A delegation from UNICEF Geneva was received by the Sharjah Baby Friendly Office (SBFO) at the second edition of the two-day Sharjah Carnival for Children and Youth, which took place on November 21-22 at the Al Majaz Amphitheatre Island to mark ‘World Children’s Day’.

The delegation joined members of the Steering Committee of the Sharjah Child Friendly Project on a tour of the carnival themed ‘Children’s Rights Island’, which was followed by a meeting with the Steering Committee, during which they gained insights into the various projects and initiatives led by SBFO.

They also learnt about SBFO’s most prominent achievements in securing the rights and well-being of Sharjah’s children and youth, and their efforts which led to winning the UNICEF's Child-Friendly Cities Initiative Inspire Awards 2019, where Sharjah won in the ‘Child Friendly Social Services’ category.

The Geneva delegation was represented by Al Tayyeb Adam, UNICEF Representative to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries; Jennifer Hossain, Editor of Donors Reports at UNICEF Geneva, joined by Essam Ali, Social Policy Specialist at UNICEF Gulf Area Office, and Steering Committee members, Sheikh Mohammed bin Humaid Al Qasimi, Chairperson of Sharjah Department of Statistics and Community Development; Dr Hessa Khalfan Al Ghazal, Executive Director, SBFO; Engineer Khalid Al Ali, Secretary-General of Sharjah Urban Planning Council; Ali Al Hosani, Director General of Sharjah Private Education Authority; Hanadi Saleh Al Yafei, Director, Child Safety Department; Mona Abdul Karim Al Yafei, Director of Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services; and Khawla Al Haway, Project Manager at Rubu’ Qarn for Creating Leaders and Innovators.

The committee presented an overview of best practices implemented in Sharjah to maintain a nurturing environment to children and youth, and recounted the emirate’s achievements that led to Sharjah being named the first Child-Friendly City in the Middle East.

The committee also highlighted various SBFO projects that have been rolled out to develop the performance of child and youth care entities and contribute to the implementation of the office’s plans and initiatives. They also discussed the measures taken by SBFO to enhance cooperation with relevant government agencies and departments.

The meeting also shed light on the milestones of the Sharjah Baby Friendly project, which aims to support and encourage breastfeeding across the emirate, implemented by SBFO.

The delegation was also informed about the objectives and role of the Steering Committee to enhance partnerships with entities concerned with children and youth in the emirate, and their procedures related to the reviewing the proper implementation of the Sharjah Child-Friendly project.