In 2016, and under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Alqasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, the SCFO, expanded its scope from encouraging breastfeeding to focusing on the rights of all children and youth. The office was tasked with creating joint strategies and plans to support and nurture young generations in cooperation with relevant entities. Thus, the Sharjah Child Friendly City project was launched in collaboration with UNICEF..

The Child Friendly City initiative was launched in 1996 by UNICEF and UN-Habitat to act on the resolution passed during the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements. UNICEF oversees the implementation of this initiative in 36 countries around the world, including more than 30 million children and adolescents. The initiative aims to ensure that children (from birth up to 24 years old) get all their rights listed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989(CRC).
In 2018, Sharjah became the first city in the Middle East to obtain UNICEF’s ‘Child Friendly Cities’ accreditation. His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme
Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, received the accreditation certificate in the presence of hundreds of children and youth from the emirate.
To achieve the project’s objectives and maintain the global accreditation, SCFO developed a four-year action plan, in collaboration with over 30 government entities and relevant institutions, and hundreds of children and youth from the emirate.
The office works on projects and policies that enhance the participation of children in the experience of the civilized emirate to lead a complete mobility that exceeds the role of each institution, and it forms the emirate’s identity in general, investing in new generations and providing everything to serve their knowledge, energies and talents.

Sharjah child friendly TimeLine

  • 2016 MOU with UNICEF
  • 2017 UNICEF announced Sharjah as candidate Child Friendly City
  • 2017 Launched Child Friendly Media
  • 2017 Launched Child Friendly Urban Planning
  • 2018 Sharjah emirate recognized by UNICEF as a Child-Friendly City
  • 2019 Launched Child Friendly Schools & Nurseries