A/HRC/37/48 38. The Forum adopted the Panama Declaration on Ending Violence against Children, which reaffirms the moral imperative to protect children from harm and recognizes that no religious teaching or tradition justifies any form of violence against children. 39. In the Panama Declaration, participants expressed their resolve to support the 2030 Agenda and a clear commitment to raise awareness and promote action within faith communities to achieve the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals on ending violence against children. They also pledged to generate social and political will for legislation, policies and increased funding for children’s protection programmes; and committed to listening to children with respect, educating religious and spiritual leaders and communities on the different forms of violence against children, and offering training in positive parenting and ethical values to help families and children to develop empathy and become more resilient. C. Promoting follow-up to and review of the 2030 Agenda 40. Comprehensive and nationally owned sustainable development plans are being adopted by many Member States in view of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. It is essential these plans be supported by predictable resources and informed by solid evidence and robust, reliable and disaggregated data to assess progress towards the violence-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals. 41. Investment in children is crucial to reaching the Sustainable Development Goals, but there is still a long way to go. While half of those living in extreme poverty are children and half of the world’s children are affected by violence every year, budget allocations for children’s well-being are often inadequate. Furthermore, official development assistance (ODA) mobilized to end violence against children remains insufficient. As noted in a recent report, 3 the average ODA per child per year to address violence in low-income countries is less than $0.65, representing less than 0.6 per cent of total ODA. 42. The high-level political forum on sustainable development provides a strategic platform to ensure that children are placed at the heart of the 2030 Agenda. Through her participation in high-level intergovernmental meetings and cooperation with regional organizations and permanent missions, the Special Representative has drawn attention to the opportunity provided by the voluntary national reviews and the forum for States to share positive developments and lessons learned, and to identify persisting challenges and efforts to monitor children’s exposure to violence. 43. The theme of the 2017 meeting of the high-level political forum on sustainable development was “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world”, a topic of special relevance to ending violence against children. Violence perpetuates poverty, but poverty can also trigger violence and create conditions for abuse and exploitation to flourish. In marginalized communities where family incomes are low and livelihood opportunities are few, where housing is inadequate and there is limited access to quality social services, children are more likely to experience violence. They are also less likely to receive support to recover from trauma, to enjoy a future with skills, confidence and resilience, or to feel empowered to seek justice and end impunity. 3 8 ChildFund Alliance, Save the Children, SOS Children’s Villages International, World Vision, Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children and UNICEF, Counting pennies: A review of official development assistance to end violence against children, May 2017.