Landscape Analysis of Child Rights in Gujarat

Introduction

Despite a sustained focus towards social welfare through development of policy, the state of Gujarat still performs relatively poorly on several social indicators pertaining to the welfare of its children, including those of health, nutrition, education and safety. This is despite Gujarat’s relatively strong economic position, the presence of a well-regarded civil society and academic institutions engaged in social policy. The last thirty years have in fact seen a peak in the inception of NGOs in Gujarat working for the rights and protection of children. A desire to enhance the effectiveness of these resources in enhancing child welfare in the state forms the basis for conducting this study that tries to map out the landscape of actors working in the space of child rights and welfare in Gujarat. In particular, we describe the nature of NGOs, academicians and corporate foundations - working towards improvement of child welfare in the state.