New hope for imperiled children
An estimated 2.4 million children in the world are exploited sexually, and 300,000 are child soldiers. Millions more children toil in virtual slavery in private homes, in agricultural fields, in mines, and on fishing boats. Those dismal statistics are an indication that the global system of child protection isn’t working. But François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights of the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), together with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), is working to fix it. “It really is a broken system,” said Jennifer Leaning, the François Xavier Bagnoud Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights and FXB Center director. To help address the problem, the FXB Center is creating a suite of five classes focused on child protection as part of the curriculum for HSPH’s master’s degree in public health. Led by Leaning and Jacqueline Bhabha, FXB Center research director and professor of the practice...