Funded by HTRI, researchers in the Central African Republic are developing measurements to assess whether an information and skills program for caregivers reduces their children’s recruitment or reengagement into armed groups and leads to successful reintegration into the family.

The Central African Republic has been engaged in a civil war since 2013, and more than 10 thousand children continue to serve in armed groups.¹ As part of the International Rescue Committee’s Protection and Reintegration of Children (SPARC) project, the Growing Strong Together program seeks to improve caregiver knowledge and skills to prevent their children’s recruitment into armed groups and support their reintegration through group- and family-based sessions.

Funded by HTRI, researchers are developing measurements to assess whether the Growing Strong Together program reduces children’s recruitment into armed groups. To do this, they will gather perspectives from adolescent former child soldiers on the drivers of armed group recruitment and successful reintegration. These measurements will then be refined, piloted, and validated for a future randomized evaluation of the Growing Strong Together program.

Sources

^1. Jean Fernand Koena, “Central African Republic says 10,000 children are still fighting alongside armed groups there,” Associated Press, February 12, 2024

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