UNICEF -- the "silent emergency" in Honduras; 1,600 children have died

[rabs]

In the four months since the June 28 coup d' etat.

-- Figures are of children under five years of age.
-- 13 infants and children die daily.
-- The maternity-infantile units in the main public hospitals no longer can meet the demands of health services and are threatened with collapse.
-- This silent emergency, which has chronic and structural causes, has been aggravated by violations directly related to the current situation in the country, UNICEF said.
-- 1.8 million students in public schools have practically lost the academic year because the de facto government ended the school year early (so the military can set up polling stations in the schools for the Nov. 29 elections).

====================================================
INTERNACIONALES

UNICEF denunció que en Honduras murieron 1.600 niños desde el golpe contra Zelaya


La crifra proviene de los decesos de menores de cinco años durante los cuatro meses que lleva la crisis provocada por el golpe de Estado del 28 de junio. También señalaron que más de 1,8 millones de niños que asisten a escuelas públicas "han prácticamente perdido el presente período académico".


Las muertes se producen a razón de 13 niños por día y "las unidades materno-infantiles de los principales hospitales públicos ya no dan abasto para atender las demandas de atención de servicios de salud, cuyo funcionamiento amenaza con colapsar", agrega el organismo en un comunicado que reproduce la agencia noticiosa ANSA.

UNICEF dijo también que más de 1,8 millones de niños que asisten a escuelas públicas "han prácticamente perdido el presente período académico", ya que el gobierno de facto, en el marco de las protesas de la resistencia, con fuerte participación del gremio docente, adelantó el fin de las clases.

"Esta emergencia silenciosa, que tiene causas crónicas y estructurales, se ve agravada por violaciones directamente relacionadas con la actual situación del país", agregó UNICEF.


More in Spanish from TELAM (Argentina)

http://www.telam.com.ar/vernota.php?tipo=N&dis=1&sec=1&idPub=165964&id=322141&idnota=322141

UNICEF had issued a strong warning about this in July.

http://www.unicef.org/lac/UNICEF_Honduras_communique_-_17_july_09_.pdf

[Judi Lynn]

1. Humanitarian disaster. Damn the pinochettis. Horrendous, barbaric bastards.

rabs, thanks for posting this. It will make a deep impact on DU'ers of conscience. Sickening beyond words.

Hard to find the right thing to say about this.

Monsters should NEVER be allowed to seize power. They have done nothing but cause suffering from the first day. They KNOW they are not wanted. As all right-wing filth, they have opted to try to kill everyone who hates them for their ugliness, their evil goals, and evil actions.

[rabs]

2. Found an English version -- Google translated but covers main points

TEGUCIGALPA, OCTOBER 28 (UPI) - The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) today indicated that at least 1,600 children under five years old died in Honduras since the coup of June 28, which ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
"The maternity units and children's major public hospitals no longer keep pace with demands" of the local population, "UNICEF said in a statement.
The court provides that, if this context is not reversed, the Honduran health system can "collapse".
In the document, the Fund also highlighted that more than 1.8 million children studying in public schools "almost lost the current school year."


http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http://www.ansa.it/ansalatinabr/notizie/notiziari/amcentr/20091028202734970095.html&ei=wA3pSt_lHoWb8Ab3npGFDw&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CBgQ7gEwBA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dansa%2BUnicef%2Bhonduras%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-US

(It would be interesting to check these mortality figures with those of the four months preceeding the coup, to really get a comparative picture. But don't know where to get those stats).

[roody]

3. Did you post this in GD?

[rabs]

4. No, does GD accept google translations or Spanish versions?

Tried to find the UNICEF statement in English but could not.

[roody]

5. I don't know. I just posted it.

[Billy Burnett]

6. The perfect outcome for Ileana Ros Lehtinen and the Diaz Balart bros.

It was the same in Cuba B.C. (before Castro).
But, in Cuba B.C., the rich had more TV sets than any other Caribbean or Latin American nation, so it balances out. :puke: :puke: