NEW YORK, USA, 24 February 2010 Last week in New York, UNICEF and Fordham University, with the support of the European Commission, hosted a two-day policy forum and workshop entitled, 'Child-Friendly Budgets for 2010 and Beyond'.

The meeting brought together development practitioners, researchers and other experts from UNICEF, the UN Development Programme, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and civil society groups such as the International Budget Project and HAQ Centre for Child Rights in India. Academics from Fordham University, New School University and New York University were also on hand.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss emerging empirical evidence on the impact of the global economic crisis and the key policy responses to protect children from harm notably, those related to social budgets and public finance policy.