This edition of Progress for Children, the eighth in the series that monitors progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), is a compendium of data that serves as a report card on global and national efforts to protect the rights of children. Data on many child protection issues are more readily available today than ever before. However on some issues – notably sexual exploitation and abuse of children, trafficking and migration – data remain difficult to obtain. It is now two decades since the landmark Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted. As we mark its 20th anniversary this year, this edition of Progress for Children provides key information on child protection.