1st Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children

On 7-8 November 2024 the 1^st Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children was held in Bogotá, Colombia. The Ministerial Conference was hosted by the Governments of Colombia and Sweden, with the support of WHO, UNICEF and the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative on Violence against Children.

This landmark Ministerial Conference was attended by some 1400 delegates, including representatives from 130 countries, of whom 80 were ministers. Most ministries represented were those mandated to lead on child welfare and social development, although many Ministers from education, interior, justice, and health were also in attendance. The vibrancy, inclusivity and impact of the Ministerial Conference were enhanced by the active involvement of children, youth, survivors, civil society representatives, practitioners and donors.  

Commitments to action

The 1^st Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children generated unprecedented pledges to transformative action. In total, 120 concrete pledges were submitted – including 112 official Member State pledges. Summaries of all pledges received can be found on the official Ministerial Conference web site Government pledges - First Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children.

By WHO region, pledges were made from:

• 38 governments in the WHO African Region
• 21 governments in the WHO Region of the Americas
• 6 governments in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region
• 23 governments in the WHO European Region
• 4 governments in the WHO South-East Asia Region   
• 7 governments in the WHO Western Pacific Region  

Notably, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation committed a new USD 125 million investment to support violence against children prevention and response efforts in the five years ahead.

The way forward

WHO is committed to continue a high-impact portfolio of work on preventing violence against children, augmenting technical assistance with continued advocacy and accountability efforts. This is intended to support governments on pledge implementation and communication, further develop champions and a community of practice, and build an enabling environment for a 2^nd Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, tentatively planned for late 2026.

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