The Doha International Family Institute (Difi), a member of Qatar Foundation (QF), has concluded its participation at the 57th Session of the Commission for Social Development in New York.
The institute hosted a panel titled 'Towards Family-Sensitive Protection', in collaboration with the Qatar Mission to the UN, the Division for Inclusive Social Development of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (UN ESCWA), Berkeley Social Welfare, and the International Council of Social Welfare.
The event aimed to provide stakeholders – including governments, civil society organisations, and UN entities – with a platform to discuss and enable a better understanding of the challenges faced by families and the progress made in addressing them, as well as to exchange experiences and lessons learned from new evidence and innovations in efforts targeted at families.
Speaking at the event, Difi executive director Dr Sharifa al-Emadi said: “Research has shown that social protection programmes can strengthen the capacity of families to care for their children, and remove barriers to access services, while reaching those that are most vulnerable." 
“Increasing evidence also shows that social protection measures have led to increased family spending on education and health, which helps families to cope with the burden of care for ill family members, improves the health and wellbeing of families, decreases childhood mortality, reduces school absenteeism, and reduces child labour,” al-Emadi said.
Attendees included HE Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif al-Thani, Qatar’s permanent representative to the UN; Renata Kaczmarska, focal point on the Family at UN DESA; Neil Gilbert, the Milton and Gertrude Chernin professor of social welfare and social services at the University of California, Berkeley, US; and, Gisela Nauk, chief of the Inclusive Social Development Section at UN ESCWA.
The session was moderated by Difi family policy director Dr Anis Ben Brik.
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