Colombia

Local Development Programmes in Bogota and Bello
UNICEF's Local Development Programme (LDP) was launched in Bogotá in 1996, in five boroughs that house a population of around three million: San Cristóbal. Bosa, Kennedy, Engativá and Suba. It advocates for the rights of children and women at the District Level in order to ensure that children's needs are reflected in the District's development and action plans. By working with the Chief Mayor who governs the entire city and Local Mayors who oversee boroughs, children's issues are addressed politically, financially and socially. The programme aims to strengthen the capacity of local government institutions to programme available resources in the best interests of children. It works with communities through communication and social mobilization campaigns that inform Bogotá's citizens of their rights and bring communities closer to government by encouraging participation in local government activities and fostering coordination.

The programme's long-term goal is to generate a culture of child rights at the local government level within the next ten years.
Its short-term goals include:

strengthening local governments capacity through the consolidation of five Local Social Policy Councils to promote policies that favour the rights of children and women;
A Child Friendly School strategy in 15 city schools.

In 1998, a LDP was launched in the municipality of Bello, focusing on three strategic lines of action: social management, communication for social mobilization, and support to projects for vulnerable population groups. The aim is to consolidate a model of social intervention for local development and the construction of democracy and coexistence by improving the prospects for the children, adolescents and women of Commune 1 of the municipality. Its long-term goal is to consolidate training in self-management of resources and planning with emphasis on the preparation of diagnostic studies, development plans and investment plans.
The immediate goals include:

strengthening the capacity of the municipal government and the local institutions responsible for social development in the management processes;
design of communication strategies on child rights;
the consolidation of institutional and community initiatives that support local networks; to promote the creation of child-friendly schools;
strengthening the Peace and Women's Panels; to design good treatment strategies;
strengthening the networks to prevent domestic violence.

Social Management with a child rights perspective in Santander de Quilichao, Department of Cauca Initiated in 1998, this project aims to reduce maternal mortality through training and the reorganization of services. It also attempts to reduce reproductive risk among adolescents by forming or re-organizing groups of adolescents of the community and training them to act as peer educators on sexual and reproductive health risks. Finally, it aims to reduce major childhood illnesses. It's long-term goal is to promote protection and special care for child victims of violence in the municipality, through strategies for inter-sectoral networking, community empowerment and application of the Municipal Development Plan with a child rights perspective. Its short-term goal is to improve the capacity of the municipal government and the community for planning, articulating and executing proposals that integrate a children's human rights perspective, taking into account the critical health, education and protection situation and the lack of political and social participation.

Contact for Colombia initiatives
Sara Benjumea, Project Officer
UNICEF Colombia Area Office
Apartado Aereo 91649
Santafé de Bogotà
Colombia, South America
Telephone (571) 635.7066
Fax 635.7323
E-mail sbenjumea@unicef.org

In Colombia thirty-nine municipalities (including four in Bogota) have adopted a programme approach aimed at improving coordination and cooperation between local governments, communities and civil society. A key component has been the creation of social development committees. These partnerships between local governments, NGOs, CBOs and communities have worked together on the preparation of local development plans. Besides the committees, different networks for special interest groups have been created, such as citizens' meetings, youth work groups, women's committees and "special treatment networks" to record, monitor and assess cases of domestic violence. Again in Colombia, 25 municipalities of the Andean Sub-regional Project, located in the least developed departments of the country, have focused on training community leaders in order to equip them to draft local development plans that, from a children's and women's perspective, would coordinate decentralization and social mobilization activities. Ten mayors' offices have prepared basic health care plans with community participation, organized training for health monitoring and promotion and set up aqueduct administrative boards.

(http://www.unicef.org/programme/gpp/profiles/countryp.html)

NOTE:

The CFC Secretariat has produced an in-dept documentation on Local Development Programmes in Colombia. See Good Practices section on this website.