UNICEF calls for a comprehensive Child Act in Afghanistan

Afghanistan needs a comprehensive Child Act fully in line with the provisions and principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In Afghanistan today one in five children die before reaching their fifth birthday - mostly from easily preventable diseases like diarrhoea and pneumonia – five million children are still out of school, over three million of whom are girls, and only six percent of children are registered at birth, leaving the great majority without a legal identity, protected and cared for by law.
”We are acutely aware of the difficulties facing the Government of Afghanistan in seeking to fulfill the rights of children in the country, especially in light of the ongoing conflict”, said UNICEF Representative Peter Crowley. “It is the responsibility of the Government of Afghanistan to ensure the existence of a complete legal framework to fully protect all children. UNICEF will continue to assist in that process”.
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UNICEF and partners launch emergency funding appeal for polio outbreak in Congo

UNICEF, Rotary International and the World Health Organization (WHO) have launched an emergency appeal for $23.5 million in funding in response to the explosive polio outbreak in the Republic of Congo. Stopping the outbreak is a top international public health priority due to its high fatality rate and the high risk of further national and international spread.
As of 16 November, 324 cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) and 146 deaths have been reported from the site of the outbreak centred in Pointe Noire. Five cases have been confirmed to have been caused by wild poliovirus type 1 and laboratory testing continues. Initial data indicates the majority of the reported cases and deaths involve young adults aged 15-29 years. Nearly all cases have been reported from the port city of Pointe Noire, with cases also reported from Niari, Bouenza, Brazzaville, and Kouilou. New cases continue to be reported.
Genetic sequencing has determined that the polio cases are caused by a poliovirus most closely related to that circulating in neighbouring Angola. Congo had recorded its last case of indigenous polio in 2000.
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Convention on the Rights of the Child turns 21

21 years ago a remarkable milestone for the protection and realization of the rights of all children - the Convention on the Rights of the Child – was officially opened for signature by United Nations Member States.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the first legally binding instrument designed to protect and promote the rights of people under 18 years old. Its adoption by the UN General Assembly on 20 November 1989 is celebrated annually as Universal Children’s Day. It has now achieved near-universal acceptance, with ratification by 193 parties.

The Convention sets out rights that children enjoy as human beings and also identifies special rights and protections they require during this vulnerable phase of their lives.

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Two million Ugandan children targeted for polio immunizations

In response to the polio case detected in the Bugiri district in mid-October, the Ministry of Health, WHO and UNICEF will begin the first round of supplemental polio immunizations from Saturday November 20 to Monday November 22.
“Over two million children up to age 5 will be immunized in 48 high risk districts in east, north eastern and northern Uganda,” said Dr. Stephen Mallinga, Ugandan Minister of Health. “We are determined to contain this outbreak so that Uganda will once again be declared polio free.”
Polio is a highly infectious disease entering the body through the mouth, in water or food contaminated with faecal material from an infected person. The disease spreads rapidly in unimmunized or inadequately immunized populations, especially children. Polio causes total paralysis and in some cases it can be fatal.
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UNICEF expands response to cholera outbreak in Haiti

UNICEF is mobilizing all its staff and resources in an effort to stem the spread of cholera in Haiti, and warned today that with 50 per cent of the population under 18 years, large numbers of children are affected.
"We are working closely with communities and our partners to contain the latest outbreaks of cholera. Our biggest fear is that it will spread through the rural and remote areas, Port au Prince slums and camps, as well as schools and residential care centers across the country where it will be difficult to fight the disease," said Francoise Gruloos-Ackermans, UNICEF Representative in Haiti.
From the beginning, UNICEF has been aware of the needs of rural communities and deployed emergency teams in these areas. UNICEF’s concern is to reach children living in remote areas and in the overpopulated slums of Port au Prince.
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PLoS Medicine: Poor sanitation and water kill more than two million children annually

A new series published today in leading medical journal Public Library of Science Medicine reveals that poor sanitation, water and hygiene not only lead to more than two million children dying annually, but also result in a massive global disease burden.
Four papers released today in PLoS Medicine—the flagship medical journal of the open access publisher Public Library of Science— highlight how sanitation and water, along with better hygiene, are the “forgotten foundations of health”. The series asks how the opportunity to save so many lives is failing to attract the attention of the international health community.
The scale of this crisis and the burden it places on global health and development is ominous. Unsafe sanitation and drinking water, as well as hygiene, account for nearly 20 per cent of all child deaths in the world and at least 7 per cent of the total global disease burden. In 2010, almost one fifth of the world’s population still defecate in the open and 2.6 billion people do not have access to even a basic toilet.
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Whole populations to be vaccinated in emergency response to polio outbreak

The first wave of mass polio immunization campaigns -targeting 3 million people of all ages- is to begin on Friday (12 November) to address an unusual outbreak of polio that is primarily claiming victims amongst adults. The campaign will take place in the coastal port city of Pointe Noire and in the Department of Kouilou in the Republic of Congo, 16 districts in the neighbouring province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and over the border in Angola.
This is the first vaccination response to the polio outbreak confirmed on 4 November in the Republic of Congo. Latest figures from 9 November, record a cumulative total of 226 cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) with an unusually high mortality rate of 97 deaths. To date, four of the AFP cases have been confirmed as polio.
Most of the cases have involved young adults aged between 15 and 29. This illustrates that populations are at risk because they have not been exposed to a full immunisation. The giving of vaccination to all ages is intended to raise the general level of immunity to stop the spread of the disease.
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Asia-Pacific governments commit to increase cooperation for child rights

Governments from 28 countries across Asia and the Pacific today committed themselves to improving the rights of children in the world’s most populous region by increasing cooperation on issues critical to children’s survival, development and protection.

The unanimous adoption of the ‘Beijing Declaration on South-South Cooperation for Child Rights in the Asia Pacific Region’ came at the conclusion of three-day high level meeting held in Beijing. The Declaration lays out a number of commitments countries will work towards to advance the rights of the nearly 1.2 billion children in the region.

The commitments focus on regional cooperation in three key areas: Disaster risk reduction; child protection and welfare systems; and ensuring that economic and social development is equitable and reaches all children.

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UNICEF focuses response on children in storm-ravaged Haiti

UNICEF teams are in the field and in Port-au-Prince conducting assessments and preparing to deploy supplies and human resources in addition to those already prepositioned to respond to emergency needs in hardest-hit areas following the passage of Hurricane Tomas.
“Our immediate goal is to assess the impacts of the storm and prioritize our response and coordination efforts to ensure access to adequate sanitation, safe water, and basic health care,” said Ms. Francoise Gruloos-Ackermans, UNICEF Representative in Haiti.
“It is also imperative in responding to emergencies such as this that separated and unaccompanied children, who are most at risk during emergencies, are protected and reunited with their families,” added Ms. Gruloos-Ackermans, who assessed the hurricane-stricken area of Jérémie at the south western tip of Haiti.
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Officials from 28 countries gather in Beijing for strategic talks on child rights

Senior government ministers and officials from 28 countries across Asia and the Pacific gathered in Beijing today for the High Level Meeting on Co-operation for Child Rights in the Asia-Pacific Region. The meeting, held from 4-6 November, is being hosted by the All China Women’s Federation, the National Working Committee for Children and Women under the State Council, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China with support from UNICEF. Senior delegates from a number of Chinese government ministries as well as regional representatives from UNICEF also attended.
Together, the participating countries represent one billion children, or 53 % of the world’s total child population.
Economic progress in many Asia-Pacific countries has been remarkable, with hundreds of millions of people emerging from dollar-a-day poverty over the past few decades. Yet, at the same time, economic and social inequalities have been increasing, affecting the lives of millions of children. To help address these disparities, officials from across the region will have in-depth discussions on the promotion of children's rights to health, education and protection.
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UNICEF positions emergency supplies for tropical storm as cholera outbreak continues in Haiti

UNICEF is rushing to ensure adequate emergency supplies in preparation for a severe tropical storm, as it works with UN and NGO partners to support the Government of Haiti’s response to the recent cholera outbreak.

“UNICEF staff have been working with our partners around the clock to help address and contain the cholera outbreak,” said Ms Francoise Gruloos-Ackermans, UNICEF Representative in Haiti. “Now, the potential landfall of this tropical storm endangers the work completed to date and poses a new threat of the water-borne cholera disease being spread by inland flooding.”
“This latest threat comes as the country is struggling to recover from the devastating earthquake that struck last January,” Ms Gruloos-Ackermans added.
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