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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CHILDREN’S SCHOOLING UNDER THREAT FROM DEEPENING POVERTY, WARNS UN OFFICIAL

Poverty is the biggest threat to the educational development of children around the world, a senior United Nations official today warned hundreds of students gathered for the start of the first ever Global Model UN (GMUN) conference.

"Poverty, like conflict, today continues to deprive young people of the opportunity and right to be educated," UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Kiyo Akasaka told over 500 student delegates meeting at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Some "72 million children are out of school, denied the right to education," despite passing the mid-way point for reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a series of targets set by world leaders – including the slashing of poverty and the achievement of universal primary education – by 2015, noted Mr. Akasaka.

He said that any progress in the eradication of hunger had been reversed largely due to last year's hike in food and fuel prices, and that an estimated 55 to 90 million more people were forced into extreme poverty in 2009 – a forecast calculated before the current economic crisis took hold.

With more than 1 billion people around the world trapped in poverty, many nations in Africa and Asia are not on track to achieve the MDGs, said Mr. Akasaka. "The global financial and economic crises are hitting the poorest and the most vulnerable hardest of all.

"Poverty is the number one enemy of children," Mr. Akasaka stressed in his address to the students, who represent 120 of the 192 UN Member States. "Poverty is the number one enemy of a decent society. We must stand up and fight against poverty."

The Under-Secretary-General said that the challenges faced in achieving the MDGs are "great, daunting and humbling," and that it would take enormous multilateral efforts to solve them.

"That is why governments are taking collective action to address them, including through the United Nations, the world's only truly universal organization," he said.

"Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has repeatedly urged nations not to lose sight of the Goals," said Mr. Akasaka, highlighting the Secretary-General's call "to accelerate progress towards the MDGs and to strengthen the global partnership for development."

Mr. Akasaka said that civil society also plays a critical role in these efforts and young people are making important contributions around the world to the achievement of the MDGs.

"Many campaigns that raise awareness and focus on reaching specific Millennium Development Goals have been initiated by young people. At a time when young people are often the ones hardest hit by poverty, there is no one better to speak on behalf of youth people than the young themselves."

Mr. Akasaka reminded delegates that efforts to achieve the MDGs are closely connected to those combating global warming. "Climate change is the challenge of our – and your – generation," he said. "In tackling the climate challenge, we will find solutions for economic recovery, food security for the poor, and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals."

Encouraging delegates to join the UN campaign pressing governments to "seal the deal" on a "fair, balanced and effective agreement on climate change" when they meet at the UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen in December, Mr. Akasaka said that as "pioneers of GMUN, you are living history and you will become legends. We would not be here without the help of so many."

Delegates at the inaugural three-day GMUN conference, organized by the UN Department of Public Information (DPI) with partial funding from Switzerland, were chosen from regional model UN programmes.
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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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CONFLICT OVER BUT SITUATION OF GAZA’S CHILDREN STILL ‘PRECARIOUS’ – UNICEF

The recent hostilities in Gaza may be over but the continuing Israeli blockade and inter-Palestinian tensions are hampering recovery efforts and having a particularly negative effect on the situation of children, the United Nations warned today.

"Although the conflict ended 100 days ago, children in Gaza continue to suffer, both physically and psychologically," said Patricia McPhillips, Special Representative of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) to the occupied Palestinian territory. "It is critical that supplies and materials needed for recovery and rehabilitation are allowed in."

The three-week Israeli offensive which began on 27 December, with the stated aim of ending rocket attacks by Hamas and other groups, killed at least 1,300 Palestinians and wounded some 5,300. According to UNICEF, roughly one-third of all casualties were children.

The agency, in a news release issued today in Gaza, noted that the fighting took a particularly heavy toll on children's psychological well-being, with a recent UN study reaffirming that mental health, anxiety and stress are the main health problems in Gaza.

UNICEF and its partners are boosting psychosocial support to children and young people, providing mine-risk education in schools and communities, supporting remedial education, and organizing vaccination campaigns. It is also focusing on improving skills of health care providers and caregivers to improve maternal, newborn and child health.

More than three months after hostilities ended, 10 per cent of Gaza's population remains without electricity and 9 per cent with little access to safe water, UNICEF said, adding that primary health clinics in the south are recording significantly higher prevalence of water and sanitation-related infectious diseases, including acute bloody diarrhoea, over the same period last year.

In addition, food, fuel and cash are in short supply, and 65 essential drugs were out of stock at Gaza's Central Store, according to the agency.

UNICEF also noted that five children have died in unexploded ordnance-related incidents since the end of the conflict and at least 14 were injured in related violence.

A main impediment to recovery efforts continues to be lack of access. An average of 132 trucks entered Gaza daily in March, compared with 475 in May 2007. Among the items that have not been allowed in since the conflict ended are UNICEF educational supplies, including teacher training and early childhood development kits, as well as recreational material including music instruments.

Children have also been affected by internal Palestinian tensions, added UNICEF, noting in particular a dispute since 22 March affecting medical referrals for urgent care not available in Gaza.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least three patients have died while waiting to exit Gaza for medical treatment. UNICEF welcomed news on Monday of positive moves on the ground to resolve the crisis.

There have also been reported incidents of children being trained or used by Palestinian militant groups, according to UNICEF, which stressed that children should not be used for political or military purposes.

"Children are the innocent victims of this conflict," Ms. McPhillips said. "All parties to the conflicts must put children's interests first."

In a related development, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) announced yesterday that it has raised $4.1 million for the Children of Gaza campaign launched in Syria in January.

The funds will help alleviate the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and address the needs of children in particular. This includes the construction of the Aleppo preparatory school in Beit Lahia, one of the areas most affected by the military operation, and the repair of 370 refugee houses demolished during the violence.

"While Gaza is no longer on the daily news, the humanitarian needs remain very high," UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen AbuZayd stated. "UNRWA and its partners will ensure that civilians affected by the conflict receive the assistance they need."

The campaign was initiated on the heels of a meeting in Istanbul in January of the First Ladies of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Qatar and Pakistan, who were leading the effort to unify the region in fundraising efforts for humanitarian relief for Palestinians in Gaza.
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SRI LANKA: UNICEF CHIEF URGES “EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS” FOR CHILDREN IN CONFLICT ZONE

SRI LANKA: UNICEF CHIEF URGES "EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS" FOR CHILDREN IN CONFLICT ZONE
New York, Mar 17 2009 5:00PM

Deploring the mounting toll of children killed and injured in the zone of combat between Sri Lankan Government forces and Tamil rebels, the head of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) today called for "extraordinary efforts" to protect them.

In addition to the hundreds killed, thousands are now vulnerable to disease and malnutrition because of a critical lack of food, water and medicines in the conflict area, UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman said in a statement.

"Regular, safe access for humanitarian agencies is urgently required, so that lifesaving supplies can be provided, and civilians must be allowed to move to safe areas where essential humanitarian support is more readily available," Ms. Veneman said.

"The rights of children caught in the conflict must be fully respected and every effort should be taken to prevent civilian casualties," she added.

She noted that UNICEF, together with other UN agencies and partners, is providing emergency water and sanitation, health, nutrition, protection and education support for many of the estimated 40,000 people who have been able to leave the conflict zone.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other top UN officials have been calling on the Sri Lankan Government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to suspend hostilities to allow civilians to leave the conflict zone and allow immediate humanitarian access to them since the latest round of the long-running conflict flared a few months ago.
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UNICEF CONDEMNS INTIMIDATION OF CHILDREN AND TEACHERS IN MADAGASCAR

UNICEF CONDEMNS INTIMIDATION OF CHILDREN AND TEACHERS IN MADAGASCAR
New York, Mar 5 2009 11:00AM

Teachers and their pupils in Madagascar suffered threats and intimidation yesterday, prompting the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to call on Malagasy authorities, parties and people to "respect the fundamental rights of children and to abstain from all actions that put children in peril."

UNICEF also condemned the abusive behaviour against schoolchildren in at least one lower secondary and one upper secondary school in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar and its largest city, maintaining that "all schools must be havens of peace and security."

"According to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, every child below the age of 18 years has the right to personal respect and to physical and psycho-social well-being in the context of the family, community and school," UNICEF said in a statement released by its office in Madagascar today.

The agency said that its mission is to defend children's rights, basing its work on the articles and principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, in effect in Madagascar since 1991.

The statement read that "UNICEF is continuing its work for the survival, well-being, development and protection of all children in Madagascar," where recent political unrest led to several deaths.

Earlier this year, at least 68 people died in riots that erupted amid a dispute between the country's President, Marc Ravalomanana, and Andry Rajoelina, the Mayor of Anatananarivo.
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UN HELPS DEMOBILIZE 880 CHILDREN LINKED TO ARMED GROUPS IN DR CONGO

UN HELPS DEMOBILIZE 880 CHILDREN LINKED TO ARMED GROUPS IN DR CONGO
New York, Mar 4 2009 4:00PM

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has demobilized 880 children associated with armed groups in the volatile eastern province of North Kivu between 30 January and 2 March, it was announced today.

Madnodje Mounoubai, spokesperson for the mission, known by its French acronym MONUC, told a news conference in Kinshasa that the great majority of the 839 boys and 41 girls are Congolese, but there are also 31 Rwandans, two Burundians and two Ugandans.

All of the children were handed over to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for their return and reintegration into their families and communities, after they were demobilized by MONUC's Child Protection Unit.

In early February, MONUC had separated 98 additional children from the various armed groups in North Kivu, where fighting between the Government army (FARDC), a mainly Tutsi militia known as the CNDP, Hutu groups and others has displaced some 250,000 civilians since last August.

The separation of children from armed forces and groups is one of MONUC's priorities, within the framework of its support to the process of the accelerated integration of armed groups into the FARDC.

MONUC calls on all actors to continue to support its efforts in this area, "so that children are not sent to the front, and to allow all minors associated with armed groups to be able to reintegrate into civilian life as soon as possible," the mission said on its website.

Also at today's news conference, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that attacks against humanitarians are on the increase in several parts of North Kivu, with five cases reported in January, 13 in February and four already in the first few days of March.

Meanwhile, the Secretary-General's Special Representative and head of MONUC, Alan Doss, has welcomed a new stabilization and reconstruction plan for the eastern DRC, which was agreed upon by local and international stakeholders under the auspices of the Congolese Prime Minister. Mr. Doss specifically pledged to support the plan in the areas of security and the restoration of State authority.

In related news, a joint mission led by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has arrived in Katanga province, in the area of Ankoro, to address the issue of malnutrition. OCHA says that since September 2008, there have been nearly 1,200 cases of children suffering from acute malnutrition in Ankoro, a situation being compounded by population increases as well as malaria.

Also in Katanga, the World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting local efforts to treat a cholera epidemic.
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