Fieldnotes: Blogging on UNICEF's child survival work in the field
Entries from Fieldnotes tagged with 'child protection'
Protecting children in the DRC
Remaining pockets of violence, millions of Internally Displaced Peoples, massive human rights violations and a lack of basic social services severely hinder the efforts of Gill and other aid workers. “Humanitarian access is limited,” said Gill, “because there is virtually no infrastructure…a wooden bicycle used to transfer goods to market is about as advanced as it gets.” Gill and her colleagues also face a constant security risk and must take daily precautions against attacks—they are not even allowed to walk on the streets.
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| © UNICEF/NYHQ2008-1226/Kate Holt |
| Children play a game of ‘blind man’s bluff’ with a group leader in a UNICEF-assisted child-friendly space in a camp for the displaced. |
Against all odds, UNICEF has done amazing work for the children and people of the DRC, evident in both in the statistics and in the personal success stories that Gill shared. UNICEF has distributed 5.5 million anti-malaria bed nets, begun an initiative in maternal care/newborn survival, implemented a zero-child soldier advocacy campaign and opened 515 health centers. This year alone, we rescued and rehabilitated 2813 children from the armed services and militias, assisted 9,347 sex violation survivors, placed 35,354 children into child friendly spaces and distributed 155,544 packages with materials for mental and physical care and protection.
UNICEF is also using an innovative new system of faith-based and community initiatives to create peaceful and lasting changes. Representatives work with religious and village leaders to instill in the people basic sanitation practices, such as hand washing, and to reverse harmful traditions (many of which target girls and women) from within the community itself.
Gill spoke of her work as a challenge, but one that offers lots of rewards. “We are in the unique position of being a massive service provider and also an advocate for children,” she said, “And these children need all the help they can get.”
NewsNet: The terrible toll of child injuries
As the father of a two-year-old, I can state with authority: when young children achieve mobility, the world around them becomes a lot more dangerous. Hazards abound: cleaning chemicals, outlets, ovens, sharp corners, kerosene lamps, and bodies of water, to name a few. Keeping toddlers safe is one of the most important and harrowing jobs for parents, no matter where in the world they live.
According to a new report released jointly by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 2,000 children die every day as a result of accidental injuries. And every year, millions more suffer injuries that leave them with lifelong disabilities. This first-ever comprehensive assessment of unintentional injuries also found that if certain tried and true prevention measures were used worldwide, at least 1,000 children’s lives could be saved every day. These measures include child-appropriate seatbelts and helmets, child-resistant medicine packaging and household product containers, swimming pool fences, and separate traffic lanes for bicycles and motorcycles, among many others.
Children living in poverty face the greatest risk of life-threatening injuries because they are less likely to have access to protective measures than children from developed countries. More than 95 percent of worldwide child injury deaths occur in low and middle-income countries.
UNICEF welcomes Convention on Cluster Munitions
This week, representatives from more than 100 governments put their pens to paper to help save children’s lives by signing an international Convention on Cluster Munitions, committing to effectively rid themselves of these obsolete and indiscriminate weapons. Unfortunately, the U.S....
Silence is acceptance
Beginning November 25, 2008 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Third World Congress against the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents seeks global protection policies to prevent the sexual abuse of children. A guiding principle is that silence on...
Peru: "Napaykullayki" from Ayacucho
Kendra Flowers works with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF at our national headquarters in New York City. She's currently in Peru visiting UNICEF programs.
I'd like to begin this entry by sending wishes of support to those presently suffering in the aftermath of Pakistan's recent earthquake. Having just left the devastation of Pisco and Chincha—still recovering from their own devastating earthquake of over a year ago—I am somber, yet so glad to know that UNICEF is working tirelessly in Pakistan to ease the suffering of children and get aid to those in need.
After Tuesday's seven-hour drive through the beautiful Andes, and a little light-headedness at over 12,000 feet, the lights of Ayacucho in the valley below were a welcome sight. Wednesday morning we journeyed over an hour back into the Andes to the indigenous communities of Rosaspata, Arizona, Chullucapampa and Huamanguilla.
There we learned directly from the community leaders and parents all about their early childhood stimulation programs and child health surveillance centers. Early childhood stimulation practices the concept that children fare far better socially, physically, and intellectually when they're sung to, played with, and engaged in activities as infants and toddlers. Surveillance centers are posts where child growth is measured and local health promoters are trained in an effort to combat chronic malnutrition in indigenous communities.
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| © US Fund for UNICEF/K. Flowers |
| UNICEF-trained heath promoter in Rosaspata community of Ayacucho District, Peru. |
We were all struck by how utterly committed these communities are to their children's physical and emotional health. The president of one community program was so impassioned when he proudly explained their meticulous charts and graphs that one needn't have any knowledge of Quechua (the native tongue) to know his community's priorities revolve around its children. UNICEF trains health promoters within the community to monitor families and ensure they are educated in how to nourish and protect their children. The promoters report back to the center with height, weight and other general health measurements revisiting the children's progress each and every month.
Peru: Casinos, smiles and ruins
Kendra Flowers works with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF at our national headquarters in New York City. She's currently in the field with UNICEF supporters, visiting programs in Peru.
I arrived in Lima last night with UNICEF supporters Chuck Meyer and Jamie Gross. The drive from the airport to our lodgings revealed the depth of the casino culture here, which could give Reno a run for its money. We are gearing up for the days ahead which I anticipate will be filled with eye-opening experiences for all of us.
My first impressions of Lima—aside from amazement at the creativity and variety of theme-casinos—revolve around the inherent history of this place, the beauty of its seascapes and warmth of the individuals we've encountered. While the city itself see-saws between the bleak and the opulent, the people we've met have been consistently kind and welcoming (and incredibly forgiving of my very broken Spanish).
We were also fortunate enough to see a magnificent Pre-Inca ruin called Huaca Pucllana, a ceremonial temple of the Huaca people, dating back 1500 years—right in the heart of bustling Lima.
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| © US Fund for UNICEF, 2008/K. Flowers |
| Ruins of Huaca Pucllana |
In the week ahead, our kind hosts at the UNICEF Peru Country Office will take us to visit child protection and emergency response programs in Chincha and Pisco, reconstruction efforts after last year's deadly earthquake, child protection facilities in Lima and a special visit to the remote indigenous communities of Ayacucho.
I look forward to sharing my observations with you of UNICEF Peru's lifesaving and life-changing initiatives in the days to come.
China: More aid sought for long-term recovery
On Friday, the United Nations issued a new appeal for international aid to assist with earthquake recovery efforts in central China. The aid sought will be used across UN agencies, including UNICEF, to support mid to long-term recovery and reconstruction efforts in earthquake-affected areas.
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| © UNICEF/ HQ08-0627/Adam Dean |
| UNICEF Water and Environmental Sanitation Specialist Yang Zhenbo is surrounded by students at a primary school in the town of Danjing Shan, Sichuan Province, China. Yang is assessing related needs in the area. UNICEF will provide water-purification equipment at the school, which was damaged during the earthquake. Students are now attending classes in a temporary school on the grounds. |
The total appeal amounts to $33.5 million for the period of July to December 2008. UNICEF's portion of this appeal totals $6.7 million—which will fund just the first phase of UNICEF's three-year recovery plan for the region.
Clay Aiken calls for Kenya's kids to return to school
UNICEF Ambassador Clay Aiken recently visited the East African countries of Somalia and Kenya, where UNICEF provides children with health care, education, nutrition, clean water and sanitation. This is the last in a series of blog posts he has written about his experience in the field.
In early July, after visiting Somalia, I traveled to Eldoret, in Kenya’s Rift Valley, to visit camps for internally displaced people. This is where some of the worst violence took place following the Kenya elections in early 2008. Thousands of children were made homeless by the unrest.
Everywhere we went, there were the charcoaled remains of homes, schools and shops. We drove for hours and everywhere we went, we saw people trying to get their lives restored.
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| © US Fund for UNICEF / 2008 / Nick Ysenburg |
Although many schools were re-opened, far fewer children are turning up for class than before. And classes are taking place in schools that have been completely destroyed. I saw children sitting on rocks and bricks—which used to make up the foundations and roofs of their schools—using them now as desks and chairs.
Boys need protection too
Earlier this month, I posted an entry on this blog about girls in Darfur being sexually assaulted when they collect firewood in the wilderness. One of our readers left a question that may have crossed many people’s minds: “How about letting the MEN collect the firewood?!”
When I first researched this subject, I also wondered why girls in Darfur were left to do this risky chore in secluded areas while boys stayed behind at camp. But I later learned that boys in war-torn countries also suffer horrible abuse, violence and exploitation.
In Darfur, when militias raid villages, they sometimes immediately execute the boys along with the men. In times of war, many fighting groups see young men and boys as threats or as potential soldiers, so boys are either killed or kidnapped and forced to serve in militias.
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| © UNICEF/ HQ05-1018/Ron Haviv |
| Three nomadic boys wander amid the remains of a village reputed to harbour Janjaweed militias in North Darfur State. Although the majority of the displaced in Darfur are villagers, counterattacks by the rebel Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) have robbed some nomadic tribes of their livestock, leaving them without means of support. |
When kids end up on the street
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| © UNICEF/ HQ07-0072/Giacomo Pirozzi |
Have you ever visited a city and been followed down the street by a scrum of children asking for money or pens, or desperately trying to sell you gum or some limp flowers? Our visit last week from UNICEF Laos child protection officer, Amy Delneuville got me thinking about one of the world's saddest, most overlooked groups: street children. Here in the U.S., there aren't many street children but in developing countries, poor countries, countries fractured by conflict, there are many.
It's impossible to know for certain just how many children spend their time living in the streets; it's not surprisingly a very difficult group to track. An estimated number that often pops up often, though, is 100 million. If accurate, that's 100 million kids living, working, struggling and sleeping on the streets of cities. I can't imagine what it must feel like to be a kid and not know where you'll sleep that night. Or whether you'll be safe.
Tune in to CNN tomorrow
In a one-of-a-kind television event this Sunday, July 6, CNN will examine why 26,000 children die every day from preventable causes and what UNICEF is doing to save these young lives. Hosted by CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, "The Survival Project: One Child at a Time" will air at 8 and 11 pm (ET).
This historic broadcast will highlight four areas where UNICEF demonstrates its remarkable on-the-ground expertise in doing whatever it takes to save a child:
- Child protection in Iraq
- Water and sanitation in Laos
- HIV/AIDS in Peru
- Child survival interventions in Ethiopia
Leading experts in each of these key areas will contribute to a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Gupta.
"The Survival Project: One Child at a Time" is a chance to get a first-hand look at the plight of millions of children around the world, struggling each and every day for survival. We hope you'll tune in.
How a stove can save a life
In Sudan’s Darfur region, rape has become a widespread weapon of war, used by militias to intimidate and terrorize communities. Many of these sexual attacks occur when girls venture into the wilderness to collect firewood that is essential for boiling water and cooking.
Since the start of the conflict in Darfur, UNICEF has been helping children survive through immunization, nutrition and clean water programs. Now, UNICEF is helping protect young girls by providing fuel-efficient stoves.
Kidnapping of children is on the rise
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| © UNICEF/ HQ03-0012/Shehzad Noorani |
For a year, in 2003 and 2004, I lived in Iraq working as a journalist. Annette Apitz's recent post about children's lives in that country brought up a lot of memories for me. While I lived there, I saw some devastating things: families squatting dismally in an abandoned soccer stadium because their neighborhoods were no longer safe; hospitals full of wounded with almost no medicine to treat them; the aftermath of bombings that left cars, houses and humans in wrecked pieces.
But worst of all was seeing children purposely targeted for violence and—shockingly common—for kidnapping. UNICEF is very concerned about an increase in kidnappings of children in several countries including Iraq, Haiti and the Central African Republic, and is calling on governments to enact and enforce measures that provide a protective environment for children.
World Day Against Child Labor
For a lot of kids around the world, a job isn’t a teenage rite of passage or the means to get some extra spending cash. It’s grueling, full-time work done to help their families buy basic necessities like food and shelter. And in the poorest countries, kids as young as five toil in some of the toughest and most dangerous forms of labor out there—mining, construction and mechanical work.
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| © UNICEF/ HQ97-0097/Donna DeCesare |
| Four-year-old Norma and her six-year-old cousin, Tonio, work 12 hours a day filling bags with charcoal to help their family in El Salvador. The two cousins are not enrolled in school and suffer from respiratory ailments. |
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Welcome to Fieldnotes. Blogging gives us the ability to quickly report from the field, alert you to media coverage of interest, and share the success of UNICEF's lifesaving work around the globe.
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