UNICEF’s Massive Polio Immunization Campaign

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow recently visited Chad to attend the launch of a massive polio immunization campaign and to raise awareness of the importance of ending polio transmission once and for all.

During her trip, Ms. Farrow visited Massi Hassan, who was being fitted with a plastic and steel brace. A few months ago, Massi had been a healthy and mobile child, but a recent bout of polio has left her paralyzed. Just seven years old, she'll never again be able to walk without the brace.

Maimounna Mahamat, Massi's mother, stroked her daughter's hair during the fitting. She hadn’t even heard of polio before her daughter became infected.

“It got so bad that she couldn't walk anymore and had to crawl to get anywhere,” Ms. Mahamat said.

UNICEF condemns killing children, women in Syrian city of Homs

UNICEF today denounced the reported killing of children and women whose bodies were found in the Syrian city of Homs on Sunday.

According to Syrian and international media reports, young children were among the victims discovered in the Homs neighbourhood of Karm el-Zeytoun. Some of the bodies had their throats slit. Others bore marks of torture.

“It’s hard to come to terms with savagery on this scale especially when it involves children paying the highest price for events over which they have no control,” said UNICEF Regional Director Maria Calivis. “We urgently call on all sides in this crisis to live up to their responsibility to safeguard children.”

Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Target - Safe Drinking Water

The world has met the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water, well ahead of the MDG 2015 deadline.

This is the key message in a report issued today by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), ‘Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation, 2012 Update’. The report reveals that, at the end of 2010, 89 per cent of the world’s population used improved drinking water sources, meeting the target. By 2015, an estimated 92 per cent of the global population will have access to improved drinking water.

“For children this is especially good news,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “Every day, more than 3,000 from diarrhoeal diseases. Achieving this goal will go a long way to saving children’s lives.”

But Mr. Lake cautioned that over 780 million people still lack access to safe drinking water. “The numbers are still staggering,” he said. “But the progress announced today is proof that MDG targets can be met with the will, the effort and the funds.”