UNICEF, AUF unveil plan to curb child abuse in Cameroon.

It was accompanied by a specific agreement to strengthen collaboration in training, research, and innovation related to children’s rights.

The initiative, officials said, builds on actions undertaken since 2023 through the Child Rights Centers, CRCs; which centers are already contributing to educational innovation, the production of research that informs public policy, community support, and the mobilization of young academics.

The cooperation, officials said, includes a master’s program, leading to the award of a degree in “Social and Behavior Change for Child Rights”, designed using a hybrid model that combines in-person and online learning.

Through the agreement, officials say UNICEF and AUF are reaffirming their shared commitment to strengthening a Francophone academic network dedicated to children´s rights. 

Both institutions intend to, through the deal, promote quality training, encourage the production of useful knowledge, support pedagogical innovation, and sustainably mobilize universities, researchers, and students around a shared objective: advancing the rights and wellbeing of all children in Central Africa. 

“This partnership marks a major step towards transforming children´s rights into concrete actions,”, the Cameroon Country Representative of UNICEF, Nadine Perrault, said.  

She further announced that the Children´s Rights Centers and future Master´s Program will strengthen the commitment of young people, researchers, and institutions to produce knowledge useful for public policy. 

Perrault was corroborated by Virginie Tallio, the Deputy Director in charge of projects at the AUF Central Africa and the Great Lakes Region.

According to the officials, through the MoU, teachers and students will use the Children´s Rights Centers as practical spaces for training, research, and professional development. 

Under the terms of the deal, AUF will contribute, through its university network, to program design and capacity building while UNICEF will provide its technical expertise, facilitate internships and mentorships, integrate applied research into the curricula, and support visibility and partner mobilization.

Both institutions also commit to encouraging academic exchanges, joint research projects, and the co-organization of academic activities on children´s rights. 

Officials said by joining forces, they hope to create a bridge between academic excellence and social action. 

The Acting Regional Director of the AUF-Central Africa and the Great Lakes, Jean-Luc Konan, said the Master´s program is designed to train a new generation of professionals capable of working to improve the lives of children in Central Africa. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3749 of Thursday April 02, 2026