to make sure all care systems function in
the interest of children around the globe and that no child is
left behind.
The Foreign Secretary will kick off his push for family-based
care in Bulgaria, one of the UK's most likeminded partners which
has made significant progress in reforming its care system and
reducing the number of children in institutions (like large
residential care homes and orphanages). Bulgaria, who have based
much of their family policy on the ideas of 1997-2010 Labour
government's Sure Start Programme, is committed to closing all
residential institutions for children and has introduced a ban on
children under three being admitted into care institutions.
In Bulgaria, the Foreign Secretary and Barry Keoghan will attend
a working lunch to understand Bulgaria's experience of care
reform with Bulgarian Social and Labour Policy, Health and
Education Ministers alongside UNICEF and civil society
experts. Barry Keoghan and the Foreign Secretary will visit
two children centres, where they will hear about efforts to
prevent family separation and speak directly to children and
foster parents.
While in Bulgaria, the Foreign Secretary will meet with the
Bulgarian Foreign Minister to discuss deepening UK-Bulgaria
cooperation on tackling organised immigration crime.
