It was indicated that groups should identify good practices and challenges in relation to the above issues raised. Following the group discussions, representatives from each group made brief presentations on their findings. It came out that there are responsible coordination mechanisms/councils or offices such as ministries of foreign affairs or social development or women or justice or in the office of the Prime Minister in many countries. Burkina Faso, South Africa, and Tanzania are examples with specific coordination mechanisms. It was observed that in many countries there are drafting teams who will prepare the report and submit to the responsible ministry for stakeholder engagement and input. In some other countries like South Africa and Sudan, it was mentioned that there are treaty body reporting organs tasked with the preparation of State Party reports. In terms of budget allocation, the presentations informed that States allocate some sort of budget to the reporting process but the budget is not sufficient. Hence, most of the budget to the process comes from donors such as UNICEF. However, it was mentioned that in some countries like South Africa, the government fully funds the preparation of the reports. The group presentations revealed that information is gathered through consultations with various sectoral ministries and departments. However, there are challenges in getting nationally representative data. Countries like the Gambia with no children’s or social ministries use civil society for data gathering. It was informed that often there is reliance on individual consultants or focal points/individuals within ministries, which threatens sustainability and has budget implication. The presentations highlighted that consultations are undertaken with civil society including children’s and youth organizations, e.g. children’s parliaments. However, it was mentioned that most of the consultation is adult-driven with children with disabilities and other marginalized ones largely left out. Furthermore, it was alluded that there is a challenge in identifying and reaching consensus on the objectives of consultations among children and various stakeholders. While pointing out that coordination among the various ministries is paramount, it was indicated that most ministries do not understand their role in relation to children’s rights which makes coordination difficult. Moreover, it was highlighted that there is no clear understanding among ministries on which ministry is responsible to organize the coordination as it raises an authority issue. The groups recommended that MOU should exist among the various ministries to clear the abovementioned issues regarding coordination. 12 | P a g e