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Prensa LatinaUnited Nations, Jun 21
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) alerted Saturday of increasing violence against children in several countries, including Haiti, the Central African Republic, Democratic Congo and Iraq ...
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http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7BA76A7403-EFC3-4172-B890-14691CAB82B9%7D)&language=EN
In the wake of increased kidnappings, UNICEF calls on governments to protect children
By Rebecca Bannor-Addae
PAOUA, Central African Republic, 20 June 2008 – In the shade of the veranda, five-year-old Harouna Garga and his seven-year-old sister Beldo sit safely in their father’s lap at the family compound in Paoua, north-west Central African Republic. Three years ago, however, their life was not so serene ...
"It was two in the morning when they came. There were many of them and they knocked down the doors," says Mr. Garga as he points to the various bedroom doors facing the courtyard. "They had Kalashnikovs and the bullets came down like rain."
Bandits killed the children’s grandfather and their uncle. Mr. Garga was shot in the back. The Zaraguinas stole the family’s valuables, including their cattle herd.
Worst of all, they took Mr. Garga’s wife and her one-week-old baby – as well as Beldo and Harouna ...
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/car_44554.html UNICEF voices deep concern at increased abduction of children
www.chinaview.cn
2008-06-21
06:08:02
... In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, thousands of children have been rounded up by armed groups and used as child soldiers or held in captivity as sexual slaves for extended periods of time, the agency noted ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-06/21/content_8410423.htmUNICEF changes approach to boost efforts for Iraqi children
... SIGRID KAAG: We may have hit a ceiling in the way we deliver.
Sigrid Kaag is the director of the Middle East and North Africa office for UNICEF.
She says the new program IMPACT Iraq shifts from a “macro” approach to a more “micro” one.
KAAG: We hope to bring the services closer to those who need it most and also have better data to base future responses ...
http://www.worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/unicef-boosts-efforts-to-help-iraqi-children.shtml?11019Conflict has defined life for an entire generation of Iraqi children E-mail this
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Report, UNICEF, Jun 18, 2008
GENEVA - ...
'A child turning 18 in Iraq this year looks back on nearly two decades of sanctions, conflict and insecurity', said Sigrid Kaag, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. 'To preserve the young generation growing up today, we need to shield children from violence, enhance humanitarian access and provide more resources targeted to children's specific needs.'
Children's social services, eroded by lack of investment during the 1990s, have been further weakened by prolonged insecurity and the exodus of Iraqi professionals. Only 40 per cent of Iraq's children have access to a regularly working water source. Immunisation rates are now under 50 per cent in some of Iraq's districts, spurring a measles outbreak this year.
The opportunity cost for children in Iraq can be seen when compared to progress made elsewhere in the region. For example, under-five mortality rates (46/1000 live births) are two to three times higher than in Syria (14/1000) and Jordan (25/1000).
The toll on education is a particular concern. As the school year ends this week in Iraq, graduation exams have been postponed for thousands of high school students. Other children, including many in Sadr City, sat end of year exams despite finishing only a portion of the required curriculum due to disruptions in school schedules. School enrolment rates, assessed in 2005 at 83 per cent by the Iraqi Ministry of Education, may have fallen below 60 per cent in 2007, according to preliminary data received from Iraq's governorates. A new survey for the 2007/8 school year is being finalised with UNICEF support ...
http://electroniciraq.net/news/aiddevelopment/Conflict_has_defined_life_for_an_entire_generation_of_Iraqi_children-3323.shtmlUNICEF Iraq helps the children of Sadr City regroup after intense violence
By Elizabeth Kiem
NEW YORK, USA, 20 June 2008 – Forty days of recent intense violence took a toll on close to one million children in Baghdad’s Sadr City, which is home to 2.5 million Iraqis. During the months of April and May the streets of the sprawling neighbourhood turned into a battlefield – trapping children in their homes without access to water, school, or play areas.
Even more seriously, the violence affected access to health care. With power and water in short supply and many medical professionals unable to get to work, two major hospitals were closed as were many local health centres, leaving many residents with only sporadic access to health care ...
Although there are no confirmed totals of casualties, it is estimated that hundreds were killed and thousands more were wounded ...
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/KKAA-7FTBNK?OpenDocument
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