PAKISTAN: UN STEPS UP STRUGGLE TO GET CHILDREN BACK TO SCHOOL AFTER MASS DISPLACEMENT

A shortfall of around $20 million in educational funding is hampering efforts to get Pakistani children back to school in the aftermath of the mass exodus in the north-west of the country during the recent conflict in the area, the United Nations humanitarian arm announced today.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA) reported that only 17 per cent of all activities covering the educational needs of children affected by the conflict in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) are currently funded.

Many children who have returned to the region have found that some 550 of their former schools have been damaged or destroyed, including 147 girls' schools.

With the recent start of the new school year, a group of UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), led by the UN Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF) – is working to help provide access to education for all children affected by the emergency.

OCHA has reported in recent weeks that around 1.6 million of the more than 2 million people who fled the military offensive against militants in NWFP have now returned to their homes, stressing that there is an urgent need to provide school supplies and school tents for the new academic year until pre-fabricated shelters arrive for more than 500 schools in Swat and Buner districts. UNICEF has already dispatched 100 school tents to the two districts, enabling a number of returning children to start the year.

The children's agency has also prioritized the repair and rehabilitation of 3,565 primary schools damaged from hosting internally displaced persons (IDPs) – estimated to benefit over half a million children – with nearly 1,000 schools already refurbished and the work on another 900 under way.

In addition, an 18-month 'Welcome to School' initiative, designed to get around 532,000 children into school and keep them there, is slated for Swat, Buner, Lower Dir and Malakand districts.

The scheme will create temporary learning spaces in tents, makeshift shelters, rented buildings or through "second shift" arrangements in nearby schools. Agencies working in education will also provide education supplies to all schools in conflict-affected districts and work to get all children in school, including those who have never attended schools, especially girls.

NUMBER OF DEATHS OF CHILDREN UNDER FIVE CONTINUES TO DROP, REPORTS UNICEF

The number of children dying before their fifth birthday has decreased steadily over the past few years and fell to under 9 million in 2008, thanks in part to greater use of health interventions such as vaccinations and insecticide-treated bednets to prevent malaria, the United Nations Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/index.php">UNICEF) <"http://www.unicef.org/media/media_51087.html">said today.

Newly released data compiled by demographers and health experts from UNICEF, the World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO), the World Bank and the UN Population Division shows a 28 per cent decline in the under-five mortality rate, from 90 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990, to 65 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2008.

The absolute number of child deaths in 2008 declined to an estimated 8.8 million from 12.5 million in 1990, the base line year for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline that includes reducing under-five mortality by two-thirds by that time.

UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman noted that compared to 1990, some 10,000 fewer children are dying every day.

"While progress is being made, it is unacceptable that each year 8.8 million children die before their fifth birthday," she added.

Public health experts attribute the continuing drop to greater use of health interventions such as immunizations, the use of insecticide-treated bednets to prevent malaria and vitamin A supplementation.

UNICEF noted that progress has been seen in every part of the world, and even in some of the least-developed countries, such as Malawi, one of ten high under-five mortality countries that is now on track to meet the related MDG.

In addition, impressive gains have been made in countries that are not fully on track to meet that MDG, including in Niger, Mozambique and Ethiopia which have all reduced under-five mortality by more than 100 per 1,000 live births since 1990.

At the same time, UNICEF stated that while progress has been made in many countries, the global rate of improvement is still insufficient to reach the MDG, and Africa and Asia combined still account for 93 per cent of all under-five deaths that occur each year in the developing world.

"A handful of countries with large populations bear a disproportionate burden of under-five deaths, with 40 per cent of the world's under-five deaths occurring in just three countries: India, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo," said Ms. Veneman.

"Unless mortality in these countries can be significantly reduced, the MDG targets will not be met," she cautioned, adding that this will require a strong sense of urgency with targeted resources for greater progress.

UN AGENCIES DISCUSS EARLY RECOVERY EFFORTS WITH PAKISTANI AUTHORITIES

United Nations officials have wrapped up a mission to Swat district in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) to discuss the strengthening of humanitarian assistance to those uprooted by military operations in the region, as well as early recovery efforts.

"We met district authorities and national and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and established the need for early recovery activities to start as soon as possible," said UN Humanitarian Coordinator Martin Mogwanja, who led the mission.

"So far the humanitarian community has distributed food and health kits but we want to expand our assistance," he stated.

As of last week, the Pakistani Government estimated that around 1.6 million of the over 2 million people displaced by conflict in NWFP had returned to their villages.

Over half of the returnees went back to the districts of Swat and Buner, among the areas hardest hit by the fighting, while the rest returned to Dir and Shangla districts.

During their mission to Swat, UN agencies gained a better understanding of the current situation and found that agriculture, education and health were of the highest importance, according to a news release issued by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

OCHA added that it is planning to open a satellite office in Swat that will work closely with the district authorities and other humanitarian actors on the ground.

The mission to Swat included representatives of OCHA, as well as the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

To assist the Government and the international community to respond to needs in the wake of the country's displacement crisis, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday announced the appointment of veteran French diplomat Jean-Maurice Ripert as his Special Envoy for Assistance to Pakistan.

Mr. Ripert, who is currently France's Ambassador to the UN, will be tasked with promoting a "strategic, coherent and comprehensive approach to supporting the humanitarian, recovery and reconstruction needs of crisis affected areas" in concert with the Pakistani Government and international partners.
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UNICEF HEAD SPEAKS OUT AGAINST VIOLENCE IN NORTHERN YEMEN

The head of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has called for "immediate and secure" access to people uprooted by escalating clashes – mostly children and women – between Government forces and rebels in northern Yemen.

"Children cannot be the innocent victims of conflict," said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman said in a statement issued yesterday, noting that the agency stands ready to assist civilians caught up in the conflict.

The humanitarian situation in camps, she said, is becoming ever more dire due to the lack of basic services, including safe water, sanitation and nutrition.

"Thousands of more families remain trapped inside the conflict zone, unable to reach safer areas," Ms. Veneman added. "They, too, are in urgent need of humanitarian support."

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported today that insecurity is hindering aid agencies' efforts to reach people affected by the fighting, which could ultimately uproot up to 150,000 people.

Including those displaced by previous violence, some 119,000 people in Sa'ada governorate have fled clashes between Government troops and Al Houthi rebels which are now spreading to the neighbouring Amran governorate.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today that the violence has affected 35,000 in the past two weeks alone.

Stepped up fighting in recent days "is worsening what is already a dire and complex humanitarian emergency," agency spokesperson Andrej Mahecic told reporters in Geneva.

"We are especially worried about the situation in Sa'ada city, the provincial capital of Sa'ada governorate," he said, noting that a UNHCR team has reported that there has been no water and electricity there since 10 August.

Additionally, there is a fuel shortage and it is becoming increasingly perilous for people to reach markets to purchase food, Mr. Mahecic said.

Although UNHCR, which last week called on donors for an additional $5 million to respond to the latest emergency, has registered hundreds of newly displaced families, registration has been suspended due to security situation inside the city as well as a curfew.

Along with preparing new aid shipments, the agency is working with local authorities on the construction of a new camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) that could house up to 3,500 people.

According to OCHA, the violence has made it difficult for humanitarian workers to access the uprooted and accurately assess the situation, with the Sa'ada airport having been closed to all non-military activities.

Travel by land from Yemen's capital, Sana'a, has been hampered by roadblocks, with UN agencies having evacuated non-resident staff from Sa'ada on 20 August.

The Ministry of Public Health has pointed to an alarming situation in Sa'ada, which borders Saudi Arabia and is a relatively remote and inaccessible region where many health facilities are currently not functioning.

According to an inter-agency assessment in Haradh, many IDPs were found to be living without shelter or water and are at risk of heat stroke and severe dehydration. Further, cases of diarrhoeal diseases and child malnutrition have been reported.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has airlifted 40 metric tonnes of high energy biscuits, distributing 10 metric tonnes of food aid to 7,000 newly-displaced people in Hajjah governorate. It started delivering a one-month ration of cereals, pulses, vegetable, salt and sugar on 23 August for 10,000 people.

For its part, the World Health Organization (WHO) has provided two trauma kits to the Ministry of Public Health, while a mobile health clinic was deployed last week.

The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has released $1.2 million for rapid response measures to provide immediate assistance to 25,000 people displaced by previous fighting in Sa'ada.

A flash appeal, to fund life-saving assistance for up to 150,000 IDPs and other indirectly affected people, is being prepared.
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HEALTH, EDUCATION EFFORTS IN REPUBLIC OF CONGO RECEIVE $500,000 BOOST FROM UN

The Republic of Congo has received a $500,000 influx from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to boost health, nutrition and education initiatives to help ease the impact of the global economic crisis on the country's most vulnerable people.

The nation is recovering from two civil wars that uprooted over 1 million people, and despite strides made since the 2003 peace agreement, over half the population of nearly 4 million currently lives below the poverty line.

"Women and children are the most affected by poverty," UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman said in the capital, Brazzaville, today.

One in eight children die before they turn five, largely from preventable causes, she said, adding that the country also has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the region.

While in Brazzaville, Ms. Veneman visited the Life Savers national initiative which promotes 12 simple, easy-to-practice household behaviours, including breastfeeding exclusively for six months, sleeping under an insecticide-treated mosquito bednet, and washing hands with soap.

Life Savers also runs a 24-hour telephone hotline, which parents and caregivers can call when their children are sick.

In talks with Prime Minister Isidore Mvouba and other top officials, the UNICEF head commended the Government's efforts to improve access to social services and raised the issue of the treatment of indigenous people, or pygmies, especially the children who are marginalized and often face discrimination.
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UN CONTINUES PROVIDING HUMANITARIAN AID TO SOMALIA

The United Nations is continuing its efforts to ameliorate the dire humanitarian situation in Somalia, rushing food and other vital items to the war-wracked Horn of Africa nation.

To prevent the spread of malaria in south-central Somalia, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is distributing enough mosquito nets to benefit nearly 30,000 households.

The agency also delivered 'Plumpy Doz' – a peanut paste containing skim milk, sugar, vitamins and minerals – to some 5,000 children between 6-36 months of age in the Wanla Weyne district to prevent malnutrition.

For its part, the World Food Programme (WFP) and its local partners have wrapped up a supplementary feeding operation in Gaalkacyo, Galdobog and Jariiban districts for nearly 17,000 under-five children.

In northern Somalia, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other agencies have launched an awareness campaigns for hundreds of people in the port city of Bossaso seeking to make the perilous boat journey across the Gulf of Aden to begin new lives in Yemen. Brochures detailing the dangers of the trip were distributed this week.

WFP also delivered 280 metric tonnes of food for more than 19,000 people in northern areas.

Escalating violence and a deteriorating humanitarian situation have driven thousands of Somalis from their homes, with many seeking refuge in neighbouring nations.

Earlier this week, a WFP compound in Wajiid, in southern Somalia, was attacked by armed gunmen, marking the fourth time that that the world body's offices in the Horn of Africa nation have been deliberately targeted.

The UN has repeatedly called on all parties in Somalia to ensure the safety of humanitarian aid workers, who are tending to the needs of some 3.2 million people, or 40 per cent of the population, made vulnerable by the combined effects of conflict, drought, high food prices and the collapse of the local currency.

UN SENDING MEDICAL HELP TO CONFLICT-WRACKED NORTH YEMEN

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) is rushing medical assistance to northern Yemen, the scene of recent violence pitting Government forces against rebels.

The agency has sent medicine and supplies to treat people who have sustained injuries during the fighting, which media reports say has lasted a week in the mountainous region of Saada. Further supplies will be sent to the area next week.

A senior WHO emergency health officer has been dispatched from Cairo, Egypt, and is set to visit the conflict zone shortly, said spokesperson Paul Garwood.

WHO is waiting for confirmation of casualty figures, and is working with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on a joint health and nutrition response to the current emergency.
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CÔTE D’IVOIRE CARRIES OUT NATIONWIDE POLIO CAMPAIGN WITH HELP OF UN MISSION

The Government of Côte d'Ivoire is wrapping up a nationwide campaign to immunize children against polio today, carried out with the help of the United Nations mission which provided logistical support to the effort to stamp out the highly infectious and incurable viral disease.

Some 6 million children were targeted in the four-day campaign, which began on 14 August and is part of the National Immunization Days.

The UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) transported medical teams and equipment in 41 localities in the departments of Odienné and Daloa. UN Police were also mobilized to assist throughout the campaign.

The mission will continue to assist authorities over the next few days as they evaluate the immunization efforts, which were also supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Polio – contracted through contaminated food, water and faeces – was almost eradicated in Côte d'Ivoire until a case was confirmed in December 2008 in Adiaké in the country's east.

The disease attacks the nervous system and mainly affects children under five. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis, usually in the legs, and among those paralyzed, five to 10 per cent die when their respiratory muscles become immobilized.
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UN AGENCIES LAUNCH NEXT ROUND OF CHILD HEALTH INITIATIVE IN SOMALIA

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have launched a second round of Child Health Days in Somalia in a bid to improve child survival rates in the violence-wracked country.

The aim of the days is to deliver a package of critical health services, including vaccinations, vitamin supplements and hygiene education, to children under five and to women of child-bearing age.

The first round of Child Health Days, held during the first six months of this year, reached an estimated 1.8 million women and children throughout the country. This time, some 5,000 volunteers are targeting 1 million women and children in the Somaliland region, before moving on to the central-south region and Puntland in October and December.

The package includes measles and polio immunization, vitamin A supplementation, de-worming, aqua-tabs to treat drinking water, hygiene education, tetanus vaccination for women, and nutritional screening and referral.
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SOMALIA: THREATS TO AID AGENCIES HAMPERING UNICEF’S LIFE-SAVING ACTIVITIES

Hostility towards relief organizations has caused the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to postpone the distribution of life-saving supplies to prevent and treat acute malnutrition in over 85,000 children in central and south Somalia, the agency announced today.

Also disrupted was the delivery of insecticide-treated bed nets for more than 100,000 women and children, according to a news release from the agency.

"We need concrete assurances from local authorities for the safe delivery and storage of supplies to ensure that we can carry out programmes for the survival of Somali women and children," said Rozanne Chorlton, UNICEF's representative in the country.

"We hope these assurances will be forthcoming very soon so that we can continue our operations at a level that matches the needs of children and women and prevent the deaths that will otherwise certainly occur," she added.

Yesterday, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia, welcomed the release of four aid workers and two pilots who were abducted nine months ago and called for the freeing of remaining hostages.

"It is with great satisfaction that I received the news concerning the release of the six hostages who had been held for so long, and taken into captivity while working in Somalia," he said.

The four aid workers, who were serving with the French non-governmental organization (NGO) Action Against Hunger, and two pilots were abducted last November from an airstrip in the central Somali town of Dusamareb.

UNICEF noted today that its compound in Jowhar, central Somalia, which serves as the main hub for operations in the area, was taken over in May, with large amounts of urgently-needed humanitarian supplies and communications equipment either destroyed or taken.

Reports indicate that UNICEF emergency aid stored in a partner agency's warehouse in Jammame was taken earlier this month.

UNICEF provides vaccines and drugs in central Somalia, targeting 1.2 million children under five years of age, as well as 1.4 million women.

The UN has repeatedly called on all parties in Somalia to ensure the safety of humanitarian aid workers, who are tending to the needs of some 3 million people, or 40 per cent of the population, made vulnerable by the combined effects of conflict, drought, high food prices and the collapse of the local currency.
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UNICEF MOURNS DEATH OF SPECIAL OLYMPICS FOUNDER

The head of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has mourned the passing of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder of the Special Olympics, paying tribute to her dedication to giving hope and opportunities to children around the world living with disabilities.

"While the world has lost a great visionary and leader, Mrs. Shriver's legacy lives on through her strength, determination and the organization she founded, Special Olympics," said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman.

Mrs. Shriver, who passed away earlier this week at the age of 88, was a "tireless advocate for the rights of people with disabilities, a determined champion of children and a true friend and partner to UNICEF," the agency's head stated yesterday.
The Special Olympics founder believed that all people deserved the chance to reach their full potential, Ms. Veneman said, expressing UNICEF's condolences to her family and friends.

The agency "honors her long-lasting contribution as a true global ambassador of change in helping end discrimination one child, one community, one country at a time," she added.
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UN SEEKS $1.5 MILLION TO TACKLE RISING MALNUTRITION AMONG CENTRAL AFRICAN CHILDREN

Malnutrition is on the rise among children in the Central African Republic (CAR), the United Nation Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF) warned today, appealing for $1.5 million to provide life-saving support.

CAR is one of the most impoverished nations in the world and remains beset by violence and widespread displacement in the north. An estimated 1 million people, out of a population of 4 million, are in need of humanitarian assistance.

"In both the conflict-affected north and the more stable south, almost 700,000 children under five are living below acceptable standards. Many are moving toward the outer edge of survival," said Jeremy Hopkins, acting representative of UNICEF in CAR.

Poverty, ongoing insecurity, and loss of income in areas where the diamond mining sector has been impacted by the global economic slowdown are among the causes cited for this situation.

Also a factor is the prevalence of HIV in the country, which at 6.3 per cent is the highest in its region and affects the nutritional situation of families.

In addition to providing essential food, drugs and supplies, funds from the $1.5 million appeal will also be used to conduct a national nutritional survey, as well as train community health workers in the early detection of children and women whose nutritional health may be at risk.

"These children's lives, their ability to learn, to earn, and to lead productive lives is being stunted by this tragic crisis," said Mr. Hopkins. "These children could be leading normal lives. We must try harder to fulfil their rights."

Yesterday a senior UN humanitarian official called for urgent action by the international community to assist those in need in CAR.

"It's not like any other humanitarian situation I've run across," Catherine Bragg, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, said as she briefed reporters on her visit to the country two weeks ago.

NBA STAR AND UN AMBASSADOR STRESSES RIGHT TO SCHOOLING IN NATIVE ARGENTINA

National Basketball Association (NBA) star Manu Ginóbili stressed the right of all children to complete their elementary and secondary studies during a recent visit to a school in the impoverished Argentine province of Chaco in his role as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Mr. Ginóbili, a native of Argentina, made the visit to the school in Fontana on the eve of the International Day of Indigenous Peoples, observed on 9 August. Fontana is home to a sizeable population belonging to the indigenous group known as Qom.

According to UNICEF, education is a challenge for Qom students since they begin school without knowledge of the Spanish language and during their education they receive no instruction in their mother tongue.

"When it comes to Qom students, our efforts must be doubled to make sure that we help fulfil their right not just to an education, but to quality bilingual education as well," said UNICEF Representative in Argentina Andres Franco.

During his visit to the school, Mr. Ginóbili took part in a language class with the children and emphasized the importance of sport as a powerful tool for child development.

"I am delighted to share this time with the children and to talk about the importance of sport as a way to bridge between studies and fun and in increasing the likelihood that children will remain in school," he said.

The three-time NBA champion also visited the Centre for the Promotion of Rights, where he heard from Qom women about the importance of having a space where they could learn new skills and gain knowledge about their rights.

Mr. Ginóbili also took the time in Fontana to highlight the "Cities for Education" initiative, which promotes the right of all children and adolescents to complete their elementary and secondary studies.

Supported by UNICEF, provincial and local authorities, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the initiative will reach out to thousands of students in Chaco province from preschool to adult night school, as well as all school administrators and teachers.

The initiative provides training for teachers and school administrators on successful teaching methods including sequence learning, which promotes holistic learning through the use of words and concepts that are familiar to the children. Instead of learning single letters, for instance, the children identify each letter with words and sentences which give meaning to the concepts they are learning.

"Strategies such as sequence learning contribute to the success of the first learning experiences of these children, which, in turn, provides them with the incentive to continue their studies," Mr. Franco said.

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UN WARNS IT LACKS ACCESS TO 500,000 HUNGRY SOMALIS

Lack of access has prevented the United Nations from delivering food to 500,000 of its planned 3.3 million beneficiaries in Somalia over the past month, principally in Mogadishu and the south of the battle-scarred country.

At the same time, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) will face critical shortfalls as of October and urgently requires 209,000 metric tons of food worth $208 million to cover the current aid pipeline until the end of March 2010, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported today.

As of the end of July, the Somalia consolidated appeal was 52 per cent funded at $438 million. In July, WFP delivered about 33,725 metric tons of food, 83 per cent of the planned tonnage, to 2.8 million beneficiaries in south-central Somalia and Puntland and Somaliland in the north. Lack of access and minor pipeline shortfalls cut off delivery from the full target of 3.3 million, OCHA said.

Mogadishu and the south have been shattered by an upsurge of attacks from Al-Shabaab and other militant Islamic groups against the provisional Government in a country that has had no functioning central authority and has been riven by factional fighting for nearly two decades.

WFP this week completed nutrition screening of vulnerable groups in Afmadow district in the Lower Juba region in southern Somalia, identifying 4,500 people, most of them children under the age of five, pregnant and lactating women in need of supplementary feeding. The agency will distribute 190 metric tons of food to them. Further screening is ongoing in the nearby Dobley district. In August, WFP will assist some 70,000 people with supplementary feeding in Somalia.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), meanwhile, has completed the construction of a two-kilometre network of pipes, tanks and kiosks to provide safe drinking water for nearly 17,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities in Kaa Shiqal camp in Banadir district, near Mogadishu.

More than 10,500 people, mainly newly arrived IDPs, will benefit from 200 newly constructed latrines in IDP camps to the north and south of Mogadishu, OCHA reported.
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UNICEF UNVEILS NEARLY $2 MILLION SCHEME TO FIGHT MALNUTRITION IN NIGERIA

The head of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) today pledged nearly $2 million to shore up nutrition in Nigeria to stem child mortality in the African nation.

The $1.85 million scheme, which will augment <"http://www.unicef.org/media/media_50504.html">UNICEF nutrition programmes already in place, will support community-based feeding stations where families can bring children to receive preventative and curative assistance.

"Lack of essential health services, malnutrition, inadequate access to clean water and basic sanitation contribute to high rates of child mortality," said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman in the Nigerian city of Abuja, launching the project.

"Through close cooperation among the Government of Nigeria and religious and traditional leaders, there is hope," added Ms. Veneman, who recently wrapped up a visit to the northern states of Kebbi and Sokoto.

In Kebbi, she took part in the launch on 31 July of Nigeria's first-ever National Child Health Week, during which some 30 million youngsters were expected to be immunized against preventable diseases such as polio, which is contracted through contaminated food, water and faeces and mainly affects children under the age of five. Nigeria is one of only four polio-endemic countries in the world and the only endemic country in Africa.

During her four-day visit to Nigeria, one of only four polio-endemic countries in the world and the only endemic country in Africa, she also announced UNICEF's allocation of more than $5 million to efforts to eradicate the disease.

Insecticide-treated bednets are also being handed out to curb the spread of malaria, the number one killer of under-five children in Nigeria.

"Knowledge is key," Ms. Veneman stressed, underscoring that if communities understand the importance of basic hygiene, "child deaths can be reduced and girls and boys can be given a healthier start in life."

National Child Health Weeks will be held twice a year in Nigeria – Africa's most populous country with nearly 150 million people, most of whom live in poverty – in close cooperation with the Government.

SRI LANKA: UN SUPPORTS ANTI-MEASLES CAMPAIGN FOR DISPLACED CHILDREN

More than 36,000 children living in camps in northern Sri Lanka after being uprooted by the recent conflict will be vaccinated against measles in a special child health campaign launched this week by the Government, United Nations agencies and their partners.

The campaign, which will target all children under the age of five, aims to counter the sporadic cases of measles which have occurred in the past months and prevent risk of further outbreak.

Supported by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), it follows several weeks of preparations to pre-position immunization supplies, train health workers and mobilize volunteers.

Nearly 100 public health midwives and 1,200 volunteers will participate at 30 centres in Vavuniya, where the majority of the 280,000 people that fled the fighting between Government forces and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are residing.

Along with the measles immunization, children will be given a dose of vitamin A and de-worming tablets – two additional life-saving interventions aimed at raising a child's resistance against many diseases and preventing malnutrition, while freeing them from worms. Children will also be given the polio vaccine.

"Children under five are the most vulnerable part of a population especially in emergencies; this campaign will help save lives," said Desiree Jongsma, Acting UNICEF Country Representative.

According to UNICEF, measles remains one of the major causes of childhood illness and a leading cause of child deaths worldwide, especially in countries undergoing or recovering from emergencies.
Immunization activities, together with vitamin A supplementation, are the most effective meanos of reducing mortality during and after complex emergencies, it added.
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UN TO HELP ANGOLA ACHIEVE ‘WATER FOR ALL’

The United Nations has joined forces with the Angolan Government to achieve universal access to water to boost health and curb poverty in the Southern African nation.

Under the "Water for All" scheme – also known as the Joint UN Programme on Water and Sanitation – that was launched last week in the capital, Luanda, Angola has committed to providing water for 80 per cent of urban and 50 per cent of rural dwellers by 2012, with targets raised to 100 per cent and 80 per cent, respectively, by 2020.

The multi-year programme is a joint initiative of the Government, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) and the non-governmental organization Institute of Medicine (IOM).

Clean, piped water is prohibitively expensive for many Angolan families, forcing them to rely on unsafe water, which, along with poor sanitary conditions, contributes to nearly 90 per cent of deaths from diarrhea.

UNICEF has underscored children's right to water and a clean environment, as enshrined ini the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

At the launch of the new initiative, Jocelline Bazile-Finley, UN Resident Coordinator, said that it will help Angola reach the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on ensuring environmental sustainability and "will also contribute to reducing poverty."

Some 120,000 people are set to benefit directly from the initiative, funded by the Spanish Government, while 400,000 others are expected to impacted positively.
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SUDAN: UN-BACKED DRIVE TO BOOST BIRTH REGISTRATION KICKS OFF

A United Nations-backed campaign to boost birth registration was launched today in Sudan, where less than one-third of children have a birth certificate, leaving the unregistered vulnerable to abuse and at risk of being denied an education and other social services.

"Birth registration itself protects many other human rights that contribute in turn to a child's successful development and protection," said Per Engebak, acting Representative to Sudan of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), ahead of the unveiling of the new programme in the capital, Khartoum, by UN agencies, the Government of National Unity and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

"Without documented proof of age, a child is exposed to the risk of under-age recruitment, to exploitative child labour and to the evil of trafficking," he said. "Without that simple piece of paper in their hands, children who are separated from their families in times of crisis may be unable to provide critical information that would help with their reunification."

Data on births is also crucial for identifying resource needs and budgeting for social services.

The two-day workshop that began today, with the support of the UN, will help to find how to bring down the barriers to increasing registrations across Sudan.
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UN OFFICES IN AFGHANISTAN TARGETED BY MILITANT ROCKET FIRE

Rebel insurgents in Afghanistan have launched a rocket attack on a United Nations compound in the western province of Herat, causing damage to a vehicle and equipment, the UN mission to the war-wracked nation said in a statement today.

Some seven rockets were fired last night in a deliberate attack against the UN, with two of the missiles landing inside the compound, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in the statement condemning the attack

"Thankfully no UN staff were harmed or otherwise injured in this attack and our offices remain open," said the spokesperson for the in the statement.

The head of UNAMA, Kai Eide, told the UN News Centre that the attack resulted in damage to a UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) vehicle and two UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) generators.

"United Nations staff are here to help Afghanistan's most vulnerable communities," the mission said, adding that the "impartiality of the work we do for the people of Afghanistan
must be respected."

UNAMA urged the Afghan authorities to make every effort to find the militants behind this attack and hold them accountable.
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CHANGE IN DRUG TREATMENT REDUCES HIV INFECTION IN NEWBORN BABIES – UN-BACKED STUDY

Mother-to-child HIV transmission rates can be dramatically cut with the administration of a cocktail of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs over a longer period of time to pregnant and breastfeeding women, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) announced today.

Newborn babies are over 40 per cent less likely to become infected with the virus if HIV-positive pregnant women take a combination of three ARV drugs from the last trimester of pregnancy until six months into breastfeeding, rather than a short course of drugs that ends at delivery, according to a new study led by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The study – named Kesho Bora, which means "a better future" in Swahili – involved 1,140 women from Burkina Faso, Kenya and South Africa and showed that a significant reduction can be achieved in many pregnant women with a lowered immune cell count.

In many developing countries HIV-positive mothers face a tough choice between breastfeeding their babies and risking the transmission of the virus through their milk, or giving them formula which deprives infants of the natural immunity passed on through breast milk and helps protect against diarrhoea, malnutrition and other potentially deadly diseases.

UNAIDS said in a news release that it was clear that the Kesho Bora research increases the range of treatment options available to mothers living with the virus and offers them hope that, if they so wish, they have a greater chance of breastfeeding their babies without passing on HIV.

The agency added that there is no increased risk to the health of the mother or the infant associated with this triple-ARV regimen, consisting of zidovudine, lamivudine and lopinavir/ritonavir.

"Strengthened services for maternal health, for reproductive health and for paediatric health will mean we can prevent mothers from dying and babies from becoming infected with HIV in Lesotho and around the world," said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé during a recent visit to Lesotho in Southern Africa.

The initial findings of the three-year study were presented at the 5th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention, which concluded today in Cape Town, South Africa.

WHO worked on the study in partnership with the French National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis (ANRS), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) of the US National Institutes of Health.

Additional funds for the Kesho Bora study were provided by the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership, the Thrasher Foundation, the UK Department for International Development, UNICEF and the Belgian Government.
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