In strong support of the UK Government’s commitment at the Global Disability Summit to help make families (and not orphanages) the reality for every child, and recognising that institutionalisation, in all its forms, harms children’s physical, emotional, psychological and psychosocial development – the undersigned organisations (comprising major multinational companies) have launched the ‘Private Sector Taskforce’, to help eliminate orphanages within our lifetime. In-line with international treaties and best practice, including the UN Conventions on the Rights of the Child and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, we share the UK’s pledge to all children realising their right to family care - and that no child is left behind. We are committed to ensuring our businesses do not, either directly or indirectly, contribute towards the institutionalisation of children; and to instead support family and community based services. We are exploring how this approach can be integrated into our business models including through:
- Creating internal policy positions against resourcing institutions;
- Stopping support for orphanages throughout supplier networks;
- Redirecting resources towards family-based care;
- Encouraging the financial and legislative change required to transition away from orphanages;
- Where appropriate, seeking to influence the policy and practice of our sector peers, to create wider global consensus on making orphanages unacceptable.