Empowering youth to prevent HIV in Rwanda


Situated in the lush green hills that surround Lake Kivu in southwest Rwanda, Nkanke Parish church is working toward a future free of HIV and AIDS.

Adolescents at the parish have joined a focus group that provides their community with information about HIV and AIDS, and supports those among them living with the disease. The group is part of a larger community empowerment project supported by UNICEF and the Government of Japan.

UNICEF supports resumption of education in China earthquake zone


As relief pours into Yushu County, the epicentre of the 7.1-magnitude earthquake that struck China’s Qinghai province on 14 April, outlying areas on the Qinghai Plateau still require urgent attention.

In a recently concluded joint assessment mission to Yushu and Chenduo Counties, UNICEF and local education authorities discovered that students and teachers are struggling to resume classes amidst high winds and extreme weather.

The mission was timed to coincide with the second of UNICEF’s several shipments of 5,000 student kits, 5,000 sets of children’s winter jackets, trousers and socks, and 2,000 pairs of children’s boots – all distributed to children in Yushu and Chenduo Counties from 9 to 13 May.

UNGEI global conference on girls’ education focuses on preventing “56 million wasted opportunities”


conference designed to find new ways to ensure that some 56 million children – most of them girls – do not miss out on their right to education opens in Senegal today. The “Engendering Empowerment: Education and Equality” (E4) conference on gender equality and education is being organized by the United Nations Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI) and marks the tenth anniversary of the UNGEI global partnership.


In the last decade, there has been progress in girls’ education and many more girls and boys have been enrolled in schools worldwide. Gender gaps have closed or are closing in most regions, including central and Eastern Europe, East Asia and Latin America.

Social mobilizers throughout Haiti spread the word about vaccines


Haiti is still struggling to cope with the aftermath of the devastating 12 January earthquake, which claimed more than 200,000 lives, destroyed schools, homes, and water and sanitation systems and left more than 1 million people homeless.

Immunization activities were severely affected by the quake. Many health-care facilities were damaged or destroyed, and the interruption of fuel and power supplies has had a major impact on health services. Facing low vaccination rates across the country – which pre-date the earthquake – UNICEF and its partners are now working to reach every child in Haiti with routine immunization.

Child-friendly space helps protect Earthquake survivors


Over 100 young voices rise in harmony to assert a common sentiment. “Sa ki pa nan espas n’ap voye yo ale,” they sing in Haitian Creole. “Those who do not fit in this space should be away from this place.”


At Place St. Pierre, underneath the hills of Port-au-Prince, a large group of children are asserting their need for a safe and protective environment in the aftermath of the 12 January earthquake here.


To meet that need, UNICEF along with one of its partners, the Haiti Out-of-School Youth Livelihood Initiative (known by its French acronym, IDEJEN), have created a haven for children next to the Police Commissioner’s Office in this devastated area of the Haitian capital.

UNICEF greets results of study suggesting HIV prevalence has dropped among children


UNICEF welcomed the results of a study by the Human Sciences Research Council suggesting that HIV prevalence has dropped by more than half in children ages 2-14. According to the survey, HIV frequency dropped from 5.6% in 2002 to 2.5% in 2008.


UNICEF Representative Aida Girma supposed, “For the first time ever, we have a measure of levels of HIV in children under two. Surveys such as this offer useful data to guide programming for children.


UNICEF is committed to continuing to support the Department of Health and other partners in the follow-up from this significant work.” Ms. Girma added that UNICEF plans to focus on strengthening districts’ capacities to offer quality health services that are responsive to the needs of women, children, and adolescents, and will work to ensure that their protection and access to quality education are also secure.