Technical Note | Livelihood Interventions for Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups

Children associated with armed forces and armed groups (CAAFAG) are often recruited and used due to economic risk factors. Providing livelihood interventions to CAAFAG and vulnerable children can be used to prevent children from being recruited and used by armed forces and armed groups and may encourage children’s exit from armed groups and armed forces and promote their reintegration.

Collaboration between the food security and child protection sectors is essential to foster quality and holistic programmes for CAAFAG. However, the differences between the child protection and food security sectors in terms of focus (child and household), framework (socio-ecological framework and sustainable livelihood framework) and outcomes have historically hindered such collaboration.

The scope of this paper includes livelihood interventions targeting parents and caregivers of CAAFAG or children at risk of recruitment and use by armed forces and armed groups, as well as livelihood interventions targeting children who are old enough to work themselves, including child-headed households.