ChildFund Alliance Welcomes WeWorld to Its Global Network

Membership will enable the Alliance to reach an additional 7 million children and their families in more than 70 countries around the globe

(New York, NY) ChildFund Alliance is expanding its membership to include the Italian organization WeWorld, a move that will enable ChildFund to provide critical services and advocacy to an additional 7 million beneficiaries in more than 70 countries. WeWorld will join with other members to contribute vital resources to strengthen ChildFund’s work to end violence and exploitation against children, secure their rights, and overcome the underlying conditions preventing children from achieving their full potential.

ChildFund Alliance’s Board of Directors officially approved WeWorld’s application on November 5, following a nearly two-year comprehensive review process. WeWorld becomes the 12th member of ChildFund Alliance and the network’s first member headquartered in Italy.

Currently, ChildFund has operations in more than 60 countries and helps nearly 16 million children and their families. WeWorld reaches 7 million beneficiaries and operates in 27 countries, including 10 where ChildFund does not currently operate. With the growth in membership, ChildFund will now reach upwards of 23 million people, with operations in more than 70 countries.

“ChildFund Alliance is delighted to welcome WeWorld as a new member,” said ChildFund Alliance Secretary General Meg Gardinier. “WeWorld shares the Alliance’s focus on the elimination of violence against children and our vision for a world in which all children enjoy their rights and achieve their full potential. We look forward to leveraging our collective strengths and resources to help the millions of vulnerable children and their families around the globe.”

“The decision to join ChildFund Alliance provides an opportunity for us to be more effective in fighting for people’s rights,” said WeWorld President Marco Chiesara. “Our commitment in the fight for rights in Italy and globally is growing with new ways and opportunities to fight injustice without leaving anyone behind. In ChildFund we found the alliance we were looking for; with an ability to work around the world, both on the field and in the policy arena, with methodologies and visions in common with ours.”

Both agencies are currently deeply committed to mitigating the negative impacts of COVID-19, which is seeing a new spike in cases and deaths worldwide. Currently, ChildFund is implementing an ambitious COVID-19 Response Plan focused on ensuring children and families remain healthy, educated, and safe during the ongoing pandemic. On Universal Children’s Day, the Alliance will host a webinar on children’s right to have their voices heard, as seen through the lens of the pandemic.

On November 17, WeWorld will host an event to launch its WeWorld Index 2020: Women and children in times of Covid-19. The Index measures countries’ progress through economic and social indicators by analyzing life conditions of those who are most at risk of social exclusion.

In becoming an Alliance member, WeWorld joins 11 other organizations that are part of the global network. These are ChildFund Australia, ChildFund Deutschland, ChildFund International, ChildFund Ireland, ChildFund Japan, ChildFund Korea, ChildFund New Zealand, Barnfonden (Sweden), Children Believe (Canada), Educo (Spain), and Un Enfant par la Main (France).

About ChildFund:

ChildFund is a child-focused global development organization, founded in 1938, which helps nearly 16 million children and family members in more than 60 countries. Twelve child-focused development agencies are now part of the global network known as ChildFund Alliance. The members work to end violence and exploitation against children and to overcome poverty and the underlying conditions that prevent children from achieving their full potential. We work in partnership with children and their communities to create lasting change, and the participation of children is a key component of our approach to protect and advance their rights and well-being. The collective strength of our members helps us serve as a global voice with and for children, to highlight the issues children care about, and to mobilize effectively to address threats to their lives, safety and well-being.

About WeWorld:

WeWorld is an Italian independent organization committed for nearly 50 years to guarantee the rights of women and children in 27 countries, including Italy. WeWorld works in 158 projects reaching over 7.2 million direct beneficiaries and 42.4 million indirect beneficiaries. Children, women and youth, and actors of change in every community are the protagonists of WeWorld projects and campaigns in our fields of intervention, which include human rights (gender equality, prevention and contrast of violence against women and children, migrations); humanitarian aid (prevention, aid and rehabilitation); food security; water and sanitation; health; and education and learning. Our Mission is that we work for girls, boys, women and youth, actors of change in every community for a fairer and more inclusive world. We support people overcoming emergencies and we guarantee a life with dignity, opportunities and a better future through human and economic development programs (in the framework of the 2030 Agenda). Our Vision is for a better world where everyone, especially women and children, must have equal opportunities and rights, access to resources, to health, to education and to decent work. A world in which the environment is a common good to be respected and preserved; in which war, violence and exploitation are banned. A world where nobody is left behind.