Call for EOIs: HOPE Papua Holistic Outreach for Protecting and Empowering Children (Indonesia)

Deadline: 10-Sep-2026

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is seeking partners to strengthen child protection systems and improve access to essential services for children across Tanah Papua, Indonesia. The programme focuses on child protection governance, birth registration, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), and positive social norms. The initiative responds to persistent challenges affecting children in Tanah Papua, including violence against children, child marriage, limited access to legal identity, unequal availability of quality protection services, and growing mental health and psychosocial needs. The programme aligns with the CPAP 2026–2030 Outcome 5, which focuses on strengthened child protection governance, quality services, and community-based child protection systems.

About the UNICEF Tanah Papua Programme

Tanah Papua comprises six provinces in Indonesia and continues to face significant child protection challenges. Geographic isolation, limited access to services, and low public awareness can make it difficult for children and families to obtain protection services and legal identity documentation. The programme seeks to address these challenges through stronger government systems, improved frontline capacity, integrated service delivery, better mental health and psychosocial support, and community engagement. The overall goal is to ensure that children in Tanah Papua are better protected and able to realize their rights. Key Child Protection Challenges in Tanah Papua Children and families in Tanah Papua face several interconnected challenges, including: - Violence against children. - High prevalence of child marriage. - Limited access to birth registration and legal identity. - Geographic isolation and limited access to essential services. - Disparities in the availability and quality of child protection services. - Low awareness among communities about child protection and legal identity. - Limited capacity to address children’s mental health and psychosocial needs. - Challenges faced by caregivers and service providers in identifying and responding to MHPSS needs. Recent data indicate that South Papua has the highest child marriage prevalence in Indonesia, while birth registration coverage in Tanah Papua remains significantly lower than the national average. Main Objectives of the Programme The UNICEF programme aims to achieve four interconnected objectives: - Strengthen child protection systems and government capacity. - Expand access to birth registration and legal identity. - Improve mental health and psychosocial support services. - Promote positive social norms and community-based mechanisms to prevent child marriage and violence against children. Together, these interventions are intended to create stronger systems that can protect children and help them access their fundamental rights and services. Strengthening Government Child Protection Systems A major component of the programme is strengthening government systems and workforce capacities for child protection. Partners are expected to support capacity building for government officials and frontline workers involved in child protection services. This can help improve the quality, consistency, and accessibility of services available to children and families. The programme will also promote the integration of child protection competencies into government training systems, helping strengthen institutional capacity over the longer term. Expanding Access to Birth Registration Birth registration is an important component of the programme because legal identity can help children access essential rights and services. The programme aims to improve birth registration through integrated service delivery, particularly in communities where geographic isolation and limited access to government services create barriers. Potential interventions will focus on strengthening systems and coordination so that children and families can access birth registration more effectively. Improving birth registration coverage can also contribute to stronger child protection systems by ensuring that children have recognized legal identities. Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Mental health and psychosocial wellbeing are another important focus of the programme. The initiative aims to enhance access to information and referral services related to mental health and psychosocial support for children and caregivers. Activities will seek to strengthen awareness and capacity among: - Children. - Parents and caregivers. - Frontline workers. - Relevant service providers. - Government stakeholders. Improving information and referral systems can help children and caregivers better understand available support and connect with appropriate services. Preventing Child Marriage and Violence Against Children The programme places strong emphasis on preventing child marriage and violence against children through positive social norms and community-based mechanisms. Community engagement will involve customary, faith-based, and community leaders. These stakeholders can play an important role in influencing attitudes, practices, and community responses concerning children’s rights and protection. The programme will therefore support approaches that encourage communities to recognize and address harmful social norms contributing to child marriage and violence against children. Community-Based Child Protection Mechanisms Community-based mechanisms are an important part of strengthening child protection systems in areas where formal services may be difficult to access. The programme will reinforce community participation and engagement while connecting community-level mechanisms with government and formal child protection systems. Working with customary, faith-based, and community leaders can help make child protection interventions more locally relevant and sustainable. Capacity Building and Multi-Sectoral Coordination