Save the Children Denmark (SCD) has been working in Bangladesh since 1980 in cooperation with Save the Children USA on a rural development project for women. It started working independently from 1993 and gradually created a child-focused project portfolio in Bangladesh and West Bengal. Save the Children Denmark supported the capacity of local partner NGOs to provide better conditions for children at risk and advocated for more child friendly policies and practices.

The two organisations Save the Children Sweden and Save the Children Denmark amalgamated their programmes in March 2003 aiming to build a stronger, more visible and effective child rights based programmes through a joint regional strategy.

The primary focus of Save the Children Sweden-Denmark Country Programme is to ensure Child Protection.  To achieve it, a strategic thematic frame has been designed. Therefore, an overall Child Protection Frame has been created where SCSD has crafted its focus and achieved specialized competences within the following Child Protection Programme Themes:    

Child Protection-Child Labour, Child Protection-Child Sexual Abuse Exploitation and Trafficking, Child Protection in Emergency and Civil Society

The Programme Support Units (PSU) has been established to support the thematic areas in achieving their desired goal. The Programme Support Units of SCSD are as follows:

Education, Child Participation, Advocacy Child Rights Programming (CRP) and Planning Monitoring & Knowledge Management (PM &KM) and Media and Communication.

The overall Strategic Approach:

• Child Rights Programming: All programming work of SCSD is based on the principles of children’s rights. SCSD uses the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) to assess, plan, develop, manage, implement, monitor, review and evaluate programme and projects.
• Partnership: SCSD enters into partnership with non-government organisations based on mutual trust and respect, non-discrimination, collective participation and equity. It shares ownership and maintains transparency and accountability in partnership.

The Intervention Approach:

Advocacy and Networking: Advocacy and networking continued for making the duty bearers accountable for fulfilling, respecting and protecting child rights.

Capacity Building: SCSD, partners, children and key duty bearers have the capacity to address child rights violations through a child rights programming approach.

Direct Services: Direct interventions to ensure the provision of adequate and quality services to children whose rights are being violated—best practices advocated.

Knowledge Building: Research, Documentation of practices, Monitoring Evaluation system, Learning, Sharing, Exposure visit etc.

Sustainability: All projects will have to be developed with sustainability built into them.    

Target Group:  SCSD is working with vulnerable groups of children and with their families in selected SCSD target areas. Special focus is given to children in hazardous child labour, children at risk becoming child labourer; children sexually abused, exploited or trafficked, children with disabilities, children from ethnic minority, rural areas; children in emergency and youth and civil society.

Geographical area:   The focus areas of SCSD programme are: Dhaka, Chittagong, and Rajshahi where it covers both urban and rural areas. Other areas of the country are covered through technical and strategic partnership.