Chaos across the country
The presence of fugitive armed groups and increased chaos across the country, including the capital Bangui, has led to an escalation of insecurity, which has left communities vulnerable to extreme violence. International humanitarian organizations have also been subjected to robbery and looting. MSF teams in the towns of Boguila, Kabo, Ndele and inside the camp at the M’Poko international airport in Bangui have suffered numerous armed intrusions and robberies. Last weekend alone, MSF teams faced four such serious incidents. In Kabo, MSF was forced to reduce its medical activities as a result.

MSF has repeatedly called on UN Security Council member states and donor countries to secure the protection of civilians in CAR and to urgently scale up much-needed humanitarian assistance.

Civilians hunted down and killed
“We are witnessing the consequence of the lack of protection of people in CAR, with civilians being hunted down and killed, and hundreds of thousands of displaced people and refugees without adequate assistance,” says Sylvain Groulx, MSF Head of Mission in CAR. “Targeting humanitarian organisations and their staff is unacceptable and impedes the support they give to the population. The reduction of the MSF medical activities in Kabo has disastrous consequences for over 50,000 people while their needs remain enormous.”

MSF has managed the hospital in Kabo since 2006 and supports three health posts on the outskirts including Moyenne Sido, to where many people escaping violence have fled. Others seek refuge just across the border in Chad. In 2013, MSF carried out more than 100,000 consultations at the Kabo hospital and its health posts. Malaria remains the leading cause of death in CAR, and in Kabo up to 44% of consultations were as a result of malaria. The medical assistance provided by MSF teams here is crucial.

Severe lack of healthcare
Even before the recent crisis, the people of CAR already suffered the consequences of a severe lack of healthcare, with many health facilities being barely operational. The escalation of violence in recent weeks has compounded the problem as nearly 20% of the population has fled their homes, and the international aid effort is still grossly insufficient.

Despite regular violent attacks taking place close to, and even inside hospitals, MSF teams were able to provide a reasonable level of medical care. But today, the impunity of armed groups and the uncontrollable cycle of violence is endangering the population and threatening the delivery of humanitarian aid.

“We call on armed groups to stop targeting civilians and to respect our medical mission so that we can continue to deliver life-saving medical care,” adds Sylvain Groulx. “Humanitarian organizations must be able to work freely and without hindrance.”

MSF is carrying out mobile clinics for around 14,000 displaced gathered in Bangui airport and in a Salesian-Run Don Bosco center. We are providing health services to children under five, pregnant women, and the wounded who are referred to Castor Health center or Hospital Communautaire if needed. In Don Bosco, teams are also installing hygiene facilities for the five to six thousand displaced who have gathered there.

ABOUT MSF IN CAR:

MSF has been working in CAR since 1997, and now runs seven regular projects (Batangafo, Carnot, Kabo Ndélé Paoua, Bria and Zémio) and eight emergency projects (Bangui, Berbérati, Bouar, Boguila, Bossangoa, Bouca, Bangassou and mobile clinics in the northwest). MSF has more than 240 international staff and 2,000 local staff working in the country. Additional MSF teams are assisting refugees from CAR in Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Congo-Brazzavill

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“When our husbands and the village youth went to check the village some time after the shooting had stopped, they came across the bodies of soldiers and civilians strewn across our cassava fields and in the streams from which we drew our water,” recalls Hawa Ladu,* a mother of six.

The tiny village lies 25 kilometres from the South Sudanese capital, Juba, and – luckily for the inhabitants – only three kilometres from Gorom Refugee Settlement, home to 2,500 Ethiopian refugees. It was to prove a safe haven when Amadi village got caught up in the violence that erupted in the country last December.

As Hawa recounts it, for a while the villagers tolerated looting of their food by opposition forces, who stole even “the stew in our pots.” Sometimes the soldiers brazenly ordered villagers to carry the looted food to their makeshift camps.

But when warfare engulfed the village in mid-January, it was time to run. “Bullets whizzed through the air and some landed in our walls as soldiers advanced on Amadi,” says Hawa. She, her husband, their children and their neighbours fled to nearby Gorom Refugee Settlement.

They regarded Gorom as the safest place to seek refuge “because it is where UNHCR is,” she says. More than 730 women and children from the village moved into the settlement’s primary school. “When we fled to the settlement, the refugees were generally very supportive and accommodating because they knew what was happening,” says Hawa.

Becky Ben Ondoa, UNHCR’s community services associate says that even though “Amadi village had become a ‘no-go’ area, we knew that the school would have to be vacated for the start of the new school year.” Once the fighting ended in Amadi, the villagers were told it was safe for them to return home.

But how could they go back when there was no clean water in their village? A UNHCR monitoring mission confirmed what the villagers had already discovered – decomposing human remains were polluting the only source of water.

“It was imperative that we act quickly,” says Ondoa. “To encourage the Amadi community to return to their village, alternative water points for the local community had to be found as a matter of priority.”

A UNHCR partner, ACROSS, located a water drilling company and in two weeks the village had two functioning boreholes – ready to meet the needs in Amadi. The men came first to check on the safety, then their families followed.

“I cannot tell you how grateful we are for the boreholes UNHCR has provided us – and embarrassed that we continue asking for more assistance,” says Hawa. “However, under the circumstances, we have no choice,” since their farming implements had been looted along with their food and grain.

The villagers are busy harvesting the last cassava tubers still in the ground – a modest provision to see them through the long seasonal rains.

“Life as we know it has changed for the worse,” sighs Hawa. “Even our husbands have become like women – helpless and fearful – as we all wait for the situation in our country to resolve itself. As to how long that will be, only God and this country’s decision-makers know.”

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PHOTO:  UNHCR/P.Rulashe

Hawa, points to a bullet hole in the wall of her hut. She discovered it when she returned home to inspect the damage to her home. Hawa and her entire community fled Amadi village for the safety of Gorom Refugee Settlement in mid-January.

*Name changed for protection reasons.

By Pumla Rulashe in Amadi, South Sudan.

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UNICEF, in partnership with Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), conducted the assessment in October and November 2013.

“UNICEF and its partners are concerned about the deterioration in the nutrition status of Syrian refugees in Lebanon,” said UNICEF Representative Annamaria Laurini. “Malnutrition is a new, silent threat among refugees in Lebanon, linked to poor hygiene, unsafe drinking water, diseases, lack of immunization, and improper feeding practices of young children.”

In the Bekaa and the North of Lebanon, the prevalence of severe acute malnutrition almost doubled in 2013, compared to 2012.

Across the country, almost 2,000 Syrian refugee children under-five years of age are at risk of dying and need immediate treatment to survive. Over half of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition are in the Bekaa, in eastern Lebanon, where most of the makeshift camps are and access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation is a challenge.

The nutrition situation among refugees in Lebanon could deteriorate rapidly due to aggravating factors, such as the increase in food prices, risk of food insecurity, increasing numbers and new arrivals of refugees from Syria that could be in worse condition.

“Children under-five that are living in harsh conditions in tented settlements are especially vulnerable to malnutrition,” said UNICEF Lebanon Chief of Health and Nutrition Zeroual Azzeddine. “UNICEF is working with the Ministry of Public Health and other actors to take urgent measures, but more is needed to improve the management of acute malnutrition, especially in the Bekaa and the North of Lebanon.”

Recommendations of the report highlight integrated efforts with the Ministry of Public Health and other partners to build capacity and mobilize health workers, monitor the situation, detect malnourished children, provide treatment, and prevent further cases of malnourished children and women. This involves screening children and women, treating acute malnutrition through supplementary and therapeutic feeding programs, and raising awareness around appropriate infant and young child feeding practices, as well as prevention of micronutrient deficiencies.

The 2013 assessment examined the nutrition status of Syrian refugee children under five years of age, as well as women between 15 and 49 years old across Lebanon. The report also investigated the prevalence of anaemia, infant and young child feeding practices, child morbidity due to diarrhea, cough and fever, as well as access to health services and improved water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.

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PHOTO Credit: UNICEF/NYHQ2012-1293/Romenzi

About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere. For more information about UNICEF and its work please visithttp://www.unicef.org/.

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While all schools in the capital  have been closed since early December 2013, UNICEF and partners are setting up more than 100 temporary learning spaces at displacement sites in Bangui. More than 40 are already functioning and 160 teachers have received early childhood development training from UNICEF to give classes to children from 3 – 5 years of age.

In Bossangoa and surrounding areas in the north-west of the country, UNICEF will set up more temporary learning spaces in communities where families are returning and finding schools that are damaged.

“If the displaced children cannot go back to schools, classrooms should come to them,” said UNICEF Deputy Representative in Central African Republic Judith Léveillée. “This is the idea behind the temporary learning spaces,” she added.  “As soon as security allows it, the safe and permanent return of all teachers and students to schools is a crucial step on the road to peace and reconciliation.”

Temporary classrooms are a short-term solution and UNICEF will support the Ministry of Education in re-opening formal schools as soon as the security situation permits.

UNICEF is providing more than 500 kits for education and recreation at 20 displacement sites in Bangui. These kits include teaching materials, books and stationary, sports equipment and art supplies.

“Children have lost several months of schooling since the crisis started,” Ms Léveillée said. “It’s urgent for them to get access to a place where they can learn safely. Returning to class gives children a sense of a return to normalcy, stability, and hope for the future.”

In addition to the temporary learning spaces, UNICEF supports child-friendly spaces, which provide displaced children with psychosocial support and recreational activities.

“I want the children in my class to forget the bad things they have seen. I want to make sure that they don’t turn to violence and retribution, but learn honesty and gentleness,” said Antoinette, one of the teachers at the UNICEF training. “A country without education has no future,” she added.

UNICEF says the basic right to education is most at risk during times of crisis, but schools not only provide children with a safe place to learn, they are also an important part of the recovery process.

Nearly half of Bangui’s residents who fled the violent clashes remain living in makeshift displacement camps.  Over the past year, 65 percent of 176 schools inspected across the country have been looted, according to UNICEF.

UNICEF is working with 11 NGO implementing partners in establishing the temporary learning spaces.

UNICEF’s appeal for emergency operations in Central African Republic this year is for $62 million. The current funding shortfall is $59 million.

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Photo: IRIN/Hannah McNeish

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“Violations must come to an end now,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in the report, which was released yesterday to the Security Council. “I therefore urge all parties to the conflict to take, without delay, all measures to protect and uphold the rights of all children in Syria.”

The report, covering the period from 1 March 2011 to 15 November 2013, lists a raft of horrors that Syria’s children have suffered since the opposition first sought to oust President Bashar al-Assad, ranging from direct commission of abuse, including sexual violence, to more general violation of their rights from school closures and denial of access to humanitarian aid.

“The present report highlights that use of weaponry and military tactics that are disproportionate and indiscriminate by Government forces and associated militias has resulted in countless killings and the maiming of children, and has obstructed children’s access to education and health services,” Mr. Ban writes.

“Government forces have also been responsible for the arrest, arbitrary detention, ill treatment and torture of children. Armed opposition groups have been responsible for the recruitment and use of children both in combat and support roles, as well as for conducting military operations, including using terror tactics, in civilian-populated areas, leading to civilian casualties, including children.”

The report spotlights the disappearance of many children, notes that all parties to the conflict have seriously hampered the delivery of humanitarian assistance in areas most affected by the fighting, and warns that children have experienced a high level of distress as a result of witnessing the killing and injuring of members of their families and peers, or of being separated from their family and/or displaced.

Detailing the detention of children as young as 11 years old for alleged association with armed groups by Government forces in large-scale arrest campaigns, the reports says they were ill-treated and tortured to extract confessions or humiliate them or pressure a relative to surrender or confess.

“Ill treatment and acts tantamount to torture reportedly included beatings with metal cables, whips and wooden and metal batons; electric shock, including to the genitals; the ripping out of fingernails and toenails; sexual violence, including rape or threats of rape; mock executions; cigarette burns; sleep deprivation; solitary confinement; and exposure to the torture of relatives,” the report says.

“Reports indicate that children were also suspended from walls or ceilings by their wrists or other limbs, were forced to put their head, neck and legs through a tire while being beaten, and were tied to a board and beaten.

The report cites a 16-year-old boy as saying he witnessed his 14-year-old male friend being sexually assaulted and then killed, and notes other allegations that boys and in a few instances girls were raped. The 16-year-old said children and adults were beaten with metal bars, their fingernails pulled out, their fingers cut. “Or they were beaten with a hammer in the back, sometimes until death,” he added.

Allegations of sexual violence by opposition groups were also received, but the UN was unable to further investigate them due to lack of access, the report says.

It adds that opposition forces recruited and used both in support roles and for combat, while Government forces used children as human shields. It notes that during the first two years of the conflict, most killings and maiming of children were attributed to Government forces, but mainly due to increased access to heavy weapons and the use of terror tactics opposition groups increasingly engaged in such acts in 2013.

“Armed opposition groups also engaged in the summary execution of children,” it says, reporting that lack of access, including for security reasons, prevented the UN from systematic documentation.

Schools and hospitals have been disproportionally targeted by all parties, with indications that Government forces were the main perpetrators of attacks against hospitals and other health-care infrastructure, mainly opposition-run makeshift health facilities and of threats and attacks against medical personnel, according to the report.

“Injured opposition fighters and civilians, including children, admitted to Government hospitals in perceived pro-opposition areas in Aleppo, Dar’a, Homs and Idlib governorates were reportedly exposed to arrest, detention, ill treatment and acts tantamount to torture by civilian doctors, and/or elements of Government forces,” it says.

The UN also received reports on instances where opposition groups denied medical treatment to injured pro-Government fighters, or misused ambulances, including to cross Government checkpoints.

In his list of recommendations, Mr. Ban calls on all sides to stop all grave violations against children cited in the report, end all indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks on civilian areas, including terror tactics, airstrikes, chemical weapons and heavy artillery, allow unimpeded humanitarian access, and immediately release abducted women and children.

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Photo: Syrian children shelter in the doorway of a house, amid gunfire and shelling, in a city affected by the conflict. UNICEF/NYHQ2012-0218/Alessio Romenzi

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Evangeline’s husband, like all farmers in this small village in Leyte Province, central Philippines, does not own land and earns 50 pesos (a little over $1) a day. Usually, they get paid in rice and forage near their home for vegetables to eat. In between the harvest and the next planting season, he has no job.

“We don’t have any income after harvest. Farming is the only skill he has,” said the 36-year-old mother of two, cradling her two-year-old son outside her tarpaulin-roofed home.

Her 13-year-old son is still in Grade 3, which is usually for eight-year-olds, because financial struggles mean he had to keep dropping out of school.

Then Haiyan, the strongest storm on record to ever make landfall, struck central Philippines on Nov. 8. The family lost their roof, livestock and most of the few belongings they had.

Still, the temporary arrival of relief goods eased long-standing problems of malnutrition and food insecurity in the village where most have been living hand-to-mouth for years.

Now that the Alohas receive rice from the United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP), the husband, who went back to work in December, is getting cash for his labour, which they save or use to buy meat or dried fish.

“We can now eat three meals a day instead of two,” Evangeline told Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Fellow villager, Elena Andita, 28, said WFP’s high-energy biscuits and peanut-based fortified food helped her malnourished one year-old son to become stronger.

Yet existing inequalities, including lack of land ownership and entrenched poverty, are impossible to tackle through short-term emergency relief. Questions on how the government can or will address these remain, as the Philippines embarks on possibly the most ambitious reconstruction program in Southeast Asia since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

NUTRITION PROBLEMS

Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, left nearly 8,000 people dead or missing and some 4 million displaced from their homes. Evangeline said they survived by holding onto a tree, their two-year-old son tied to his father with a rope.

The storm also destroyed hundreds of thousands of hectares of planted crops, mainly rice – the main staple food in the Philippines – and the livelihoods of almost 6 million workers. Of these, 2.6 million were already in vulnerable employment and living on or near the poverty line even before the deadly storm, said the ILO.

Almost three months on, the 100-odd families in Cabrasan Guti, part of Tanauan Municipality in Leyte Province, are attempting to rebuild their livelihoods in whatever way they can. But they also say they will need external aid until they can begin to feed themselves again. Situated inland, the villagers cannot catch fish for sustenance, unlike their coastal neighbours.

Many typhoon-affected villages are in a similar position.

Stormy weather brought about by Tropical Depression Agaton in mid-January worsened the situation in parts of Haiyan-affected areas, destroying crops, forcing the displaced to move again, and further exacerbating the food security situation of typhoon-hit farmers.

In San Fernando district in Samar Province, half of what Angeles Grefiel planted was washed away by Agaton. The family had to use rice seeds provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which they had hoped to save till the next planting season.

Samir Wanmali, emergency coordinator with WFP, told Thomson Reuters Foundation access to nutritious food had always been a problem in the Philippines, especially in poor provinces such as Leyte and Samar.

“We’re talking about the fact that we have generations of children that have grown up without having proper access to the right types of food. Food that are high in protein and micronutrients, which allow them to grow properly,” he said.

“A natural disaster like this sort of exposes them further and so for us it’s really important that the focus goes from emergency to household food security and household livelihoods,” he added.

Evangeline said the last time she ate meat was on New Year’s Eve. If the aid stops or her husband gets paid in rice again, she will be forced to go back to foraging for food and, if need be, buying things on credit.

What if her children get sick, this correspondent asked.

“They don’t get sick,” she said firmly, shaking her head.

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Writing by Thin Lei Win on Mon, 3 Feb 2014 – Reuters / Trust.org

Photo: Evangeline Aloha, carrying her two-year-old son, walks to her home at the edge of Cabrasan Guti in the municipality of Tanauan, Leyte Province, Philippines, through coconut trees that fell over or were snapped in half by Typhoon Haiyan’s ferocious winds, January 23, 2014. THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION/Thin Lei Win

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Touch and Nouv are both reaping the benefits of the market connections and training they received as part of Feed the Future’s work in Cambodia to build the capacity of local businesses to support the country’s growing agriculture sector. Input suppliers – who sell things like seeds, farming tools, and fertilizers – are vital in the process of getting crops from farms to markets to tables, providing smallholder farmers with the means to grow enough food to feed their families and generate income.

But in Cambodia, many rural inhabitants – who comprise over 80 percent of the population – lack access to technical services, modern technologies, and affordable working capital, all of which are critical to a thriving agriculture sector. Most input suppliers inherit their businesses from their families and operate informally, lacking the business management skills and technical expertise to expand the products and services that can support farmers in their communities.

That’s why Feed the Future is training rural Cambodian input dealers in basic business operation and agricultural production skills, empowering them to become not only better entrepreneurs, but also mentors and technical advisers in local agricultural markets. With access to hundreds of smallholder farmers who regularly buy their products, input suppliers are ideally positioned to improve local agriculture by disseminating the knowledge and skills they acquire in training. Since their advice typically leads to better crop yields and more income for farmers, the training is a win-win for rural communities as agricultural businesses grow their client base and farmers get better access to critical tools and services.

Feed the Future also trains smallholder farmers, processers and other agricultural enterprises in Cambodia to improve their chances of securing long-term, small- and medium-size loans from banks and microfinance institutions, which traditionally have been extremely conservative in their lending and require rigorous management standards. With assistance from Feed the Future, rice miller An Sina became eligible for and received a $10,000 loan to upgrade the aging equipment in his mill. He also has purchased more rice from local farmers, which in turn has improved their cash flow and helped them expand their own businesses.

As part of its efforts to improve food security by expanding access to finance, Feed the Future also supported USAID’s Development Credit Authority to guarantee Thaneakea Phum Cambodia, a local microfinance institution, $2.71 million for loans to farmers and small businesses. These loans are larger and have longer repayment schedules and, to date, 80 percent of the borrowers are women.

With better access to working capital, Cambodian smallholder farmers and micro and small business owners are gaining the flexibility to increase their profits over the long term. Feed the Future also trains credit officers in microfinance institutions on agricultural production so they can better understand the risks, costs and production cycles involved in their clients’ work. By building understanding and trust between lenders and borrowers in the agriculture sector, Feed the Future is supporting the design of financial products that are uniquely suited to rural entrepreneurs in Cambodia.

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Posted on the Feed the Future Newsletter on January 30, 2014

Photo credit: HARVEST

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“In the situations of both South Sudan and CAR, we are extremely concerned about the safety of refugees and displaced people, particularly with access being affected by the fighting and insecurity,” UN refugee agency (UNHCR) spokesperson Adrian Edwards told a news briefing in Geneva.

“Today’s appeals reflect the worsening situations in both cases, with hundreds of thousands of people now affected.”

Of the new funding, $59 million are targeted for South Sudan, where well over 1,000 people have been killed and some 300,000 others driven from their home since fighting erupted between Government and opposition forces less than a month ago.

The remaining $40.2 million is destined for CAR, where thousands of people are estimated to have been killed, nearly 1 million driven from their homes, and 2.2 million, about half the population, need humanitarian aid in a conflict which erupted when mainly Muslim rebels launched attacks a year ago and has taken on increasingly sectarian overtones as mainly Christian militias take up arms.

Both requests by UNHCR, which are for the period to the end of March, follow appeals launched by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on 31 and 24 December respectively on behalf of all UN agencies for $209 million for South Sudan and $152.2 million in immediate support for a 100-day plan for CAR.

Mr. Edwards said the situation has continued to deteriorate in South Sudan, where the number of people fleeing to neighboring countries has quickly increased to some 43,000 people, and Uganda now seeing between 4,000 and 5,000 arriving every day. Inside the country some 232,000 people have been driven from their homes, including 60,500 sheltering at 10 UN bases.

He said the appeal included projections of additional displacement between now and April. “It anticipates that refugee numbers could rise to 125,000 and that the number of people displaced within South Sudan could reach 400,000″, he noted. UNHCR emergency operations include

Today’s supplementary appeal for CAR aims to support more than 1 million people, including 86,400 refugees in neighboring countries and 958,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs).

In both countries, the crises have displaced tens of thousands more people over the past three weeks and “insecurity makes assisting them more expensive, having to resort to airlifts for example when roads are not safe,” Mr. Edwards stressed.

UNHCR emergency operations include registering, sheltering and protecting refugees, providing supplies to displaced people, designing and managing camps for them, and protecting the most vulnerable among them.

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Photo: Displaced civilians of Bangui take shelter in the shell of an aircraft at the city’s airport. UNHCR/S. Phelps

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“The situation in Fallujah is particularly concerning as existing stocks of food, water and life-saving medicines begin to run out,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative Nickolay Mladenov said in a statement in Baghdad.

“According to our preliminary assessment, over 5,000 families have fled the fighting and sought refuge in the neighbouring provinces of Karbala, Salahadine, Baghdad and elsewhere. The UN is working with the Ministry of Displacement and Migration to identify their needs and meet them immediately.”

Non-government organizations (NGOs) were quoted by media today as saying more than 13,000 families have fled Fallujah, where Sunni militants linked to Al-Qaeda are reported to have seized much of the city.

“There is a critical humanitarian situation in Anbar province which is likely to worsen as operations continue,” Mr. Mladenov said. “The UN agencies are working to identify the needs of the population and prepare medical supplies, food and non-food items for distribution if safe passage can be ensured. This remains a primary challenge.”

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Photo: Nickolay Mladenov, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq and Head of Mission, UNAMI. UN Photo

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The UN World Food Program (WFP) distributed food, buckets, tarpaulins and water containers provided by other organizations at Bangui airport where an estimated 100,000 people have sought refuge, and plans to reach all the displaced people there within 10 days. The last food distribution took place on 18 December.

At the same time, WFP voiced deep concern at deteriorating security in the northwest of the country and urged all parties to the conflict to ensure safe access to people in need of assistance.

Thousands of people are estimated to have been killed, nearly 1 million driven from their homes, and 2.2 million, about half the population, need humanitarian aid in the conflict that erupted when mainly Muslim Séléka rebels launched attacks a year ago and forced President François Bozizé to flee in March.

A transitional government has since been entrusted with restoring peace and paving the way for democratic elections, but armed attacks between ex-Séléka and Christian anti-balaka militias have escalated significantly in the past two weeks.

Yesterday during a briefing, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman warned the Security Council that the situation in CAR risks escalating into sustained violence along religious lines and spilling beyond the country’s borders, further destabilizing the whole region.

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WFP has provided food assistance to more than 500,000 displaced people across the Central African Republic (CAR). Photo: WFP/Djaounsede Pardon Madjiangar

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As of yesterday, 23,546 South Sudanese refugees had arrived in Uganda since the conflict erupted a month ago in the world’s youngest country, which only gained independence in 2011 after seceding from Sudan, when President Salva Kiir said soldiers loyal to former deputy president Riek Machar, dismissed last July, reportedly launched an attempted coup.

“They are now crossing at a rate of up to 2,500 people a day,” UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming told a news briefing in Geneva.

These new arrivals come at a time when UNHCR’s Uganda office is trying to cope with a continuing influx of refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). “We still have 8,000 new Congolese arrivals at three reception centers in western Uganda, so our staff and our supplies are stretched,” Ms. Fleming said.

Smaller but growing numbers of South Sudanese refugees are also fleeing to other neighboring countries. More than 5,300 refugees have been registered in Ethiopia – though the number is likely higher as the remote border area is hard to access. In north-west Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp, where as many as 300 South Sudanese are now arriving daily, UNHCR staff registered 3,173 new arrivals by Sunday evening.

The situation in Sudan remains less clear. At least several hundred South Sudanese have crossed the border, and perhaps several thousand. But with many groups, including nomads and rebels, active in the area, it is difficult to know exactly how many are refugees, Ms. Fleming said.

Representatives of Mr. Kiir and Mr. Machar are meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in talks mediated by the East African regional organization, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), with an immediate ceasefire at the top of the agenda.

Inside South Sudan, UNHCR is operating with a reduced staff of 200 people because of fighting and insecurity throughout much of the country, but it continues to supply services to some 230,000 existing refugees at 10 camps in South Sudan.

“We have also been taking on increased responsibilities for the 57,000 civilians taking refuge in 10 UN compounds throughout the country,” Ms. Fleming stressed. “We are helping lead efforts to protect especially vulnerable people like women and children. And we have brought in experts in areas such as site planning and camp management.”

Yesterday a chartered flight arrived in Juba, the capital, carrying essential relief items from UNHCR’s stockpiles in Nairobi, including 12,500 blankets, 2,500 sets of cooking pots and other kitchen equipment, and 4,000 plastic sheets to shelter 20,000 displaced people in and around the capital.

In Maban, north-eastern South Sudan, just four UNHCR international staff and 11 national staff have been working with partners and refugees to serve 120,000 refugees in four camps, making sure that health services remain available and water pumps are still working.

UNHCR and the UN World Food Program (WFP) together have distributed food rations to the refugees for 45 days instead of the normal 30 days, so that they will be able to eat if services are disrupted.

“We are also in the process of distributing soap in all four camps. Given the dangerous and fast-changing nature of operating in South Sudan, we are stretching resources and working to fill any gaps in service,” Ms. Fleming said.

The agency is also preparing to return personnel to Yida in Unity state, where three national staff and partners have been continuing to serve the 77,000 refugees in Yida and Ajuong Thok camps close to the border with Sudan. But that plan is contingent on the deployment of additional UN peace-keepers.

Operating in Unity state remains dangerous and unpredictable and last week UNHCR lost six pick-up trucks to looters, who also helped themselves to barrels of fuel and spare parts for vehicles and water pumps in Yida.

The South Sudan Government has declared a state of emergency in Unity and Jonglei states. With opposition forces now controlling Bor, the Jonglei capital, a large government military contingent has moved north to Pariang, close to Yida and Ajuong Thok camps.

“As a result, we are greatly worried about any effects of the fighting on the refugees and on our ability to serve them. We remind all parties to the conflict that refugee camps must remain civilian in character,” Ms. Fleming said.

On other fronts, the UN Mission in South Sudan, UNMISS, continues to protect approximately 62,000 civilians at its bases, with humanitarian actors providing relief and support. This includes nearly 30,000 at its two Juba bases, a UN spokesperson said today.

The Mission also reports that the situation in Juba continues to be tense. In addition to protecting civilians in its bases, Mission troops are conducting day and night patrols in the capital. UNMISS notes continued instability and fighting in a number of locations, including around Bor and in areas in Unity State.

In Jonglei State, the Mission reports fighting south of Bor and sporadic gunfire in the vicinity of its compound. It also says that a number of explosions have been heard this morning southeast of the city.

In Unity State, the Mission undertook a patrol to Pariyang and observed that most villages along the road from Mayom Junction to Pariyang appeared burnt or looted. Severe food, water and shelter shortages were also reported to the Mission by local officials.

The spokesperson said that UNMISS chief Hilde Johnson, continues to meet with senior Government officials as well, as with opposition leaders, to ensure full cooperation with the Mission to enable it to implement its mandate to protect civilians.

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Photo: A family of South Sudanese civilians shelter at a UN base in Juba. UNHCR has been taking on increased responsibilities for the 57,000 civilians taking refuge in 10 UN compounds throughout the country. UNHCR/K. McKinsey

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Some 5.2 million teachers need to be hired worldwide to reach the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of achieving universal primary education by 2015, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reported today, in a study to coincide with the Day. That figure includes 1.58 million new recruits and 3.66 million to replace those leaving the profession.

“The challenge goes beyond numbers – more teachers must mean better quality learning, through appropriate training and support,” the heads of four major UN agencies and a partner organization said in a joint message for World Teachers’ Day.

“Far too often, teachers remain under-qualified and poorly paid, with low status, and excluded from education policy matters and decisions that concern and affect them,” the officials added, calling for effective international action in support of national efforts to bolster teachers and education institutions, and improve education opportunities.

The joint message was issued by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova; UN International Labour Organization (ILO) Director-General, Guy Ryder; UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator, Helen Clark; UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director, Anthony Lake; and Fred van Leeuwen, the General Secretary of Education International (EI), which represents teachers’ organizations across the globe.

Fifty-seven million children of primary school age are absent from classrooms, according to UN figures. At the current rate, nearly half of those children will never enrol in school, and more than a quarter will start school late.

Many of those children who do enter school are failing to learn to read and write by the time they reach fourth grade, the officials noted.

“Learning is not possible without professional, well trained, well supported, accountable and valued teachers,” they stressed highlighting this year’s theme of World Teachers’ Day, “A call for teachers.”

According to the UNESCO study, about 58 per cent of countries currently do not have enough teachers in classrooms to achieve universal primary education, with the problems particularly bad in Sub-Saharan Africa and Arab States where by 2030, some 4.7 million teachers and 1.9 million, respectively.

This recruitment challenge was the focus of two parallel events held at UN offices the eve of World Teachers’ Day, one in Paris and another in New York, which brought together representatives of the UN, professional organizations, experts and researchers to launch a ‘Global Year of Action’ for quality education.

Addressing participants at the event hosted by UNICEF in New York and organized by EI, UN Special Envoy for Global Education, Gordon Brown, cautioned that “unless we are able to hire more teachers, we will have generations of people who are unemployed and unemployable.”

As the UN Special Envoy, Mr. Brown has been working with partners to galvanize support for the Global Education First Initiative, which Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched last September, with the aim of putting every child in school, improving the quality of learning, and fostering global citizenship. The Initiative is hosted by UNESCO.

Mr. Brown said that two big changes happened in the past one to two years which make it imperative that the international community works collectively to focus on education – countries are realizing that they will not be successful unless they invest in education, and young boys and girls are standing up to demand education.

“Education is not only the way to unlock individual opportunity. It is not only the only way to break the cycle of poverty. But it is also the way that individual nations can become prosperous,” Mr. Brown said, calling for mobilization of the private sector, faith groups, civil society, young people and others to pressure domestic governments into further prioritizing education.

Participants also heard from Vibeke Jensen, Director of the Global Education First Initiative, who spoke on behalf of UNESCO, and stressed the importance of education in the post-2015 development agenda which was the focus of the high-level General Assembly debate which wrapped up earlier this week.

The Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Kishore Singh, is due to brief the UN General Assembly on education and the post-2015 agenda “soon”, he said in his remarks in New York.

In his speech, Mr. Singh stressed the importance of education for global citizenship. He noted that it is “the fundamental right of every boy and girl as an entitlement.”

Other speakers included Susan Hopgood, President of EI, who held a Maori tokotoko stick while addressing the audience to stress that she was speaking on behalf of a collective strength of 30 million educators.

She noted that quality education is based on quality teaching, quality tools for teaching and learning, and quality teaching and learning environments. With that aim, technology is not a threat to future education, but a means by which teaching can be improved, she said.

EI had announced last week an agreement with UN and other partners, to use technology to aid student curricula and teacher training. The announcement was made in a meeting with Mr. Ban and Mr. Brown on the sidelines of the General Assembly high-level debate.

Participants also heard from Josephine Bourne, Associate Director for Education at UNICEF, who shared the UN agency’s support for the new agreement on technology.

Earlier that day, Ms. Bokova and Mr. van Leeuwen had hosted a parallel event at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Princess Firyal of Jordan, and Assistant Director-General for Education, Qian Tang, were among the participants.

World Teachers’ Day, held annually since 1994, commemorates the anniversary of the signing in 1966 of the UNESCO-ILO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers, which essentially serves as a charter of rights for teachers. The Day also celebrates the essential role of teachers in providing quality education at all levels.

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PHOTO: A teacher and student at a school in India. UNESCO/GMR Akash

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“We commemorate their sacrifice and reaffirm our commitment to the life-saving work that humanitarians carry out around the world, every day, often in difficult and dangerous circumstances where others cannot or do not want to go,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the memorial participants ahead of a minute of silence for the 22 people killed in Iraq on 19 August 2003, as well as the 30 other UN colleagues killed in the past 10 months.

“Our blue flag may be tattered at times. Already this year, more of our colleagues have been killed than in all of 2012,” Mr. Ban said, adding that the most meaningful tribute to the spirit of those killed is to carry on their work.

Earlier in the morning, Mr. Ban met with some families and friends of the UN colleagues and partners killed in Baghdad in 2003, including Special Representative Sergio Vieira de Mello, at a wreath laying ceremony in New York.

In Mr. de Mello’s home country of Brazil, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos participated in a series of events to mark the senior UN official’s legacy.

“Today is a day of mixed emotions for everyone involved in humanitarian work,” Ms. Amos said. “We remember those we lost in Baghdad, and we remember all aid workers who have lost their lives. But in their memory, we also celebrate the humanitarian spirit.”

To harness the worldwide expression of goodwill, the World Humanitarian Day campaign this year launched ‘The World Needs More ___’ campaign that seeks to turn people’s words into real support for communities affected by humanitarian crises.

‘The World Needs More__’ campaign enables leading international brands to sponsor a word they believe the world could use more of. Between 19 August and 24 September, people can “unlock” money pledged by these brands by sharing the sponsored words through social media, SMS or through the campaign website worldhumanitarianday.org.

Every time a sponsored word is shared, $1 will be unlocked and go towards aid efforts in the world’s most underfunded humanitarian crises. The campaign is a collaborative effort between the UN Foundation, the UN Development Program (UNDP), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA), and advertising agency Leo Burnett New York.

Senior officials and celebrities are taking place in the campaign. Mr. Ban chose the word “teamwork” noting that “in a time of global challenges, people and countries need to work together in common cause for peace, justice, dignity and development.”

Ms. Amos said, “It is clear that the world needs more #Humanity.” She added that as humanitarian needs grow, if the UN and its partners are to meet those rising needs, it must keep engaging with new partners and supporters. “This campaign is a chance to do that.”

In a video interview launched for the campaign, singer Beyoncé, who last year filmed a World Humanitarian Day video in the General Assembly Hall, elaborated on what the Day means to her. She said the world needs more empowered men and women and so will be championing #TheWorldNeedsMore #Strength.

The UN and its partners are holding World Humanitarian Day events in more than 50 cities around the world.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) honoured today the seven colleagues killed in the past year in Afghanistan, Rwanda, South Sudan and Sudan.

“As we aim for a world free from hunger and poverty, we must support and enable the challenging work of those who spend their lives striving to make this goal a reality,” said WFP Executive Director, Ertharin Cousin, in a statement for the Day. “This means recognizing and respecting the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. It means allowing and facilitating safe passage for staff trying to reach the most vulnerable communities.”

In Myanmar, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Ashok Nigam called on the people of the country to celebrate the “inspirational spirit” that is humanitarian work while also remembering the aid workers who lost their lives in the line of duty.

“Of particular concern to me on this World Humanitarian Day is the arbitrary arrest and detention of four Myanmar humanitarian workers employed by international non-government organizations who have now been in custody for over a year in connection with the inter-communal events in Rakhine State,” said Mr. Nigam. “The freedom of these four humanitarian workers is long overdue.”

In South Sudan, which has one of the largest aid operations in the world, Humanitarian Coordinator Toby Lanzer said the spirit and courage of aid workers in the field is an inspiration to him.

“Aid workers must be allowed to carry out their work for the benefit of communities unhindered and in safety,” he said, adding that his word in the humanitarian campaign is ‘solidarity’.

In Bangkok, Thailand, the UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and partners are hosting the regional launch of “The World Needs More #______” campaign featuring dance performances, brief statements by local humanitarian workers and humanitarian journalists, and a concert by the Thailand-based rockabilly group, Trix ‘O’ Treat.

From Nepal, the athlete Gyanlal Maharjan is riding his bicycle from China to New Zealand as he says “The World Needs More #Peace”. Gyanlal is sponsored by the Nepal Olympic Committee, the Nepal Cyclist Association and National Sports Council.

In Kobe, Japan, a new smartphone app developed by the Bikers Emergency Response Team (BERT) to locate disaster survivors on a Google map is being launched.

In Bangladesh, OCHA and Islamic Relief are co-hosting WHD sporting events in the districts of Satkhira and Sylhet, while in the Philippines, a series of events will be held in Manila and Mindanao, including an exhibition hosted in the lobby of the RCBC building in Manila. Events (co-)hosted by national authorities will also be held in Australia, Fiji, and Sri Lanka, among others.

To hear what some aid workers from around the world think the world needs more of, click here.

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The children – 69 boys and 13 girls between the ages of 8 and 17 – had reportedly been recruited during the past six months by elements of Mayi Mayi Bakata Katanga, according to a news release issued by the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in DRC (MONUSCO).

They were identified and separated through concerted efforts by child protection agencies working together in Kibwela, Moba Territory, and Kayumba, Manono Territory – all in Katanga province. About half of the children were immediately reunited with their families, while the others are receiving interim care pending reunification.

“We are extremely concerned by continued reports of active recruitment by Mayi Mayi Bakata Katanga and other armed groups in eastern DRC,” said Martin Kobler, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of MONUSCO.

“Children face unacceptable risks when they are recruited for military purposes,” he noted. “The recruitment of children, particularly those under 15 years of age, could constitute a war crime and those responsible must be held to account.”

The mission stated that, since the beginning of the year, 163 children have been separated from Mayi Mayi Bakata Katanga by MONUSCO and child protection partners.

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Photo: MONUSCO/Myriam Asmani

Original news release >

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MSF said it had taken 11 months to procure affordable drugs to vaccinate children against pneumonia in Yida refugee camp in South Sudan due to bureaucratic and legal red tape.

It said it had obtained the vaccine from pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline to start vaccinating children in Yida camp and this should lead to a substantial cut in the number of deaths.

Sudanese refugees began streaming across the border into South Sudan in June 2011, fleeing conflict between the Khartoum government and rebels in South Kordofan.

Large numbers of children died in MSF’s hospital in the camp last year. Respiratory tract infections, such as pneumonia, were one of the main causes of death.

“The situation in Yida last year was excruciating, with children dying of diseases that vaccines could have protected them against,” Audrey Landmann, MSF project coordinator in Yida at the time, said in a statement.

Children in refugee camps are highly vulnerable to disease as they are often malnourished and living in overcrowded conditions with inadequate shelter, clean water or sanitation facilities.

The pneumococcal vaccine is a new vaccine, first introduced by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI Alliance) to Kenya in 2011. Pneumococcal disease, which can cause pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis, kills more than half a million people a year, half of them children under five.

BLIND SPOT

GAVI, set up in 2000, uses private and government donor backing to negotiate down vaccine prices for the developing world and then bulk-buy and deliver them to some of the world’s poorest countries.

It has made major strides in rolling out new vaccines in poor countries at affordable prices – but it does not cover vaccination in refugee and crisis-affected populations.

Pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and GSK sell their new vaccines to GAVI at a discount but do not offer the same prices to medical charities like MSF.

MSF paid GSK $7 per dose for the vaccine, compared with the $3.40 a dose GAVI pays as a result of signing a 10-year deal with Pfizer and GSK to buy millions of doses of their patented pneumonia vaccine.

Three doses are needed per child.

“Why do we keep hearing the players in the global vaccination community tell us these kids aren’t their problem?” said Kate Elder, Vaccines Policy Advisor at MSF’s Access Campaign.

“We should be making every effort for refugee children to benefit from the newest vaccines, instead of letting them languish in the global community’s blind spot.”

FRUSTRATED

At the heart of the dispute is a difference in philosophy between GAVI’s development-oriented approach and MSF’s humanitarian creed.

GAVI is focused on building up governmental vaccination programs. It funds and supports governments to develop the health systems, staff and expertise needed to immunize their children over the long term.

The governments also pay a percentage of the price of the vaccines with a view to taking on the cost themselves in future.

“The whole idea is to build up their immunization system so that they can eventually do it themselves,” said a GAVI spokesman. “We don’t just parachute in when we feel like it and start immunizing kids.”

In contrast, MSF works in some of the world’s toughest humanitarian disaster zones where there is often no government presence at all.

In South Sudan, the fledgling two-year-old government is not yet providing the pneumococcal vaccine to its own children.

In April, MSF launched a ‘Dear GAVI’ campaign on the issue of accessing low-cost vaccines for refugees and crisis-affected populations.

It said it had been “frustrated by bilateral discussions, which have been ongoing for a few years now” and that it anticipated that it “will also be a challenge” to obtain other new vaccines, like rotavirus, at the prices GAVI pays.

MSF said it was looking for a sustainable solution to the problem so that it could act swiftly in future crises.

The GAVI spokesman said GAVI did allow non-governmental organizations to deliver vaccines in some countries, such as Afghanistan, where the state is weak or does not control the entire country.

“We are discussing some flexibility on how we support fragile states,” he said.

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by Katy Migiro (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

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“Your generation is the largest the world has ever known,” Mr. Ban told young people taking part in the Global Interactive Dialogue on UN Youth Initiatives. “The tools at your disposal for communicating and acting are unprecedented. But so are the challenges – from growing inequalities and shrinking opportunities, to the threats of climate change and environmental degradation.”

Mr. Ban’s Five-Year Action Plan has as one of its priorities working for and with young people. As part of this commitment, Mr. Ban appointed his first ever Envoy on Youth, Ahmad Alhendawi, earlier this year.

I am fully committed to working with youth and exploring how you can contribute more to creating a sustainable, equitable future of opportunity and dignity for all.

“Mr. Ahmad Alhendawi is working with different UN entities, governments, civil society, academia and the media to empower youth within and outside the UN system,” Mr. Ban said, adding that Mr. Alhendawi’s website, launched today, will also serve as an Online Platform for Youth, through which young people can voice their concerns to the UN.

“I am fully committed to working with youth and exploring how you can contribute more to creating a sustainable, equitable future of opportunity and dignity for all,” Mr. Ban said.

He added that Mr. Alhendawi is working with the UN Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development to bring all parts of the UN together under an action plan for youth.

The plan, which is partly based on the My World survey carried out among thousands of youth from around the world earlier this year, focuses on five thematic areas: employment and entrepreneurship; political inclusion; civic engagement and protection of rights; education, including comprehensive sexual education; and health.

Other initiatives include UN youth volunteer programmes and forums where youth can engage with the UN at the national, regional and global levels.

The interactive dialogue also features the Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Babatunde Osotimehin; the Acting Head of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), Lakshmi Puri; the Special Representative of the International Labour Organization (ILO) on Youth and Social Inclusion, Charles Dan; and the Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director for Arab States of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Sima Bahous.

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She then asks them to draw their imaginary trees on black sheets of paper. All of the participants – Syrian volunteer teachers, men and women, old and young – set about this task with great enthusiasm using the colored pens on their tables.

As the many drawings are posted on the walls, a colorful forest emerges, made up of trees of all shapes and sizes – a hopeful forest created in the imagination of a group of teachers who have been living in very difficult conditions for a very long time.

Motivation renewed

The scene is from a recent training session for Syrian teachers held in Iskenderun, a district of Hatay province, as part of a UNICEF–European Union project to support Syrian children living in Turkey.

Participants, who come from the region’s camps for Syrian refugees, took a break from their daily routines to learn how to work better with children who have gone through the multiple traumas of conflict, violence and displacement.

“We are happy to be perceived as partners to the solution, rather than as just needy people,” said Belkis, 28, a volunteer preschool teacher who lives with her family in Yayladagi 1 camp.

“Quite honestly, our motivation had almost run out,” she said. “This training has lifted our spirits, and we are motivated again.”

Zeynep Turkmen Sandavuc, a social worker and the facilitator of the training session, offers a striking description of the importance of teacher training. “When we board an aircraft, we are told that, in case of loss of cabin pressure, we need to put our own oxygen masks on first before helping children with theirs. This is because you can only help others if you survive, yourself. The situation which our teachers are in now is similar to this. Their motivation must be kept high in this crisis environment, so that they can help the children who are in need.”

Saving the future

There are approximately 1,500 Syrian teachers working in Turkey’s camps for Syrian refugees. Some left their country two years ago; others have been here for just a few months. All of them say the same thing: No matter how difficult the situation we are in, teaching and helping children keeps us on our feet.

Addressing participants, UNICEF Turkey Representative Ayman Abu-Laban highlighted the importance of their work. “When you are teaching these children, you are not only providing them with something as important as food and shelter, you are also helping to save the future of your country.”

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By Tulay Guler / UNICEF

PHOTO:
© UNICEF Turkey/2013

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This year’s day is especially poignant as the great champion for children battles illness in his native South Africa.

Mr. Mandela established the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund in 1995 and, in 1999, after stepping down as South Africa’s first black president, he established the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

In 2001, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, along with his wife, humanitarian Graça Machel, helped to launch the Say Yes for Children campaign, an unprecedented movement to improve and protect the lives of children.

The campaign was the first major initiative of the Global Movement for Children, a coalition of some of the world’s largest child rights organizations in a unique partnership to raise awareness about issues affecting children.

The campaign gathered more than 94 million signatures, which were presented at the United Nations Special Session on Children in 2002. At the session, Mr. Mandela urged world leaders to do more to give children health care and education.

In 2004, UNICEF and the Nelson Mandela Foundation started Schools for Africa, a campaign to promote education, especially for girls, orphans and those living in extreme poverty.

“Any country, any society which does not care for its children is no nation at all,” he said.

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“When I started TOMS, I knew nothing about shoes.  I knew nothing about giving.  But I knew I needed to help,” reflected Mycoskie.  “Over the past seven years, TOMS has grown faster than I ever imagined – and while we learned to give by giving, we weren’t doing it as well as we could have.  But we’ve listened to our Giving Partners, our customers, our employees, and our critics – and are now doing more than ever to give in a responsible, sustainable way.  We’ve entered a new era of giving, and in a way for us it’s like it’s One for One 2.0.”

TOMS expects its Giving Partners to hand-place another 10 million pairs on children in need in the next 24 months.  As part of this accomplishment, some of the most notable developments in the company’s Giving efforts are:

• TOMS has made major investments in its Giving model and operations.

The company brought on a Chief Giving Officer, Sebastian Fries, and has built a team of more than 20 individuals dedicated to every aspect of its giving operations, including strategic planning, logistical support, program development and impact measurement. The TOMS Giving team is comprised of individuals with significant experience in public health and at non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

As part of this evolution, humanitarian organizations are a now a cornerstone of the overall Giving strategy.  TOMS works with more than 75 Giving Partners to integrate new shoes into their larger development goals.  The company has also made improvements to the canvas shoes it gives and has also developed new giving pairs tailored for local needs, including winter boots and sport shoes.

• TOMS is producing new Giving shoes in the regions in which it gives. The company currently makes its Giving pairs in Ethiopia, Kenya, Argentina and China. Within two years, its will produce one-third of its Giving shoes in the regions where it gives. By producing more shoes locally, TOMS will create and support jobs in places where they are needed. The company is testing production in India and is also looking to expand manufacturing in Africa and other regions.

In Haiti, TOMS is in the early stages of local shoe production.  It has also partnered with local artists to create a line of hand-painted shoes, creating and supporting jobs in communities in which it gives.  The company will soon be offering more styles of shoes that feature locally produced textiles.

• TOMS has commissioned and/or funded several research initiatives to better understand the impact of its shoe-giving program.

The core objective is for the company to learn from its impact assessments and improve its giving programs on the ground.  Key positive impacts TOMS is investigating in El Salvador, Zanzibar, Malawi and Ethiopia are shoes’ direct affect on a child’s health; ability to access education; and overall well-being.  In addition to understanding shoes’ direct impact, TOMS is investigating how integrating shoe giving into its Giving Partners’ ongoing programs can enhance their programs’ efficacy.  TOMS is also investigating how its shoe-giving’s programs may affect the local economy to ensure responsible giving.

In Ethiopia, TOMS’ work in the field has also inspired the company to make significant contributions to helping end podoconiosis, a painful and stigmatizing form of elephantiasis that afflicts millions of people who live and work barefoot in silica-rich volcanic soil.  TOMS gives new shoes to children to prevent the next generation from getting the disease, and has invested in research, mapping, expansion of treatment programs and clinics, community education, patient rehabilitation and advocacy.

• Through its product partnerships, TOMS has provided financial support to other organizations that also give to people in need.

Above and beyond the new shoes that TOMS gives and the eyesight it helps save and restore, its product partnerships enable the company to give even more. Some of the non-profits that have been funded through these collaborations include Ben Affleck’s Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI), Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP), Save the Waves, charity:water and Movember, among others.

The company’s Chief Giving Officer Fries adds, “We’re seeing remarkable results with our Giving Partners’ shoe giving and sight giving programs, but there’s still much to do.  New shoes are helping improve school attendance and enrollment.
 They’re combined with screenings to combat malnutrition. They’re given in conjunction with
 medication to fight hookworm.  And our sight giving empowers communities and supports sustainable eye-care organizations in the developing world. We work with locally based organizations that train residents to provide professional care. So we’re making an investment in clinics, people and even local jobs.”

About TOMS:

In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in a village in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One.®

Five years later, TOMS realized this movement could serve other basic needs and launched TOMS Eyewear. With every pair purchased, TOMS will help give sight to a person in need. One for One.® As more everyday choices have the power to impact the lives of those around the world, the TOMS movement will continue to grow and evolve.

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Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, is a TOMS giving partner. See related article.

PHOTO from a TOMS giving trip to a Salesian school in Guatemala earlier this year.

The post PARTNER NEWS: TOMS Announces It Has Given 10 Million Pairs of New Shoes To Children in Need, Has Helped Restore Sight for 150,000 People Around the World first appeared on MissionNewswire.

“There are now more than 45 million refugees and internally displaced people – the highest level in nearly 20 years. Last year alone, someone was forced to abandon their home every four seconds,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for World Refugee Day, observed annually on 20 June.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released yesterday its Global Trends report, which showed that at the end of 2012, more than 45.2 million people were in situations of displacement, compared to 42.5 million at the end of 2011. The report also pointed to the conflict in Syria as a major factor for the spike in displacement and noted that nearly half of all refugees are below the age of 18.

Yet, Mr. Ban stressed that figures give “only a glimpse of this enormous human tragedy.” Indeed, he said, every day, conflict tears apart the lives of thousands of families. “They may be forced to leave loved ones behind or become separated in the chaos of war.”

The UN chief noted that forced displacement affects not just those fleeing conflict but also has a significant economic, social and sometime political impact on host countries. Currently 81 per cent of the world’s refugees are hosted by developing countries and more than half of refugees come from just five war-affected countries: Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Syria and Sudan.

“Finding durable solutions for the displaced will require more solidarity and burden-sharing by the international community,” Mr. Ban said. “On World Refugee Day, I call on the international community to intensify efforts to prevent and resolve conflicts, and to help achieve peace and security so that families can be reunited and refugees can return home.”

World Refugee Day was established by the UN General Assembly in late 2000 and this year focuses on families.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres drew special attention to the situation faced by families in Syria, where some 1.6 million people have been displaced since the crisis started over two years ago.

“In all the years I have worked on behalf of refugees, this is the most worrying I have ever witnessed. The needs of these people are overwhelming; their anguish is unbearable,” said Mr. Guterres, who is currently in Jordan with UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie meeting with Syrian refugees.

Mr. Guterres said he feared “that an entire nation is being left to self-destruct as it empties itself of its people,” and was worried that “with no clear political resolution in sight, this civil war is in real danger of sliding into a regional conflict.”

For her part, Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), stressed that the international community has a responsibility to advocate on behalf of displaced people everywhere, and added that the situation in Syria is particularly worrying due to its scale.

“Every woman, man and child who has left behind homes, family, jobs, education and lives in search of security and safety deserve our attention and, most importantly, our assistance,” she said.

“For over two years, the world has witnessed millions of Syrians fleeing their homes, escaping from violence in search of a safe haven […] The needs of conflict-affected Syrians are huge, almost too big to comprehend,” she said, adding that WFP hopes to reach 7 million displaced persons inside and outside Syria.

To mark the Day, UNHCR has organized events across the world in conjunction with its partners. These include film screenings, panel discussions, food bazaars, light shows, cultural performances, concerts and sport contests, among other events.

In Australia, UNHCR’s office announced the 12 winners of its World Refugee Day Art Contest, which asked participants to examine the theme “1 Family torn apart by war is too many.” In Japan, student designers held a fashion show of UN blue-themed costumes from 20 refugee-producing and hosting countries, and in the Republic of Korea, a “Friends of UNHCR” initiative kicked off with about 20 parliamentarians committed to working together for refugee protection.

Refugee film festivals also opened in Hong Kong and Thailand to give the public a glimpse into the lives and experiences of refugees. In the Philippines, pedicab drivers – many of them refugees – wore World Refugee Day T-shirts to raise awareness of displacement issues in the region.

In Syria, UNHCR and its partners are organizing arts, sports and social activities for refugees and host communities in areas like Damascus, Aleppo and Homs. In neighboring Iraq, Syrian refugees in and around the northern city of Erbil were set to perform traditional Kurdish songs for an audience at the famous Citadel while refugees in the southern city of Basra will be treated to mobile theatre.

African countries also took part in the Day’s commemoration. In Kenya, UNHCR hosted the African premiere of “A Hijacking,” a film about piracy off the coast of Somalia that reflects how a lack of alternatives can drive displaced youth to take drastic measures. In Tanzania, a photo exhibition showcases the works of Congolese refugees and local children.

In addition, United States-based refugee marathon runner Guor Marial is leading a five kilometre run in his native South Sudan, where he recently returned with the help of UNHCR after 20 years.

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Photo: UNHCR / J. Seregni

See Salesian Missions’ special report for 2013 World Refugee Day >

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Concentrating on the abilities and potential of children with disabilities would create benefits for society as a whole, says the report released today.

“When you see the disability before the child, it is not only wrong for the child, but it deprives society of all that child has to offer,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “Their loss is society’s loss; their gain is society’s gain.”

The report lays out how societies can include children with disabilities because when they play a full part in society, everyone benefits. For instance, inclusive education broadens the horizons of all children even as it presents opportunities for children with disabilities to fulfill their ambitions.

More efforts to support integration of children with disabilities would help tackle the discrimination that pushes them further into the margins of society.

For many children with disabilities, exclusion begins in the first days of life with their birth going unregistered. Lacking official recognition, they are cut off from the social services and legal protections that are crucial to their survival and prospects. Their marginalization only increases with discrimination.

“For children with disabilities to count, they must be counted – at birth, at school and in life,” said Mr. Lake.

The State of the World’s Children 2013: Children with Disabilities says that children with disabilities are the least likely to receive health care or go to school. They are among the most vulnerable to violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect, particularly if they are hidden or put in institutions – as many are because of social stigma or the economic cost of raising them.

The combined result is that children with disabilities are among the most marginalized people in the world. Children living in poverty are among the least likely to attend their local school or clinic but those who live in poverty and also have a disability are even less likely to do so.

Gender is a key factor, as girls with disabilities are less likely than boys to receive food and care.

“Discrimination on the grounds of disability is a form of oppression,” the report says, noting that multiple deprivations lead to even greater exclusion for many children with disabilities.

IThere is little accurate data on the number of children with disabilities, what disabilities these children have and how disabilities affect their lives. As a result, few governments have a dependable guide for allocating resources to support and assist children with disabilities and their families.

About one third of the world’s countries have so far failed to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The report urges all governments to keep their promises to guarantee the equal rights of all their citizens – including their most excluded and vulnerable children.

Progress is being made toward the inclusion of children with disabilities, albeit unevenly, and The State of the World’s Children 2013 sets out an agenda for further action.

The report urges governments to ratify and implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to support families so that they can meet the higher costs of caring for children with disabilities.

It calls for measures to fight discrimination among the general public, decision-makers and providers of such essential services as schooling and health care.

International agencies should make sure the advice and assistance they provide to countries is consistent with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. They should promote a concerted global research agenda on disability to generate data and analysis that will guide planning and resource allocation, the report says.

It emphasizes the importance of involving children and adolescents with disabilities by consulting them on the design and evaluation of programmes and services for them.

And everyone benefits when inclusive approaches include accessibility and universal design of environments to be used by all to the greatest extent possible without the need for adaptation.

“The path ahead is challenging,” said Mr. Lake in Da Nang, Viet Nam, for the launch of the report. “But children do not accept unnecessary limits. Neither should we.”

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To read The State of the World’s Children 2013: Children with Disabilities and see additional multimedia material, please visit: http://weshare.unicef.org/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&PSID=2AM4GJKZZUU&IT=Thumb_Grid_M_Details_NoToolTip

For broadcasters, b-roll and other video material on children with disabilities is available at: http://weshare.unicef.org/SOWC2013Media

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in more than 190 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org

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PHOTO: REUTERS/Finbarr O’Reilly

The post UNICEF: See the Child Before the Disability first appeared on MissionNewswire.

“I appreciate this opportunity to discuss the overarching global challenge of sustainable development – and how we can bring all partners together to advance this cause,”Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his remarks at the UN Headquarters in New York entitled ‘Partnering for Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Development.’

The special ECOSOC event is organized by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Office for Partnerships, the UN Global Compact and the Global Partnerships Forum.

The event brought together these bodies as well as Member States, the private sector, foundations and civil society to boost efforts towards reaching the MDGs by the target deadline and to promote thinking on the post-2015 sustainable development agenda.

“Technological learning and innovation capacity is critical to enable the provision of essential amenities to all and is therefore fundamental to ensuring overall sustainable development,” Néstor Osorio, president of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) said in his opening remarks.

“The absence of such capabilities results in limitations to application of existing technologies in all sectors, including those of public importance such as health, education, agriculture and climate change, to name but a few,” Mr. Osorio continued.

He noted that the messages emerging in today’s meeting dovetail with the key outcomes of yesterday’s ECOSOC Development Cooperation Forum special policy dialogue on private philanthropic foundations in the post-2015 setting.

“To achieve robust development results in future, a renewed global partnership for development must embrace diversity and recognize the roles of all stakeholders, including those of philanthropic organizations,” Mr. Osorio said to that group.

Today’s event features policy dialogues held in the morning and “partnerships clinics” in the afternoon focusing on potential solutions to development challenges facing Africa, as well as a keynote address from Mo Ibrahim, Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation which awards a prize for good governance and leadership in Africa.

Given the importance of partnerships in the UN’s work, Mr. Ban announced today that he will propose the creation of a new UN Partnership Facility “to capture the full potential for partnership.”

“The Facility would help us deliver at scale – globally and at country level– across the range of UN mandates, goals and values,” Mr. Ban said. He added that the UN agencies, funds, programs and departments would continue to conduct the majority of related activities, but the Facility would strategically and systematically fill in any gaps, as well as build and strengthen partnership services.

The recommendations from today’s events will be presented to ECOSOC’s high-level ministerial meeting in July.

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Photo: ECOSOC discusses ‘Partnering for Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Development.’ UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

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(AlertNet) – About a quarter of Somalia’s population still need aid to keep them from starvation and rebuild their livelihoods, even though much of the country has been stabilized by a campaign to drive back Islamist militants, the United Nations said on Thursday.

A United Nations report said around 260,000 people, half of them children, had died between 2010 and 2012 in a famine that had been exacerbated and kept out of view by the al Shabaab group, who at the time controlled large swathes of Somalia.

The militants have since been pushed back, mainly by African peacekeeping troops, although parts of the countryside remain under al Shabaab’s control or influence.

Somalia has been making a slow recovery and a new federal government is now in place in Mogadishu, but diplomats say the gains are fragile. Militants still stage attacks and aid workers say many Somalis still live a hand-to-mouth existence.

As well as bemoaning the restrictions that al Shabaab had placed on relief efforts in 2010-12, the United Nations said it had learned lessons from the famine that should ensure better help for the 2.7 million Somalis still reliant on outside help.

“Warnings that began as far back as the drought in 2010 did not trigger sufficient early action,” U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement.

“In the worst-affected areas, access to people in need was tremendously difficult,” he said, explaining in a news conference relayed from Mogadishu that famine-affected areas in south and central Somalia had been under al Shabaab control.

“We have been working with our partners to change the way we operate,” he said, adding that this involved better coordination between agencies providing health services, clean water and other support to improve resilience against future disasters.

Restoring order and rebuilding the economy are seen as vital to preventing a return to the war and anarchy of the past two decades that made Somalia a base for piracy in the Indian Ocean and a regional launchpad for Islamist militants.

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Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Kevin Liffey – Reuters / Trust.org

UN PHOTO/Stuart Price

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She wipes Sendy’s knees after every fall and takes breaks from gardening to cuddle her and look into her bright eyes, relishing every opportunity to dote over her.

Sendy was severely malnourished as an infant. She had not crawled or walked at nearly 2 years old. The girl was so stunted that her mother feared she would lose her. “Her little body was so skinny, you could thread her through a needle,” says Ms. Firdemont.

Malnutrition a serious problem

In Haiti, 22 percent of children aged 6 to 59 months experience chronic malnutrition.

The rate of underweight is significantly higher in Haiti’s poorest areas – such as Palmis, the rural village outside of the southern city of Jeremie where Ms. Firdemont and Sendy live.

In rural, isolated areas, families have often not been taught about nutrition, and base their eating on cultural practice.  “I’ve seen people sell or trade their eggs for cheese doodles because they think imported foods must be healthier,” says Casimir Alfred, Program Coordinator from UNICEF’s partner on the ground Haitian Health Foundation.

In addition, the majority of families struggle not only to afford to buy foods that can supplement their diets, but also to access them. They might walk hours to local farmer’s markets, only to find a monotonous selection of foods.

“There are no tomatoes, cabbage, spinach…[T]heir bodies don’t get the necessary nutrients like vitamin A, iron and iodine, which had led to a high rate of malnutrition in these communities, compared to the country on the whole,” says Mr. Alfred.

Mighty Baby tackles malnutrition

One of the ways UNICEF is tackling this health challenge is through nutritional interventions, such as community meetings that provide information on what foods families can plant in their gardens and eat to help balance their diets.  An important part of this initiative, carried out in partnership with Haitian Health Foundation, is the distribution of a multiple micronutrient powder known locally as Bebe Vanyan (Mighty Baby). Using this powder can increase children’s chances of survival, especially during the first two years of life.

Chief of Child Survival and Development for UNICEF in Haiti Mohamed Ayoya explains, “One packet of the vitamin powder provides a daily allowance of the necessary vitamins and nutrients young children need during the critical months of their development.” The cost of a one-month supply of the supplement is under $1 US.

UNICEF, Haitian Health Foundation and the Haitian Ministry of Public Health and Population are working together so that the initiative can become a national program to ensure that all Haitian children under 5 get the nutritional elements they need.

The initiative has been widely successful, but Belo Fado, one of the 51 health agents working in this area, says that challenges do exist. “It’s difficult to cover everyone,” he says. “We try to prioritize and give it to children with worst cases of malnutrition first.”

More than 600,000 packs of Bebe Vanyan have been distributed to over 6,900 children since the programme’s inception in May 2012.  Families have had remarkable results overcoming and preventing the symptoms of malnutrition in their children – so much so that, as Mr. Fado makes his rounds through the community, a refrain echoes from mothers standing in the doorways of the small mud houses: “Good day, Mr. Health Agent! When will you come with more Mighty Baby powder?”

“She’s solid”

When Ms. Firdemont started using the powder, sprinkling it in Sendy’s food and drink, she saw an immediate improvement in both her appetite and development. “I put it in her food,” she says. “Bingo! Ate it right up. In her juice, same thing.”

After five months on the supplement, Sendy finally began to walk.

Some, like Ms. Firdemont, treat Mr. Fado like family, inviting him into her home to see how her daughter has grown and developed since his last visit.

“I’m so grateful for the mothers’ group meetings, because it’s where I received the vitamin powder,” she says. “Thanks to what I learned there, I make sure my daughter eats a balanced diet and gets all the nutrients she needs.

“She’s all right now,” she adds. “She’s solid.”

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See this Article at its original location >

Article by Michelle Marrion

Photo: © UNICEF Video

The post UNICEF: Severely Malnourished Children in Haiti Thrive, with Simple, Affordable Remedies first appeared on MissionNewswire.

At least half the country’s schools are still closed, one month after the Seleka rebel coalition marched to the capital Bangui and seized power, the agency said.

The schools are not reopening because teachers who fled conflict-hit areas have yet to return home, and many schools have been looted of even the most basic supplies. Continued insecurity is stopping children and teachers from going back to class, and preventing emergency distributions to schools for fear of further pillaging, UNICEF said.

“The new government must prioritize protection of, and investment in, the country’s education system, to respect and fulfill children’s basic right to education and to provide this generation of children with hope for a healthy future,” Souleymane Diabate, UNICEF representative in Central African Republic (CAR), said in a statement.

Aid agencies say that the entire population – more than 4.6 million people, around half of them children – is affected, directed or indirectly, by the political violence. In the northeast, they estimate that 1.2 million people have had no basic essential services for four months.

The Seleka group seized power after the collapse of a January peace deal signed after a previous rebel advance to the gates of the capital in December. The security situation in Bangui has been volatile since the March 24 coup, as rebel fighters have repeatedly clashed with youths loyal to the ex-president. Looting continues, and aid work is hampered by the risk of violence.

The European Union has said it will not restore its more than $200 million aid programme until the country re-establishes the rule of law.

BABIES KILLED IN CHURCH

Last week, UNICEF said more and more children were being killed and injured, noting rocket and grenade attacks on a football field and a church that killed three babies and led to leg amputations for three children and emergency surgery for others.

“We are seeing a country quickly sliding down into a spiral of chaos with more children’s lives endangered,” Diabate warned, calling on the authorities to investigate incidents involving innocent civilians.

Many children have been hit by stray bullets, others have been recruited into armed groups, UNICEF said. There has also been a documented increase in cases of sexual violence, it said.

CAR’s education system was weak even before the latest bout of violence, UNICEF said. The literacy rate is only 27 percent for young women and 51 percent for young men. Nearly two thirds of teachers are unqualified parents who have volunteered to do the job.

There are 746,000 children of primary school age in CAR, 67 percent of whom were attending school before the crisis. At least 250,000 primary pupils and 30,000 secondary-school students now risk losing the entire school year if schools do not reopen in the coming weeks, UNICEF warned. There is still a small chance state exams can take place in June but catch-up classes will be required, it added.

UNICEF said it hoped to provide safe spaces for children to learn and play as areas became accessible and was identifying places that can be prioritized for resuming education activities.

“During conflict, schools can not only protect children, but they also provide children with a sense of normalcy which helps them recover from the trauma of violence and loss,” the agency said.

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See this article in its original location >

Article by Megan Rowling

Photo: Fighters for the Seleka rebel alliance guard the presidential palace in Bangui, Central African Republic, March 25, 2013. REUTERS/Alain Amontchi

The post ALERTNET: Central African Republic Crisis leaves 1 Million Children Out of School first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Ngim and her neighbor Roeun Heourn sit on a large wood-slatted bed in the shade beneath her home, chatting and laughing, chopping ingredients with Ngim’s aunt for their babies’ morning meal. They are making Bobor Khab Krub Kroeung, a thick rice porridge made with vegetables and oil and meat, fish or eggs.

Risk of malnutrition

A 2010 survey showed that only 24 percent of Cambodian children aged between 6 and 23 months are appropriately fed. Without enough food, and without a variety of complementary foods with the right micronutrients, children are at risk of malnutrition, which can have a permanent impact on their physical and cognitive development.

More than one quarter of Cambodian children under 5 years old are underweight, and four out of every 10 are short for their age.

Promoting complementary feeding

In April 2012, UNICEF, with funding from the United States Agency for International Development and in partnership with the Royal Government of Cambodia Ministry of Health, National Center for Health Promotion, the National Nutrition Program, the World Health Organization, the Reproductive and Child Health Alliance and Helen Keller International, launched a communication campaign to promote complementary feeding in Cambodia to change the way caregivers feed their children in order to improve child nutrition.

The campaign’s main objective is for caregivers to cook Bobor Khab Krub Kroeung for children aged between 6 and 24 months and ensure that they provide this food hygienically, with appropriate frequency and in the right quantity, while interacting with their babies during feeding.

Putting message into practice

Ngim and Heourn and their babies have benefitted from the campaign. Both women breastfeed their children and complement the breast milk with the porridge. Heourn says she makes the porridge for her baby every day, but Ngim admits that, sometimes, when she’s very busy, she may miss a day of making it for 13-month-old Chanreah. “Occasionally, when my mother is away, [Chanreah] gets rice and water – but he looks unhappy and he doesn’t like it.”

As water boils for rice on a clay stove in the open air, Ngim talks about how she first learned about Bobor Khab Krub Kroeung. “I heard about it from my mother, who is a health volunteer. She took me to see the food cooking demonstration at the [Buddhist temple].”

Heourn, who is mashing pre-boiled pumpkin to add to the pot, says she also saw the food demonstrations and heard about Bobor Khab Krub Kroeung on television and radio. ”The radio [messages] explained that it can make children strong, healthy and clever, and build the body to protect it from being sick. It is different to the porridge we used to give babies with just rice, water and salt. I remember from the TV that we have to give them green vegetables, yellow vegetables, meat, fish, eggs and oil, and it showed us how to cook them,” she says.

Heourn completes the cooking by folding eggs, greens and oil into the bubbling porridge. She takes another small spoon, tastes the food and nods with satisfaction. The mothers then ladle the mixture into small bowls to cool, before serving it to their babies.

Mealtime is not just about feeding. As the mothers have learned through the campaign, it is also an opportunity to talk and play with their babies. Ngim and Heourn use toy cars and rattles to make the children laugh between mouthfuls of food. “I feed him and play, and I don’t force him, but Bobor Khab Krub Kroeung has a good taste, and he likes it,” says Heourn.

Making a difference

Health volunteer Sim Sray passes by to see the mothers and their children. “Children are quite different from before,” she says. “Most used to be malnourished. Now, many are healthy…

“[W]e encourage families to start a house garden and grow vegetables to feed to their children,” she adds. “On my visits, I try to motivate the mothers to cook for their children. In the rainy season, there are many vegetables – but, when vegetables are hard to find in the dry season, I encourage them to cook together with each neighbor contributing something.”

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See this article at its original location >

Article by Denise Shepherd-Johnson

Photo: © UNICEF Cambodia/2013/Khoy

The post UNICEF: Nutrition Campaign Helps Make Cambodia’s Children Strong, Healthy and Clever first appeared on MissionNewswire.

I used to call them “disease du jour” bills. As a staffer on the U.S. Senate committee with jurisdiction over public health issues, every time a Senator’s nephew or cousin or college roommate’s daughter got a terrible diagnosis, it was my job to explain why passing a one-time bill wasn’t the answer for every disease. Washington’s attention span tends to wane after the galas end, the celebrities leave town, and the surge of early funding and enthusiasm dries up. Without unglamorous vigilance, the disease remains after the politicians and paparazzi move on to the next disease du jour. Global health was no different. After working on malaria policy for several years, I noticed the buzz starting to shift to tuberculosis. Malaria control was just so… 2006.

Surely the private sector wouldn’t be so fickle, right? I joined MosquitoZone International, a U.S.-based firm that offers malaria prevention services to companies with operations in endemic areas. How exciting to work with clients who were absolutely committed to keeping their workers and communities safe from malaria! It turns out, of course, that companies can sometimes be a lot like governments. They invest in controlling malaria and they make so much progress that pressure builds to redirect scarce resources into one of the other health and safety threats facing their workers and their bottom line. But malaria doesn’t go quietly into the night.

One of our clients started off doing everything right. They committed to eliminating malaria at a sub-Saharan African project site. They hired us to run a comprehensive vector control program and we don’t play around. Our entomologists knew every mosquito on that jobsite by name and killed it. By 2011, our client had zero new cases among non-immune expatriate workers and zero complicated cases among semi-immune local workers. They bragged about their success on the company web site. Problem solved.

Inevitably, the urgency of the need for investment in sophisticated entomology was questioned. After all, there were plenty of other problems clamoring for their health and safety resources. Unfortunately, when you stop putting experienced entomological eyeballs on surveillance data, the bugs get the upper hand. After we left, the company failed to respond to entomological data suggesting a major spike in the mosquito population that should have prompted a five-alarm investigation. The company recognized the problem, recommitted to entomological excellence and their success continues with MosquitoZone’s entomologists driving their prevention program today.

Time and again, we see the same predictable cycle in public and private sector programs all over the world. Success turns the volume down on the alarm bells that drive the investments that produced that success in the first place, and when that happens, only failure raises the alarm again. But failure isn’t just a technical abstraction about budget line-items or resistance data. Failure means babies dying, workers downed, and human productivity and potential plummeting.

When it comes to the wily mosquito, every day has to be World Malaria Day.

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This originally appeared on the Impact Blog.

Posted by Katy French, Vice President for Corporate Affairs, MosquitoZone International on Wednesday, April 24th 2013

Photo credit: USAID

The post USAID: Malaria is a Marathon, Not a 50-Yard Dash first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Sustained economic growth certainly is needed, especially after the financial crisis that pushed 400 million people back below subsistence level. But growth alone will not lift up the estimated 1.5 billion people, almost one fifth of the world’s population, who live on less than $1.25 a day, a group the UN and the World Bank are targeting to eliminate extreme poverty, Helen Clark, UNDP administrator, said in an interview.

“The silver bullet is equal rights for women and girls, and that has to figure prominently,”  said the former prime minister of New Zealand and the first woman to head the agency.

“Just headline GDP growth won’t do it. You have to target poverty, you have to target inequality. That means bringing in all the people who are excluded. Women are so often excluded, and people with disabilities, minorities in societies, people pushed to the fringes,” Clark said.

The scorecard for the Millennium Development Goals, the blueprint signed by 193 nations for tackling extreme poverty by 2015, shows that the least progress has been made on women’s issues. On Goal 3 for achieving Gender Equality, for instance, women’s equal representation in national parliaments has either stagnated or gone backward since 2000. Similarly Goal 5 on improving material health shows lowering maternal death rates has stalled in every region except eastern Africa and central Asia.

Clark called it “no surprise” that maternal mortality is furthest from reaching its goal. It reflects a failure to understand the widespread impact that holding back women from full social, economic and political engagement has on development outcomes. For example, if girls marry young, they lose out on education and are more likely to face health problems and poverty.

Take Ghana. It declared women dying in childbirth a national emergency and gave pregnant women free access to health care and free transport to maternity centres. Yet its maternal death rate remains high, significantly among 12- to 15-year-olds — girls marrying too young to bear children safely, Clark said.

Agriculture is another area where a woman-focused development approach would make a difference to poverty rates, she said. UNDP research shows that about 80 percent of the world’s agricultural workers are women. Giving women access to credit would allow them to buy fertilizers to increase crop yields, feed their families and lift 100-150 million people from hunger, the United Nations and the World Bank estimate.

Today about six out of 10 of the world’s poorest people are women and 75 percent of women globally cannot get bank loans because they have no property rights or have unpaid or insecure jobs. Yet they are more likely to pay back loans then men, and more likely to invest extra cash in their families, improving their health, education and welfare, World Bank research has shown.

These are some of the reasons why Clark wants women’s rights to have a central place in the next set of UN development goals. Gender equality, despite being built into the design of UNDP programs, is “not trendy enough”, and countries too often set targets that are not sufficiently ambitious, she said.

FRAGILE STATES

The greatest threat to the UN’s goal of ending extreme poverty is conflict and fragile states, said Clark, who has headed the UNDP agency since 2009.  Huge strides India is making to reduce poverty will bear fruit in the next decade, but millions of people who live in regions riven by ethnic, religious or resource conflict could still be left behind, she said.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim already have identified fragile states as priorities, and they recently announced a joint trip to the Great Lakes region of central Africa with the goal of focusing their resources in a coordinated way on addressing the humanitarian disaster left from five years of conflict in the mineral-rich area. The coordinated effort is intended to pave the way for the private sector to enter conflict regions quickly once they are stabilized.

Clark said UNDP’s role is to help develop governmental institutions, build justice systems and advise on social programmes. Her agency also will be pouring more resources into extractive industry governance to help communities better use the revenues they earn from oil, gas, mining and timber resources, and reduce conflict.

But she sees no quick results, and calls conflict areas one of the hardest development challenges. “It is the tough stuff, and there is no substitute for strong government leadership.”

Indeed the UNDP’s latest Human Development Report released last month identified a strong state government with a vision as one of three essential ingredients for achieving sustained development and reducing inequality that reduces the likelihood of conflict. The others were tapping into global markets, often by opening up gradually and in some instances protecting national industries as they develop; and an impressive level of public investment in infrastructure and social welfare policies.

These policy prescriptions run counter to the usual Washington advice from multilateral institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund of free market liberalisation to reduce poverty and promote growth. Clark said this advice has to change, a message that increasingly is being heard as the austerity programs in Western Europe, first seen as essential to restore growth by bringing down debt levels, are raising poverty rates and stoking social unrest.

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Article by Stella Dawson

Photo: UNDP chief Helen Clark speaks at a meeting of Resident Coordinators and Resident Representatives of the U.N. in the Middle East and North Africa, Rabat March 30, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer

The post ALERTNET: Women are Silver Bullet to Ending Extreme Poverty, Says UNDP Head first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The President’s proposal would eliminate funding for Food for Peace and Food for Progress programs. Further, it would transfer $1 billion of Title II funds to the International Disaster Assistance Account for local/regional procurement, US commodity procurement and cash transfers to local populations during emergencies and transfer about $200 million to the Development Assistance Account to support a “Community Reliance and Development Fund” that would provide assistance to chronically hungry and poor communities, but would not provide food aid. Lastly, it would create a $75 million contingency fund for emergencies and provide $25 million to a maritime-related program as a partial offset for decreased use of US-flag vessels to carry food aid cargoes.

These proposed changes amount to less funding and less flexibility than what is available in food aid today. The Alliance for Global Food Security, made up of partners from private voluntary organizations and cooperatives including Salesian Missions, believe the stakes in food aid reform are very high since the proposed reforms will affect the lives of millions of vulnerable people around the globe.

“Improvements and containing costs are necessary, but we must remember that the United States has the most comprehensive, transparent and responsive food aid system in the word,” says Ellen Levinson, executive director of the Alliance for Global Food Security.

“Once funds are shifted from Food for Peace to disaster assistance and development aid it is not possible to ensure that in the future they will continue to be used for food aid and technical assistance to help people overcome chronic hunger, the purposes stated in the President’s budget proposal,” explains Levinson. “Instead, it becomes a year-by-year process, eliminating the surety and oversight provided by the Food for Peace Act which has statutory objectives, publicly-vetted guidelines, procedures and regulations and a track record.”

The Alliance therefore recommends a three-pronged approach: maintain funding for Food for Peace and improve procurement and the approach to monetization under that program; use International Disaster Assistance funds for local and regional procurement, cash transfers and food vouchers; and fund a “Developmental Local-Regional Purchase Program” to build the capacity of small farmers and processors in food insecure areas of the developing world to improve the quality, safety and quantity of food aid for local programs. Further details are provided in a briefing paper that has been made available.

The Alliance points out that there is flexibility now to increase the amount of USAID disaster assistance funds used for local-regional procurement, cash transfers and food vouchers during food crises. Despite the difficult budget climate, the amount used for those purposes increased from $232 million in FY 2011 to $375 million in FY 2012. However, local procurement and cash distribution for food crises are not necessarily less costly than providing U.S. commodities. In FY 2012, the USAID programs cost an average of $2,836 per metric ton, compared to $1,188 per metric ton for emergency Food for Peace Title II food aid.

Moreover, the Alliance notes that the types and amounts of commodities available are typically limited in areas where food crises occur.

“Let’s not undermine a system that works and is the most visible sign of U.S. goodwill worldwide,” says Levinson. “Commodities from the United States are greatly needed since recipient countries do not produce enough food to meet their needs with an estimated 12 million metric ton shortfall across the 70 most food insecure countries.”

“Add to that poverty, poor infrastructure and recurring cycles of floods and droughts and it becomes sadly apparent why one out of every seven people has too little to eat,” concludes Levinson.

Alliance members are committed to addressing hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity. They operate in over 100 developing countries implementing emergency and development programs that build the capacity of local communities, enterprises and institutions. Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, is one of 14 partners in the Alliance for Global Food Security.

For further information, please see FoodAid.org.

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ABOUT SALESIAN MISSIONS AND THE ALLIANCE FOR GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY

The Alliance for Global Food Security is made up of private voluntary organizations and cooperatives–including Salesian Missions) which are committed to addressing hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity through the effective and accountable use of food aid and other resources in programs that are conducted in partnership with and improve the food security and nutrition of poor and vulnerable populations.  The Alliance seeks the adoption of responsible governmental policies and programs and the provision of adequate resources to achieve this goal.

The post UNITED STATES: Alliance for Global Food Security Suggests Changes in Opposition to President Obama’s Food Aid Reforms first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Millions of children around the world grow up without shoes, at risk of infection and disease. TOMS Shoes was founded on the premise that with every pair of shoes someone purchases, a pair of new shoes will be given to a child in need. One for One™. The idea of One Day Without Shoes came about as a way to call attention to the need for shoes around the world and the issues surrounding that need.

One Day Without Shoes participants can go to www.OneDayWithoutShoes.com to get all the latest updates, create and join events in their area, download an event tool kit, and see what others around the world will be doing on April 5. Participants can also stay connected through the new One Day Without Shoes mobile application, available on iPhone and Android. The application will enable users to share pictures instantaneously, provide music to get people going on their barefoot adventures, check out One Day Without Shoes merchandise, and more.

TOMS’ Founder and Chief Shoe Giver Blake Mycoskie said, “The problem is large but the solution is simple. Wearing shoes and basic hygiene can prevent both infection and disease due to unsafe roads and contaminated soil. By imagining a life without shoes, we can all contribute to the awareness of these conditions, which is why we ask everyone to join TOMS on April 5 and participate in One Day Without Shoes.”

For more information visit: www.OneDayWithoutShoes.com

About TOMS Shoes:

In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in a village in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One. To date, TOMS has given over one million pairs of new shoes to children through giving partners around the world.

About the TOMS Shoes – Salesian Missions Partnership:

Since 2012, Salesian Missions has partnered with TOMS to provide new shoes for children living in impoverished communities. New shoes are integrated into the full range of programs offered by the Salesians which center around education that provides pathways to new opportunities. The new partnership has already provided shoes to thousands of youth participating in Salesian programs in countries including in Guatemala, Uganda, the Philippines and Mexico.

The post TOMS SHOES: 4th Annual ‘One Day Without Shoes’ first appeared on MissionNewswire.

“The rise of the South is unprecedented in its speed and scale,” says the Human Development Report 2013, which uses the term “South” to mean developing countries and “North” to mean developed nations. “Never in history have the living conditions and prospects of so many people changed so dramatically and so fast.”

Meanwhile, the slowdown in economic growth, austerity measures and rampant unemployment in the industrialized world has brought pressure to bear on governments and societies in the North. Global economic and political structures are in flux and the sustainability of the growth spurt in the South is subject to the interrelated issues of governance and public investment.

The year’s report, entitled The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World, emphasizes that this change represents a global rebalancing far greater than that experienced during the Industrial Revolution, with the South becoming the main driver of economic growth and societal change for the first time in centuries.

“The Industrial Revolution was a story of perhaps 100 million people, but this is a story about billions of people,” said Khalid Malik, the report’s lead author.

The Human Development Report, released annually by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), assesses the state of human development on the basis of health, education and income indicators, as an alternative to purely macroeconomic assessments of national progress.

The initial report was published in 1990 by its authors, the late Mahbub ul Haq and Amartya Sen, and introduced a Human Development Index (HDI), which had been calculated by UN economists from 1975, and was essentially a ranking of countries based on strides made with a people-centric model of progress.

The HDI became an influential paradigm that would prod economists, government agencies, planners and development experts to rethink the income-based indicators that were in standard use to measure development success.

Launched today in Mexico City by UNDP Administrator Helen Clark and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, this year’s report singles out big economies which have shown significant growth over the past 20 years, namely China, India and Brazil. It estimates that by 2020, the combined output of these three countries will surpass the aggregate production of the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada.

However, the ‘rise of the South’ goes well beyond these economies as more than 40 developing countries have made greater human development gains in recent decades than what was predicted.

Countries such as Indonesia, Mexico, Bangladesh, Tanzania and Yemen all registered significant growth, while nations such as Afghanistan and Pakistan had some of the fastest growth rates in the world with 3.9 percent and 1.7 percent over the past 12 years, respectively.

How has the South achieved such dramatic growth levels?

The report attributes many of the achievements of the South to smart national strategies that have allowed them to engage in the global economy while at the same time implementing social programmes that protect those most vulnerable.

“Economic growth alone does not automatically translate into human development progress,” Miss Clark says in the report’s foreword. Southern States are therefore not just tapping into global trade, but they are also improving health and education services, which have allowed them to sustain their growth. This comes in contrast to policies adopted by many developed countries which include austerity measures and cutting social programmes due to the economic crisis.

In Latin America, many countries have put in place programmes to eradicate poverty and address inequality such as Brazil’s Bolsa Familia, Mexico’s Oportunidades, and Chile’s Chile Solidario. These are conditional cash transfer programmes which offer to increase people’s income as long as they fulfil certain conditions such as visits to health clinics and school attendance.

This combination of policies has allowed the middle class in the South to expand and, by 2030, the report projects that more than 80 percent of the world’s middle class will reside in developing countries and account for 70 percent of total consumption expenditure.

Increasing online and mobile connectivity in the South

Increasing connectivity thanks to greater access to technology is also a factor that has contributed to the South’s growth. Globally, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and Mexico have more daily social media traffic than any country except the US. China also has more than half a billion people accessing the Internet daily through smart phones.

Indonesia, for example, invested extensively to connect its large cluster of far-flung islands to open the country to the outside world, and as of 2010, 220 million mobile phones were registered in a country of 240 million people.

In Africa, Asian-built mobile phones have made cellular banking cheaper and easier, while leading to better market performance and increased profits by small farmers, as seen in Kenya, Niger and Uganda.

Increasing incomes and the diffusion of technology have also given way to a more informed middle class that has social and political expectations, Mr. Malik said in a press briefing on Tuesday, which means that “the relationship between the State and its citizens is changing.”

He warned that if States are not mindful of these expectations, it could lead to social instability, as was the case in 2011 in various countries across the Middle East.

“The turmoil in several countries in the Arab States is a reminder that people, especially the young, who are better educated and healthier than previous generations, put a high premium on meaningful employment, on exercising a voice in affairs that influence their lives, and on being treated with respect,” the report says.

Booming South-South partnerships

The report highlights the increase in South-South trade and partnerships and projects that trade between them will overtake that between developed nations.

“Emerging partners in the developing world are already sources of innovative social and economic policies and are major trade, investment and increasingly development cooperation partners for other developing countries,” Miss Clark said.

China is already influential in Africa through trade investment as well as through assistance and cooperation. Between 1992 and 2011, China’s trade with Sub-Saharan Africa rose from $1 billion to more than $140 billion.

India is increasingly playing a larger role as a supplier of affordable capital goods to other countries of the South. For instance, Indian firms are supplying affordable medicines, medical equipment and information and communications technology (ICT) products and services to many countries in Africa.

In addition, migration between developing countries has recently surpassed net migration from South to North. “In our changing world, solutions are moving across the South, not from the North to the South,” said UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Ajay Chhibber.

However, a substantial share of South-South trade is driven by demand in the North. For example, since 2007, US exports to China and Latin America and the Caribbean have grown two and a half times faster than US exports to traditional markets in the North. A growing “app economy” supported by companies such as Apple, Facebook and Google employs more than 300,000 people whose creations are exported across borders, and developing country economies continue to be sensitive to shocks in the industrialized world.

Women’s education as a silver bullet for sustainable growth

While there has been remarkable progress, the report warns that there are still many challenges ahead for countries in the South, including an aging population, environmental degradation and inequality. Poverty and inequality are particularly worrying, as an estimated 1.57 billion people, representing 30 percent of the population in the 104 countries studied for the report, still live in multidimensional poverty.

The report provides a series of recommendations and, in particular, highlights education for girls as “the closest thing to silver bullet formula for accelerating human development.”

Many of the countries in the South still have dramatic gender disparities, and their challenge will be to boost efforts to allow women to participate freely in all aspects of their society.

“Gender inequality is especially tragic not only because it excludes women from basic social opportunities, but also because it gravely imperils the life prospects of future generations,” the report says, referring to findings which correlate women’s education to greater child survival, healthier children and better access to contraception.

The report also notes that the global system will need to adjust itself to the rise of the South, which is currently largely underrepresented in global institutions. For example, China, which is the world’s second largest economy, has had a smaller voting share in the World Bank than either France or the United Kingdom.

“Stronger voices from the South are demanding more representative frameworks of international governance that embody the principles of democracy and equity.”

Meanwhile, it merits mention that not all countries in the South are racing ahead. Of the world’s 49 Least Developed Countries, many are lagging behind in this revolution. Even as some are beginning to benefit from Foreign Direct Investment of the emerging giants like China, India and Brazil, there is much more to be done in terms of development transformation.

The report observes that there are three drivers of transformation: a proactive development state, tapping of global markets and determined social policy inclusion. Looking back at the inception of the HDI, it appears that countries that started at the same level – India and Pakistan, or Chile and Venezuela, or Liberia and Senegal – have ended up with different outcomes.

“History and initial conditions matter, but they are not destiny,” according to the report.

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See this United Nations article at its original location >

Rice fields in Sichuan, China. UN Photo/John Isaac

The post UNITED NATIONS: Developing Countries Experiencing Unprecedented Growth, Says UN Report first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Pregnancy-related deaths remain an acute problem in many places, despite overall global declines in rates of maternal mortality. Every day, nearly 800 women die from complications in pregnancy or childbirth, and 99 percent of these deaths occur in developing countries. These deaths are largely preventable with interventions and training to prevent or treat complications such as hemorrhage, infection, and obstructed labor, and with increased access to reproductive health services and emergency care.

We traveled to Zambia because it has a disproportionately high rate of maternal mortality – an estimated 440 women dying for every 100,000 live births, which is 20 times higher than the U.S. But Zambia, as well as Uganda, is also the site of a new program, called Saving Mothers, Giving Life (SMGL), designed to reduce maternal mortality by up to 50 percent in selected districts in a year.

SMGL builds on the fact that most maternal deaths result from one or more of three delays: in seeking care, in arriving at a health facility, and in receiving appropriate care. SMGL is working to address those delays by supporting linkages between communities and health facilities through Safe Motherhood Action Groups (SMAGs); by improving communications and transportation in the districts to speed the care and referrals of pregnant women; and by training and hiring health care providers, while improving equipment and standards of care at health facilities.

Although the U.S. government has been a driving force behind SMGL, it is a public-private partnership. The U.S. Agency for International Development leads SMGL for the U.S. Government, in partnership with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Peace Corps, and the Department of Defense.  The other SMGL partners include the governments of Norway, Zambia, and Uganda, the Merck for Mothers program, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Every Mother Counts.

SMGL has generated excitement, but its implementers know that there is no quick fix for reducing maternal mortality. Accordingly, the initiative faces significant challenges to national scale up and to sustainability, and many experts believe that the changes required will take years – not months — to achieve.

Effectively addressing maternal mortality — in Zambia and elsewhere — will demand ongoing commitment, from national governments and international partners – and investments in community awareness, in improving health facilities and transportation, and in expanding women’s access to health services, including family planning programs. As Professor Chomba said, we want to get to a point where “every woman can look forward to labor, and not say, I may die.”

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This originally appeared on Smart Global Health.

Posted by Janet Fleischman and Julia Nagel, Center for Strategic and International Studies on Thursday, March 14th 2013

The post USAID: Saving Mothers: A New Initiative to Address Maternal Mortality first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index—developed by USAID, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI)—tracks women’s engagement in agriculture in five areas: production, resources, income, leadership, and time use. Unlike any other tool, it also measures women’s empowerment relative to men within their households, providing a more robust understanding of gender dynamics within households and communities.

The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (or WEAI) makes empowerment a solid and quantifiable concept Feed the Future and partners can work toward. It also helps us improve the way we do our development work. We’re using the tool to systematically assess and improve our food security programs in regard to women’s empowerment and gender equality.

We asked Emily Hogue, the acting team leader for monitoring and evaluation in the Bureau for Food Security at USAID, to reflect on the one-year anniversary of this innovative tool, which she helped create.

1. How is Feed the Future currently using the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index?

We’re using the WEAI to track changes in women’s empowerment that occur as a direct or indirect result of Feed the Future programs. There’s a couple of different ways we do that. First, in our focus countries, we’re monitoring changes within the targeted geographic regions where Feed the Future works to track the contribution our food security programs make to women’s empowerment. Second, we’re collecting WEAI data within our impact evaluations on specific activities to learn more about the approaches we’re using and how effective they are. This helps us understand and assess how different approaches impact women and men and identify which program approaches are showing the most promise so we can expand their use.

2. What’s happened over the past year with the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index? What’s new?

In 2012, we collected data for the WEAI through population-based surveys in 16 of the 19 Feed the Future focus countries, alongside other Feed the Future indicators. We’re collecting data in the additional three focus countries in early 2013. This has allowed us to calculate baseline values for the WEAI so we can measure change from these baselines in future years. USAID and partners are also analyzing the large amount of data collected in the surveys to learn more about the relationships between empowerment, poverty, and nutrition, as well as relationships between WEAI indicators. Through our analyses, we’re also exploring how to further refine the tool to make it as practical and broadly useful as possible.

The WEAI team (USAID, IFPRI, and OPHI) produced a number of materials over the past year to support use of the tool, such as a brochure (PDF), a video, a webinar, and a discussion paper (PDF). So far, we’ve trained more than 600 people on how to use the tool—and that doesn’t include the number of people who have viewed our webinar training.

USAID is also funding the WEAI Resource Center at IFPRI, which offers assistance to users on fine-tuning the questionnaire for new contexts, tabulating and analyzing data, and interpreting the WEAI data to inform program design. Through IFPRI, WEAI partners selected four dissertation grants, funded by USAID, for research related to the WEAI. This research is helping build evidence on how women’s empowerment relates to other development outcomes, such as improved nutrition.

We’re excited to roll out a new instructional guide this week, published by IFPRI, that provides detailed information to users on how to use the WEAI questionnaire, analyze the WEAI data, and use the findings of the WEAI to inform program design.

3. How are you using the WEAI to improve the way Feed the Future works?

We created the WEAI as a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) tool to track the effects of our programs over time, but one of the most exciting uses of the WEAI has been as a diagnostic tool to identify constraints women face in the agriculture sector. Because the WEAI examines several dimensions and uses direct measures of empowerment rather than proxies, it can identify specific obstacles to women’s advancement in agriculture, such as limited access to credit or limited involvement in leadership roles. Once we identify those constraints, we tailor our programs to address them.

We’re currently examining WEAI baseline data to better understand the primary constraints and how our programs are addressing them. Then, we use the WEAI to track change over time in those specific areas, along with all five dimensions. We’re closely tracking how our programs impact equality and empowerment so we can strengthen and replicate practices that work well and reorient programs that aren’t working.

4. What has been the development community’s response to the WEAI?

Many development partners have expressed interest in using the WEAI for tracking their own programs.  Several international organizations like the International Fund for Agricultural Development, non-governmental organizations like CARE International, and a number of universities are planning to use or are already using the tool for program monitoring and research.

The WEAI team is developing tools and guidance to help our partners use and replicate the WEAI beyond Feed the Future’s focus countries and the targeted regions we work in. With the help of our development partners, we believe we can greatly increase the potential for learning through the WEAI. What started as a fairly modest effort to develop a monitoring tool for Feed the Future has greatly exceeded our expectations and provided the development community with a robust and accessible instrument to tackle one of the most complicated development challenges.

5. What’s next for the WEAI in its second year?

Now that we have a tremendous amount of data on the WEAI, most of our focus for 2013 is on analyzing and learning more about the context of empowerment in the areas where we work, as well as how the WEAI is working as a tool. The WEAI Resource Center and M&E partners are helping us conduct analyses to make this learning happen.

In 2013, we will also be designing and collecting baselines for a few impact evaluations of Feed the Future activities that use the WEAI. The WEAI team has many other materials in the works, so stay tuned in the coming months for baseline reports and a few case studies interpreting the results of the WEAI in our baselines. We’d also love to hear from others about how they are using and learning from the WEAI, so please let us know* about any work you will be doing in 2013 related to the WEAI.

While just a first step to improve learning and programming in this critical area, the WEAI signifies the commitment of the U.S. Government to prioritize empowerment as an essential development outcome that we will measure and strive to achieve.

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This originally appeared on the Feed the Future Blog.

Posted by Emily Hogue, Team Leader for Monitoring and Evaluation, Food Security on Wednesday, March 13th 2013

Photo credit: Elisa Walton, USAID

The post USAID: Celebrating the One-Year Anniversary of the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index first appeared on MissionNewswire.

India is a regional leader and can guide and support other countries in several ways.  We commend the progress India is making in tackling child survival and strengthening India’s health sector.  India is one of the countries to have significantly reduced the incidence of HIV – from 0.41 percent in 2002 to 0.27 percent in 2011.  India has reduced its maternal mortality by more than 50 percent – from 570 in 1990 to 212 in 2009 per hundred thousand live births – and child mortality by 45 percent from 119 in 1992 to 59 per thousand live births in 2012.

The United States has been a longstanding partner of the Government of India, and our relationship dates back more than six decades. The U.S. Government through its agencies including the United States Agency for International Development, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been actively engaged in working alongside the Government of India as it endeavors towards ending preventable child deaths within a generation. In recent years, USAID has made significant investments in the area of reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health, nationally and in key Empowered Action Group States.

USAID is currently developing its five-year Country Development Cooperation Strategy, while continuing to provide targeted assistance to support flagship national health programs, it will increasingly adopt methods focused on innovation and partnerships: more directly engaging local partners; leveraging co-financing instead of fully funding agreements; and developing platforms and alliances to generate development outcomes that encompass multiple organizations.

The U.S. Government is proud to be a part of this initiative and to give our unwavering support to India’s Call to Action. In the coming months, USAID will look at opportunities for newer partnerships with multi-stakeholder engagement including the government, private sector, entrepreneurs, and civil society to identify, and scale up solutions to address the challenges in accelerating child survival efforts.

As USAID Administrator Raj Shah said in his welcome letter to Summit participants: “An investment in India’s children is an investment in India’s future.” We stand ready to be part of India’s tomorrow.

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Posted by William Hammink, India Mission Director on Thursday, February 7th 2013

UN Photo/Mark Garten

The post USAID: India’s Leadership Furthers Global Child Survival Movement first appeared on MissionNewswire.

“Empowerment is critical to poverty eradication and to development,” said the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Wu Hongbo. “Indeed, I would even say that any long-term solution to poverty must start with empowerment.”

According to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s latest report on promoting people’s empowerment, nearly 80 per cent of the world’s population is without adequate access to social protection, leaving those living in poverty feeling powerless to improve their position.

The report, “Promoting empowerment of people in achieving poverty eradication, social integration and full employment and decent work for all” also states that while more than 600 million people have overcome poverty since 1990, 1 billion people will still be struggling to reach that goal by the 2015 deadline year for attaining the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

In addition, the economic crisis and high fuel prices have slowed the rate of poverty reduction and increased unemployment rates, which also lead to social unrest. Globally, 200 million people were unemployed at the end of 2011, an increase of 27 million jobless persons since 2007, and 621 million young people are neither in employment, school or training nor looking for work.

“These are not mere statistics, but are lives affected, livelihoods lost and opportunities missed,” Mr. Wu said, urging the Commission to come up with concrete measures and actions for combating unemployment and empowering vulnerable populations.

To better understand how to promote empowerment and integrate it into the development agenda, participants at the Commission’s session will hear from experts leading discussions on this topic, as well as focusing on the elderly, youth, and people with disabilities.

The session will also include more than 30 side events and consideration of five resolutions as well as recommendations by the Civil Society Forum on promoting the empowerment of people to achieve social development goals.

Speaking at the Commission’s opening meeting, the President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Néstor Osorio, said that without adequate policies and mechanisms, social tensions increase and erode social cohesion, which is essential for promoting development.

Mr. Osorio also underlined the potential of information and communications technology to empower people in rural areas or disadvantaged communities by giving them access to knowledge.

“These tools will allow people to have their voices hear and increase their visibility,” Mr. Osorio said, noting that this would be one of the aspects explored during panel discussions in the next few days.

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See this United Nations article at its original location >

UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

The post UNITED NATIONS: UN Commission on Social Development Issues Call to Empower the Poor first appeared on MissionNewswire.

In an interview with UN Radio shortly before the end of his term on 31 January, Mariano Fernández, who served as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti, said that he had recently highlighted the short-term threat posed by delayed legislative and local elections because political polarization was exacerbated by the issue.

“We have had a delay that we have declared almost unacceptable because the elections should have taken place 14 months ago,” stressed Mr. Fernández, warning of the threat to stability posed by the situation.

In the long-term view, employment, however, was the major issue. “They have a work force of 4.2 million people and in formal jobs they have only 200,000,” he said, adding: “So you have around 4 million people living in a subsistence economy, in a survival economy or living from remittances from the Haitians in exile, the Diaspora.”

“This is something that we should help the Government and the private sector and the Haitian people to face and to move forward on because this is a permanent source of instability,” he stressed.

Asked about the major accomplishments of the UN mission, known as MINUSTAH, during his tenure, he said that its greatest contribution was in greatly improving security and strengthening the police and other rule of law institutions.

“Security has improved a lot,” he said, pointing out that Haiti now ranked fourth in the index of the lowest number of homicides per capita in Central America and the Caribbean. “The challenges in security are now mainly the gangs in the some shanty towns around Port-au-Prince and the family violence, the abuse against women.

“But political violence doesn’t exist, kidnapping has been reduced and the cases of homicide are concentrated around Port- au-Prince,” he said, adding: “The rest of the country is very peaceful.”

He said that cholera has also been radically reduced, with fears of a spike in transmission following hurricanes Isaac and Sandy fortunately not coming to fruition.

He noted that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently launched a campaign with the Ministers of Health of Haiti and the Dominican Republic to rid their common island of the disease during the coming year, appointing renowned United States physician Paul Farmer, to lead it. “I think we will have a serious success,” he said.

The Security Council established MINUSTAH in June 2004 to restore a secure and stable environment, to promote the political process, to strengthen Haiti’s Government institutions and rule-of-law-structures, as well as to promote and to protect human rights.

It has also helped support Haiti’s authorities with recovery efforts in the wake of the massive earthquake which struck in January 2010, as well as supporting preparations for presidential elections held in 2011.

Mr. Fernández, a native of Chile, took the reigns of MINUSTAH in April 2011 from Edmond Mulet of Guatemala, who took on the position after the earthquake. A successor for Mr. Fernández has not yet been announced.

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UN Photo/Logan Abassi: Outgoing head of MINUSTAH, the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti, Mariano Fernández.

See article at its original location >

The post UNITED NATIONS: Elections, Jobs Critical for Haiti’s Current and Future Stability, Says Outgoing UN Envoy first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Public anger over the attack on a 23-year-old student who was beaten, raped and tortured on a bus in New Delhi led to a panel of judges putting forward numerous recommendations for amendments to laws to tackle gender violence in the country.

But Avaaz officials said these recommendations — which include strict punishments for gang rape and making voyeurism and stalking criminal offenses — were not enough and that educating the public and reversing patriarchal attitudes were crucial to ending the rising number of rapes in the country.

“Rape is simply rampant in India today,” said Ricken Patel, Avaaz’s executive director.

“To treat this cancer, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh must back a massive, long-term public education campaign that attacks the attitudes that permit and promote violence against women, harnessing Bollywood and cricket to take the message into every Indian home.”

The 24,206 rapes reported in 2011 by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) are the equivalent of one rape every 20 minutes, but the police estimate only 4 out of 10 rapes are reported, largely because of the deep-rooted conservatism of Indian society, in which many victims are scared to come forward for fear of being “shamed” by their family and community.

FOUR-STEP SOLUTION:

In a new report, Avaaz said there was extensive evidence that mass public education programs had a significant impact on popular cultural attitudes and behavior towards women.

For example, it cited India’s “Bell Bajao” (Ring the doorbell) campaign run by the charity Breakthrough, which it said had achieved a dramatic increase in public awareness about domestic violence in the country.

“(This) shows that where there is the will, resources and competence to do the job well, public education can be a game-changer for social problems that often prove resistant to other methods,” said the report “Curing India’s Rape Epidemic: The Education Option“.

Four steps are required to make a public education campaign to tackle violence against women successful, the report said.

First, the Indian authorities must invest around 50 rupees ($1) per year for every Indian citizen, it said, adding that this cost could be reduced through partnerships with the media.

Second, the campaign should last at least four years, and be carried out in conjunction with permanent education programs in schools.

Third, the government should establish a new authority to take charge of the campaign and recruit the best brains from the media, sport and entertainment industries as well as from civil society organizations.

Finally, the government must establish targets for the reduction in the number of sexual assault cases, so that progress is watched and can be carefully monitored.

Avaaz says it has already collected over one million signatures on a petition calling on the government to launch such a campaign.

“To end the war on women, the government must now prioritize this policy,” the report concluded. “Only a government-led mass education campaign will create an India safe for women.”

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By Nita Bhalla

PHOTO: REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

See related article > INDIA: New Salesian Initiative to Provide Human Rights Education to Tens of Thousands of Youth

The post TRUSTLAW: Public Education Can End India’s “Rape Epidemic” first appeared on MissionNewswire.

“We aim to open new presences in Gao and other cities in the north as soon as security conditions allow,” said UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards, while noting that the presence of Islamist rebel troops and the resulting insecurity has hampered humanitarian access to the north.

From interviews with internally displaced people (IDP) over the past few days in the Mali capital, Bamako, it appears that many civilians are hoping to return to their home in areas formerly or still under rebel control, including Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal soon.

The process of spontaneous returns has already started in some places. In the central Mali town of Konna, for example, a UN security evaluation mission has confirmed that people are coming back. Up to half the town’s population of 10,000 was earlier reported as having fled into the surrounding countryside when Konna was overrun on January 10, prompting the French military to intervene.

While the mood among IDPs may be shifting towards returns, conditions in the north of the country are difficult. People recently displaced from the north have reported serious shortages of food, clean water and fuel. Electricity, transport, communications, access to health and education is said to have been severely disrupted.

In Kidal and Tessalit, close to Algeria, the supply of food and other essential items has been seriously affected by the conflict and the closure of the border, across which many goods used to be imported.

Hundreds of people are reported to have fled Kidal in recent days to villages further north, even closer to the Algerian border. Others have crossed the border into Algeria, despite it being officially closed.

“Hundreds of people have reportedly settled in villages, such as Inhalid, located less than 20 kilometres from Algeria,” said Zeinab, a representative in Bamako of displaced people from the Kidal and Tessalit regions. “Others have crossed into Algeria . . . Most are women and children and go to places such as Timayawen or Tinzawaten, where they rent homes,” she added.

Zeinab is from Tessalit, fleeing the town in April 2012 when the Islamist rebels arrived. She has since returned a few times and explained that “when I return to Tessalit, I have to wear the veil.” She said she kept in touch with friends and family there by cell phone. “People tell me that they are afraid of aerial bombing as well as possible reprisals from the Malian army and from the Islamists.”

The conflict has affected the flow of goods from Algeria to Kidal and Tessalit, resulting in much higher prices for meat, milk and other goods. Zeinab also said she had heard that the rebels were recruiting child soldiers. “I saw children as young as 12 with them and even one eight-year-old,” she claimed, adding that these children were usually stationed at checkpoints.

Zeinab also said education had been affected in Tessalit, where most teachers had fled. In Kidal, she said, some schools were reportedly functioning and providing Koran classes. “My friends who stayed in Tessalit report that many more early marriages have been taking place since the rebels took over,” she said, adding: “My cousin’s daughter got married to a 27-year-old Islamist rebel – she is nine.”

Meanwhile, rising tension between ethnic communities has been reported in various parts of the country. In particular, members of the Tuareg and Arab communities are reportedly being blamed by other groups for supporting the separatist rebellion which led to the present conflict.

“UNHCR appeals to community leaders and to the Malian authorities to give urgent priority to initiatives to promote peace and reconciliation between various ethnic groups,” said the refugee agency spokesman, Edwards.

UNHCR is urgently bringing into Mali relief items for 9,000 families (some 54,000 people), including sleeping mats, blankets, plastic tarpaulins, jerrycans, mosquito nets and cooking utensils. On Tuesday, a distribution of relief items is scheduled to start in the town of Mopti, which is home to an estimated 40,000 IDPs.

In total, an estimated 380,000 people have fled northern Mali since the start of the conflict a year ago, including 230,000 IDPs and more than 150,000 refugees in Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Algeria.

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By Hélène Caux and William Spindler in Bamako, Mali / UNHCR

Photo:
© UNHCR/H.Caux

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Ethiopia wants to increase its electricity exports – mainly generated from hydropower – as a reliable source of precious hard currency. It is estimated to possess a potential capacity of 45,000 megawatts (MW) from hydro alone, which could place it at the center of an emerging electricity network across the region, driven largely by renewable energy.

The Eastern Africa Power Pool aims to connect the power grids of at least nine countries, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Djibouti. It may also be extended to northern and southern Africa.

State-owned Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) last year announced a revised 25-year power-sector strategy, aiming to boost generating capacity to 37,000 MW by 2037. A substantial amount is intended to be surplus power and is slated for export.

Work is already underway to achieve this goal. The 283-km Ethiopia-Djibouti transmission line was officially inaugurated in October 2011. The 230-kV line, enabling Djibouti to import up to 60 MW of electricity, is estimated to be earning Ethiopia at least $1.5 million per month, and has eased Djibouti’s reliance on fossil-fuel power plants and generators.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) provided $95 million for the project linking the two countries. Its launch was significant for Ethiopia, as tiny Djibouti has a port that serves as the gateway for around 98 percent of landlocked Ethiopia’s export-import trade, creating economic and security interdependence.

Electricity is costly in Djibouti compared with the rest of East Africa and even Arab League member states, making its capital, Djibouti City, one of the most expensive cities in the Arab world.

Producing power with fuel-operated generators costs about $0.25 per kilowatt hour compared with around $0.07 per kilowatt hour for the power Ethiopia is exporting to Djibouti, according to EEPCo.

But the project caused some controversy when it was launched. At the time, major cities in Ethiopia, including Addis Ababa, faced sporadic power cuts, sparking grumbles by some Ethiopians that the scheme came at the expense of their own domestic power supply.

Multilateral donors were also initially hesitant about the feasibility of power export schemes due to concerns over inadequate infrastructure and political instability in the region.

SUDAN CONNECTION ‘OVERDUE’

Nonetheless, wider plans are gathering speed, with the 296-km, 230-kV Ethiopia-Sudan transmission line now being tested. Ethiopia expects to sell up to 100 MW of electricity to Sudan, according to EEPCo spokesman Miskir Negash.

The power exports will be managed so as not to jeopardise Ethiopia’s domestic power supply, and the price for the electricity will be announced soon by the Ethiopian government after it finalises negotiations with Sudan, Negash added.

The $41million project, funded by the World Bank, started in 2008 and has three sections of transmission lines in Ethiopia which will connect with a line in the Sudanese border city of Gedaref.

Abdelrahman Sirelkhatim, Sudan’s ambassador to Ethiopia, said the project is long overdue, and will help foster economic ties between the two countries.

But it has experienced difficulties getting off the ground, running more than two years over deadline, primarily because of financial sanctions on foreign payments imposed by the United States on Iranian banks.

This meant that the substation contractor, an Iranian firm called SUNIR International, had trouble obtaining credit and financing the project in US dollars. As a result, the Ethiopian government had to stump up an extra $3 million to expedite the work, money the Iranian company has agreed to refund later, Negash said.

KENYAN CRITICS

All eyes are now on a proposed Ethiopia-Kenya electric transmission line, which could bring Ethiopia closer to the East African community.

Historically, Ethiopia has had fewer trade ties with Kenya than with other East African nations, including war-torn Somalia, due to a combination of infrastructure problems and trade and tariff restrictions imposed by Addis Ababa.

The 500-kv transmission line connecting the Kenyan and Ethiopian grids is expected to be completed by the end of 2016 at a cost of up to $1.26 billion. It would make Kenya, which has the region’s largest industrial base, the largest buyer of Ethiopian power at an eventual 400 MW, and could allow Ethiopia to export up to 1,600 MW to countries further afield.

This project too has its critics, mainly on the Kenyan side. They say Kenyan leaders are brushing aside concerns about the controversial 1,870 MW Gibe III dam being built in southern Ethiopia, because of Nairobi’s desire to purchase power from Ethiopia to reduce power cuts and drive down electricity prices.

Kenyan and international NGOs, including Survival International, have warned that the project will displace tribal people in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya, and could pose a serious threat to Lake Turkana, the world’s largest desert lake, in northeast Kenya.

According to Chinese news agency Xinhua, Prime Minister Raila Odinga said last year any problems caused by the dam would be temporary. The two governments have also set up a joint council to deal with matters arising from the use of the Omo River waters.

In June 2012, EEPCo brokered its fourth power export agreement with the newly independent country of South Sudan, to be undertaken in two phases. South Sudan, which has rich oil reserves, has depended on fossil fuels for its power supply.

CLIMATE UNCERTAINTIES

One key risk for Ethiopia’s power export strategy is climate change, which is likely to affect the flow of water in the rivers and dams driving hydro-power production. But there is still a high level of uncertainty over how this will play out.

Wondewossen Sintayehu, an official at Ethiopia’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), said more research is needed to establish the impacts of climate shifts and changes in precipitation on electricity generation. Smaller rivers are likely to be more vulnerable to any reduction in water levels or increase in pollution, whereas most hydro-power projects are being constructed on larger rivers such as the Nile and the Omo, he added.

So far, data has shown that climate change is leading to higher rainfall in general, which could be a positive factor for hydro-power production, he noted. But Ethiopia has more than 30 agro-ecological zones, and detailed studies are being carried out to analyse the effects of climate change on specific regions and the rivers that originate in them, Sintayehu said.

Sileshi Bekele, a senior water and climate specialist at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), said climate extremes could have negative consequences for hydro-power projects.

A sustained drought period lasting for several years could lead to declines in production, while dams built without due attention to climate data could see their reservoirs and spillways unable to cope with water levels in times of flooding, he noted.

But he also emphasised the environmental benefits of hydropower schemes. They contribute to climate change mitigation, as they have negligible carbon emissions, and they can also help regenerate ecosystems, he said.

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By E.G. Woldegebriel / AlertNet.

E.G. Woldegebriel is a journalist based in Addis Ababa with an interest in environmental issues.

PHOTO:
REUTERS/Flora Bagenal

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“I see Africa on the rise. I welcome great progress on development, good governance and human rights,” Mr. Ban told correspondents on the sidelines of the African Union Summit in Ethiopia, during a day devoted to security in the Great Lakes, malaria, poverty and a gamut of other issues.

“We have 1,000 days to reach our Millennium Development Goals,” Mr. Ban said of the time remaining until the 2015 deadline for the program to slash extreme poverty and a raft of other global ills. “Now is the time to finish the job by accelerating progress,” he urged.

Affirming the UN’s continued commitment to support those efforts, he added: “The United Nations has been Africa’s strongest partner throughout this half century. We are firmly committed to standing with Africa now in the future.”

Mr. Ban said that he had “very successful” meetings today on malaria and yesterday on maternal and child health, recalling that this week also saw the launch of an initiative to help Africa train and deploy a million community health workers by 2015.

“We are working for a future where virtually all African mothers survive childbirth and raise their HIV-free babies into healthy adults,” he said.

He also called on African leaders to join in ending the silence and denial surrounding sexual violence in conflict. “I call on African leaders to join me in raising our voices on behalf of victims. They need our unrelenting advocacy,” he said.

He added that women must play a significant role in peace-building in conflict societies. “The African Union took an historic step when it appointed its first female Chairperson,” he said, congratulating Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma of South Africa on her appointment.

Commenting on a range of African conflict situations, Mr. Ban welcomed what he called the “decisive action” of the French Government in Mali and pledged the UN’s readiness to undertake a “major, system-wide effort” for peace-building, governance, security sector reform, physical reconstruction and regional cooperation for the Sahelian country.

While in Addis, Mr. Ban met with some 20 national leaders. In a meeting today with Boni Yayi, President of Benin, he commended Mr. Yayi on his accomplishments as outgoing President of the AU and discussed regional initiatives to fight piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, according to information provided by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson.

The spokesperson said that in his meeting with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the Secretary-General welcomed progress in the country and discussed the future of the UN presence there, encouraging the Government to strengthen its political authority throughout its territory.

With the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Joseph Kabila, he commended efforts to find a durable solution to the crisis in the east of the country, reaffirming the UN’s commitment to address remaining challenges. He also discussed the situation in the Great Lakes region with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, in separate meetings.

The Secretary-General noted that leaders had planned to sign a political framework on the DRC earlier today. There were no fundamental differences over the content of the framework, but some procedural issues did arise, and the Secretary-General said that the parties have agreed to postpone the signing.

Also, Mr. Ban and Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete discussed issues in Madagascar and Zimbabwe, in light of the security leadership role the country is currently playing in the South African Development Community (SADC), the spokesperson said.

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UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

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“We are still in the first month of 2013, which has already proved harsh for millions of children suffering in Syria and for refugees who had to flee to neighboring countries. Mali and the Central African Republic are also experiencing worsening conflict, threatening the lives of children and women,” said Ted Chaiban, UNICEF’s Director of the Office of Emergency Programs. “Children are extremely vulnerable in emergencies, often living in unhealthy and unsafe conditions, at high risk of disease, violence, exploitation and neglect.”

The Humanitarian Action for Children 2013 appeal includes countries prominent in today’s news headlines along with many other countries that receive much less media coverage, such as Chad, Colombia, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Somalia and Yemen, but which also require urgent attention and  assistance.

“The complex emergency in Syria represents one important focus of UNICEF’s global emergency response,” said Chaiban. “But we are also delivering results for children in highly challenging and largely forgotten emergencies around the world.”

More than 85 per cent of the funding requirements are for humanitarian situations other than Syria and the related refugee crisis. The 45 countries and regions in the appeal are priorities due to the scale of the crisis, the urgency of its impact on children and women, the complexity of the response and the capacity to respond.

Contributions to UNICEF’s 2013 requirements will allow the organization to build on its work in 2012. Some of the results achieved between January through October 2012 include:

• Health: 38.3 million children immunized
• Water, Sanitation & Hygiene: 12.4 million people provided access to safe water for drinking, cooking and bathing
• Education: 3 million children provided access to improved education
• Child Protection: 2.4 million children provided with child protection services
• Nutrition: 2 million children treated for severe and acute malnutrition
• HIV and AIDS: 1 million people provided access to testing, counseling and referral for treatment

In 2012, large funding gaps in some countries such as Madagascar and Colombia left many needs unmet. In many countries, access, security and the capacity of partners are other major constraints to delivering humanitarian assistance.

“Contributions to the appeal are sound investments in children and their futures,” said Chaiban. “UNICEF seeks un-earmarked resources to allow the organization to respond to consistently underfunded emergencies or where the needs are greatest, to apply innovative solutions to complex situations, and to integrate early recovery in large-scale emergencies – many of which extend across multiple countries at the same time.”

# # #

To download UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children 2013 Report
www.unicef.org/appeals

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Positive findings

The 2012 survey, known by its French acronym EMMUS, was commissioned by the Haitian Ministry of Public Health and Population and carried out by the Haitian Childhood Institute (IHE), which collected  data on infant mortality, disease and use of services in the country. UNICEF was a major financial contributor and resource provider, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

According to Director of IHE Dr. Michel Cayemittes, “[The survey] enables us to determine the level of health and demographical indicators, allowing us to see the evolution of these indicators over time.”

Preliminary results of the survey bode well for the situation of children in Haiti, particularly in the areas of education and nutrition. Some of the most positive findings are in the area of education, which shows a 22 per cent growth in school attendance among children 6–11 years old over the period. Seventy-seven per cent of these children attended primary school in 2012, as compared to just under 50 per cent in 2005–2006.  An increase in school attendance among girls in Haiti has also been noted.

Situation after the earthquake

The survey allows an overview of the population affected by the 2010 earthquake, especially of the more than 300,000 people still displaced and living in camps, who remain among the most vulnerable population in the country.

According to Anne-Rose Saint-Preux, Nutrition Manager for UNICEF’s partner on the ground FONDEFH, the situation after the 2010 earthquake and the economic situation of parents were important factors in a considerable increase in the number of malnourished children.

Twenty-eight-year-old Vanessa saw malnourishment first hand. Having lost almost everything in the earthquake, she moved to camp Aviation, only to find her son Samuel malnourished. She brought the baby to a camp healthcare center run by FONDEFH, which provides pre- and postnatal care services, vaccinations and malnutrition screening.

Samuel was diagnosed as being acutely malnourished and placed on a treatment program that included a regimen of vitamin-enriched foods such as Plumpy’nut. He was monitored weekly for changes and developments. He responded to the treatment quickly and is now healthy and at a normal weight for his age.

The nutrition consultation and treatment program are supported by UNICEF, which provides materials, medicine and support to do the work on the ground.

The preliminary results of the 2012 survey, in comparison with the results from the 2005–2006 survey, show that efforts like these are working: Acute malnutrition in children under 5 years old has decreased by half – from 10 per cent to 5 per cent – and chronic malnutrition has also decreased – from 29 per cent to 22 per cent.

UNICEF Country Representative in Haiti Edouard Beigbeder says, “We were able, with the support of the international community, to bring services to the pre-earthquake level, but as well, to bring new results for the children of Haiti. The issue in the coming two years will be how to sustain these results.”

More to be done

While the survey points out where improvements have been made, it also highlights persistent bottlenecks, such as to quality of education, access to basic sanitation and reducing HIV infection.

Challenges still remain in Haiti, but for Vanessa, access to the resources and care at the UNICEF-supported FONDEFH clinic helped Samuel push through his period of malnutrition.

Ms. Saint-Preux says, “Unfortunately, I can’t say malnutrition has been completely eradicated here – hopefully one day I can. But, when I look back on where we started in 2010, compared to where we are now…thanks to the combination of prevention and treatment we are providing at the center with the support of organizations like UNICEF, I can say we’ve made great strides in decreasing malnutrition.”

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Article By Michelle Marion

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According to the initial results of the Haiti Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), which covered 13,350 households, 77 per cent of children aged 6-11 years attended primary school in 2012, compared to just below 50 per cent in 2005-2006 when the last survey was conducted.

Acute malnutrition among children aged 6-59 months has been reduced by half from 10 per cent to five per cent, and chronic malnutrition has been cut from 29 per cent to 22 per cent between 2005-2006 and 2012.

“Results of the survey show that the efforts of partners in Haiti in these three years contributed to progress in many sectors and mitigated the impact on children of the 2010 earthquake, the outbreak of cholera and other disasters.” said the representative of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Haiti, Edouard Beigbeder.

“These findings call for a continued commitment to support the country in sustaining this success while addressing existing challenges and where progress has lagged,” he continued.

The Caribbean nation has been re-building since the earthquake struck in early January 2010, killing some 220,000 people and making 1.5 million others homeless, in addition to causing widespread destruction – particularly in the capital, Port-au-Prince – and a major humanitarian crisis.

The DHS 2012 was conducted by the Institut Haitien de l’Enfance, under the overall direction of the country’s Ministry of Population and Public Health, and was supported by UNICEF and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), amongst others.

The survey also notes that the under-five mortality rate, at 88 child deaths per 1,000 live births, has shown a declining trend in the last 15 years, according to new estimates, down from 112 in 1997-2001 and 96 in 2002-2006.

Access to improved sources of water remained unchanged at 65 per cent, while 82 per cent of residents of internally displaced camps had access to improved sources of water. Access to improved sanitation almost doubled from 14 per cent in 2005-2006 to 26 per cent in 2012.

The 2012 Haiti DHS estimates socio-economic, demographic and health indicators for the entire Haitian population, including women of child-bearing age, children under five years of age, men aged between 15 and 59 years old. The last survey took place between October 2005 and June 2006.

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The advance of the M23 armed group into Goma and Sake have been accompanied by serious violations committed against children. “Children have been killed and injured in the cross-fire, deliberately targeted and allegedly recruited as soldiers. I call on all parties to immediately halt the violence and spare children from the impact of conflict,” SRSG Zerrougui said.

Over the past four days, 16 children, including a two-year old child, were injured by bullets and explosive devices during clashes between the M23 and the armed force and security services. Yesterday, a boy was reportedly shot dead by M23 combatants in Goma because of his alleged association with Government forces.

“Children, especially those formerly associated with armed groups, are living in constant fear of recruitment or re-recruitment,” the Special Representative warned. Since the creation of the M23 in May 2012, the United Nations documented 44 children recruited into the armed group’s ranks as combatants and as porters, escorts and for sexual purposes.

“The international community cannot tolerate another wave of violence against children with impunity,” the Special Representative said. “External support to the M23 rebels has to stop, and those responsible must be held accountable in national and international courts.”

The Special Representative also welcomes the Security Council’s decision last week to impose targeted measures against the leader of the M23 Sultani Makenga, including for the use of child soldiers. She encourages the Security Council to consider imposing additional sanctions on perpetrators.

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Mitchialine’s is a success story. From an impoverished family, she was abandoned by her father and left at a residential care center by her mother – but ultimately reunited with relatives with the help of Institut de Bien Être et de la Recherche Sociale (IBESR), Haiti’s child protection agency.

PROTECTING SEPARATED CHILDREN

Mitchialine is one of thousands of children in Haiti who have been separated from their families. Even before the devastating earthquake of 2010, it was estimated that some 1.2 million Haitian children were extremely vulnerable to multiple forms of violence and abuse, including physical and emotional abuse, domestic violence, armed and sexual violence.

To help protect children from exploitation and abuse, UNICEF provides financial and technical support to strengthen IBESR, which is tasked with the protection of all children. “The protection agency documents children who have been placed in institutions and finds alternatives to institutional placement for children,” explains Christina Torsein, child protection chief at UNICEF Haiti.

From 2010 to 2011, about 9,000 separated children were registered; 3,000 have been reunited with their families.

UNICEF has also supported IBESR to create a directory listing all residential care centers in the country, as well as their condition.

In January, IBESR, together with the child protection police Brigade de Protection des Mineurs, closed three centers in which children had been abused and neglected and placed the children in temporary care facilities, where they received medical and psychosocial care.

Mitchialine spent three years at a center that was closed last year because of reports of abuse and neglect.

NO EASY TASK

Reuniting separated children with their families is no easy task in a country with few resources for social services. According to Ms. Torsein, “Access to services in Haiti is highly unequal, and, the poorer a child is, the less likely he or she is to have access to basic rights.”

Mitchialine was identified by a relative visiting the center. Social workers at IBESR then worked to locate her closest living relative –her aunt Vanille Onezaire. After a process of family verification facilitated by IBESR, Mitchialine was reunited with Ms. Onezaire. Ms. Onezaire had thought the little girl had been lost.

“She may seem shy now, but when she first came, she didn’t say a word! Not a word!” recalls Ms. Onezaire, touching Mitchialine’s cheek tenderly. She gestures towards Mitchialine’s arms, which are covered with dark scars. “She got those at the orphanage,” she says. “Scars everywhere.”

She describes Mitchialine’s appearance when she first left the residential care center. “She was so thin, you can’t imagine…She had a swollen stomach from being malnourished. And her hair was falling out.”

“When she first arrived, Mitchialine didn’t play at all,” continues Ms. Onezaire. Mitchialine’s face lights up as she introduces her favorite toy, a green stuffed bear she calls Nounou.

Mitchialine puts Nounou away to help with the housework. Her favorite chore is helping with cooking. She smiles shyly when complimented, then quickly ducks her head and immerses herself in the simple, domestic task in front of her, content with her place in the family.

THE CHALLENGE OF REUNIFICATION

Carine Phadael is the IBESR social worker who helped reunite Mitchialine with her aunt. Ms. Phadael has been paying regular visits to Ms. Onezaire’s home since the girl’s placement to make sure that Mitchialine is doing well.

The first step – finding a home for Mitchialine – has been taken. But the next step is harder – how does Ms. Onezaire, who is already struggling to feed her own family, feed an extra mouth?

Ms. Phadael explains that IBESR provides a one-time stipend to families who have been reunited with their children. But the stipend is not enough to cover basic needs over time in a country in which 55 per cent of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 per day.

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World Food Day brings attention to the plight of the world’s hungry and undernourished and provides an opportunity for a deeper understanding of the complex solutions. This year’s theme is investing in agriculture for food security.

“In the developing world one to two per cent of all children under five, or approximately 13 million, suffer from severe acute undernutrition,” said Ann M. Veneman, UNICEF’s Executive Director. “These children have a much higher risk of dying, including from common childhood illnesses such as diarrhea and pneumonia, than a well nourished child. Agriculture production on the national and local level is critical for making sustainable progress.”

New evidence shows that if detected early, children suffering from severe acute undernutrition can be effectively treated within their homes and communities, without being admitted to health facilities, sometimes miles away from their homes.

“Though the total numbers of hungry and undernourished children can be disheartening, the reality is that children can recover,” said Veneman. “With the addition of community-based treatment and new technology, much more can now be done to reach undernourished children and to address this important cause of child mortality.”

UNICEF is working at the community level to identify severely undernourished children early and provide treatment. This involves teaching parents and communities how to identify an undernourished child, and to provide them with the tools they need to treat that child at home.

UNICEF is supplying NGOs and governments with a specialized ready-to-use high energy food containing essential vitamins and minerals, which children can be treated with at home. With this high-energy food, children only need to be seen once a week by a health worker to receive essential medicines, have their progress checked, and receive their week’s supply of ready–to–use therapeutic food.

A child suffering from severe acute undernutrition needs 10 to 15 kilograms of ready-to-use therapeutic food for six to eight weeks to recover. UNICEF is encouraging localized production of this vital therapeutic food, as it reduces the expense to less than three dollars per kilogram—putting the cost of food needed to save an undernourished child’s life to around 45 dollars.

In Ethiopia, UNICEF is supporting community based treatment programs for undernutrition. Since adopting the strategy, Ethiopia’s capacity to treat children suffering from acute undernutrition at any one time has increased from 2,000 in 2003 to 10,000 in 2006.

In addition to treatment of severe undernutrition, scaled up investment in prevention is critical. Prevention can be achieved by: ensuring a better access to high quality foods; educating mothers, promoting exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of a child’s life; and appropriate complementary feeding practices for all children 6-24 months. Providing micronutrient supplements and improved water and sanitation systems and improving access to health care are also essential.

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“Owned by their members, they can generate employment, alleviate poverty, and empower poor and marginalized groups in rural areas, especially women, to drive their own destinies,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message, stressing that the number of people still going hungry is unacceptable in a world where every person would have enough to eat if food were distributed properly.

“As enterprises with a social conscience, cooperatives have also proven to be an effective vehicle for social inclusion, promoting gender equality and encouraging the involvement of youth in agriculture.”

The theme of this year’s Day, which is celebrated on Oct. 16, 2012, in honor of the date of the founding of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945, is ‘Agricultural cooperatives – key to feeding the world.’

In a ceremony marking the Day at FAO’s headquarters in Rome, its Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, called on governments to do their part and “create conditions that allow producer organizations and cooperatives to thrive” as a major way to lift small-scale farmers out of poverty and hunger.

Although they produce most of the food in many countries, they had poor access to markets to sell their products, lack of bargaining power to buy inputs at better prices and a lack of access to financial services, he said.

“Agricultural cooperatives can help smallholders overcome these constraints,” Mr. Graziano da Silva stressed. “Cooperatives play a crucial role in generating employment, reducing poverty, and improving food security, and contributing to the gross domestic product in many countries.”

Speaking at the same ceremony, the UN World Food Program’s (WFP) Executive Director, Ertharin Cousin, underscored the need for social safety nets for those who could barely feed themselves.

“In our world, too many still struggle to find their next meal,” she said. “Social protection and safety net programs enable the most vulnerable, particularly women and children, to lift themselves out of hunger and poverty. These programs provide a cushion that is otherwise unavailable and build resilience against economic and environmental shocks.”

At the same event, the head of the UN International Fund on Agricultural Development (IFAD), which seeks to empower poor rural women and men in developing countries to achieve higher incomes and improved food security, highlighted its role in working closely with cooperatives worldwide.

“From tea growers in Rwanda to livestock resource centres in Nepal, there are many examples of how cooperatives better support smallholder farmers to not only organize themselves, but to collectively increase their opportunities and resources,” IFAD’s President Kanayo Nwanze said.

“Our experience at IFAD working with farmers has proven time and time again that cooperatives are critical to reach these objectives,” he added. “This is why we place a lot of emphasis on cooperatives and continue to enhance our work with them.”

Speaking from Geneva, the Director-General of the UN International Labour Organization (ILO), Guy Ryder, added his voice to the messages issued on the Day.

“Experience around the world shows that farmers, fisherfolk, foresters and herders have used cooperative organization to increase food production, gain market access, obtain better prices on agricultural inputs, participate more effectively in global value chains and also to manage natural resources and enhance food security,” he said.

In a report launched on World Food Day, the UN Environment Program (UNEP) warns that the ecological foundations that support food security, including biodiversity are being undermined.

“The era of seemingly ever-lasting production based upon maximizing inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, mining supplies of freshwater and fertile arable land and advancements linked to mechanization are hitting their limits, if indeed they have not already hit them,” UNEP’s Executive Director, Achim Steiner, said in a news release.

“The world needs a green revolution but with a capital ‘G’: one that better understands how food is actually grown and produced in terms of the nature-based inputs provided by forests, freshwaters and biodiversity,” he added.

The report – Avoiding Future Famines: Strengthening the Ecological Basis of Food Security through Sustainable Food System – was produced in collaboration with IFAD, FAO, WFP, World Bank, and the World Resources Institute, a global environmental think tank.

It points out the challenges posed by overfishing, unsustainable water use, environmentally degrading agricultural practices and other human activities and calls for the redesign of sustainable agriculture systems, dietary changes, and storage systems and new food standards to reduce waste.

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Malala spoke courageously in favor of children’s rights – especially girls’ education – in Pakistan. In December 2011, she was presented with the first National Peace Award by the Pakistani government.

UNICEF calls on all parties to respect all children’s rights, including education in a safe and protective environment. With 20 million children already out of school in Pakistan, it is critical that quality education reaches all children, particularly the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.

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Uranium-producing Niger, perched on the Sahara’s southern rim, is one of the world’s poorest nations. With a northern nomadic Tuareg population similar to the one that rebelled in Mali this year, it is seen as vulnerable to uprisings.

The money is due to be spent on strengthening law and enforcement and border controls in an area where government authority is weak and traffickers and gunmen, some with links to al Qaeda, operate.

Funds will also target improving basic social services and infrastructure in the six most northern regions, where underdevelopment has led to previous rebellions.

Both Mali and Niger were threatened by the return home of thousands of gunmen who had fought for Muammar Gaddafi during Libya’s conflict last year.

While Mali’s north has since been over-run by rebels, Niger has so far contained any threat. It has disarmed its returnees and ensured better representation in government for the Tuareg community, which has rebelled before over the lack of development and demands for a greater share of resource wealth.

The new plan, known as SDS/Sahel-Niger, will cost 1.266 trillion CFA francs ($2.49 billion), according to Prime Minister Brigi Raffini, himself a Tuareg, who launched the initiative late on Monday.

At least half of the program will be funded by the government in Niamey while the European Union has pledged a further 91.6 million euros ($118 million), according to documents seen by Reuters. It was not immediately clear where the rest of the money would come from.

Niger hosts mining projects run by French nuclear power giant Areva and, with investments from China National Nuclear Corporation, the country has also recently become an oil producer.

Yet it also faces recurrent drought-related food shortages and struggles to feed its rapidly growing population, currently at around 16 million.

Niger has become of increasing strategic importance after Mali’s Tuareg rebellion was taken over by a mix of local and foreign Islamists. A coup in Mali’s capital, Bamako, has hamstrung any foreign efforts to tackle Mali’s crisis.

The EU already has a team of security experts in Niger trying to help the authorities tackle organized crime and terrorism.

Niger’s last Tuareg rebellion ended in 2009 but the former fighters who laid down their weapons are still waiting for the projects that are meant to help them find jobs.

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The post ALERTNET: Niger Launches $2.5 Plan to Secure, Develop North first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Drought and political instability have led to a major food crisis affecting 18 million people across West Africa. Serious flooding, a deadly cholera outbreak and the conflict in neighboring Mali have exacerbated the situation. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently made a plea for international aid to alleviate the crisis.

“Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world and they have been the hardest hit,” said AmeriCares Emergency Response Manager Karl Erdmann, who recently returned from the region. “More than one-third of the population has been affected, including 400,000 children suffering from severe malnutrition. They are not equipped to care for the tens of thousands of refugees crossing the border from Mali, and they are quickly running out of food and medical supplies.”

The medicines and relief supplies from AmeriCares will be distributed by a partner organization providing medical care in refugee camps. The recent shipments are AmeriCares second delivery for the Sahel crisis. In August, AmeriCares sent medical aid and 2.5 million sachets of P&G water purification packets to Mali on a humanitarian aid flight coordinated by the global logistics company UPS.

AmeriCares has been responding to natural disasters, disease outbreaks and crushing poverty for 30 years, delivering medicines and relief supplies that restore health and save lives. In 2005, during one of the one worst food shortages in Niger’s history with 2.5 million people facing starvation, AmeriCares airlifted more than 30,000 pounds of medical aid to clinics and feeding centers treating malnourished children and adults.

About AmeriCares
AmeriCares is a nonprofit global health and disaster relief organization that delivers medicines, medical supplies and aid to people in need around the world and across the United States. Since it was established in 1982, AmeriCares has distributed more than $10 billion in humanitarian aid to 164 countries. For more information, visit americares.org.

Salesian Missions is a proud partner of AmeriCares.

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PHOTO: UNHCR/H. Caux (representative photo, taken near Mali/Niger border earlier this year)

See related MissionNewswire article on Salesian Missions’ work related to this emergency:
(July 19, 2012) MALI: Salesians Assist Displaced Children & Families as Political Instability Continues

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The meeting between the Secretary-General and the President of Tunisia, Moncef Marzouki, saw the two men discuss the North African nation’s constitution-making process and women’s empowerment, as well as the President’s efforts to promote economic recovery and regional integration within the Arab Maghreb Union. They also discussed the impact of recent attacks in Tunisia by extremists.

Libya’s democratic transformation process, as well as the security situation in the country following the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, was a topic for discussion in the Secretary-General’s meeting with President of the General National Congress of Libya, Mohamed Yousef El-Magariaf.

They also discussed continued cooperation with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), and they agreed on the importance of the Alliance of Civilizations, especially in light of the recent intolerance and violence. Mr. Ban also underlined the need for a comprehensive review of the status of conflict-related detainees, and both men agreed on the need for human rights and due process to be respected.

Senegal’s long-running conflict in its southern Casamance region, as well as the latest developments regarding the prosecution of former Chadian Head of State Hissennè Habré, were covered in the Secretary-General’s meeting with the African country’s President Macky Sall.

They also exchanged views on the situation in Guinea-Bissau, Mali and the Sahel region, and on ways for the international community to support the region in addressing these crises. In addition, they discussed the importance of international partnerships to try to alleviate the problems resulting from global climate change, as well as drought in the Sahel.

The situation in Mali was also discussed in the Secretary-General’s meeting with the Foreign Affairs Minister of Burkina Faso, Djibrill Yipènè Bassolé. In addition, they discussed the upcoming electoral process in Burkina Faso and exchanged views on the situation in Côte d’Ivoire.

In his meeting with the President of Togo, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, the Secretary-General welcomed the African leader’s efforts to engage in national dialogue with opposition parties and encouraged him to work towards the creation of a more conducive environment for the conduct of legislative elections.

Mr. Ban and the President also discussed Togo’s efforts towards the achievement of the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the areas of education and agriculture. The UN chief underscored the importance of Africa’s constant efforts towards enhanced regional unity, coordination and cooperation for peace and sustainable development – and he urged Togo to continue to play a leading role in this regard.

Meeting with the Vice-President of South Sudan, Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon, the Secretary-General commended the Government, and its President Salva Kiir in particular, for reaching agreements with the Government of Sudan on post-secession issues at a meeting in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa earlier this week. The two men also discussed the current situation in South Sudan, particularly in the state of Jonglei.

Meeting with Burundi’s First Vice-President, Therence Sinunguruza, the Secretary-General thanked the African country for its contribution to peace in Somalia and welcomed its readiness to participate in peacekeeping efforts.

They also discussed the human rights situation and peace consolidation efforts in Burundi, including the establishment of the truth and reconciliation commission and preparations for the next elections.

In their meeting, the Secretary-General and the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria, Michael Spindelegger, discussed a range of issues of mutual interest, including the Western Balkans, the Alliance of Civilizations and its upcoming Annual Forum to be held in Vienna in February 2013, and efforts to reform the UN Secretariat.

The two men also agreed that it is essential for the international community to pursue mutual understanding, tolerance and cooperation through cross-cultural dialogue.

The situations in Syria and Afghanistan were among the topics discussed in the meeting between the Secretary-General and Sweden’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Bildt.

They agreed on the gravity of the situation in Syria, and the urgent need to find a solution and to address the humanitarian crisis there. Concerning Afghanistan, they discussed the upcoming elections and the importance of ensuring continued and long-term international commitment to support the Afghan people towards national reconciliation and stability.

The Secretary-General exchanged views on developments in the Western Balkans in his meeting with Slovenia’s Prime Minister, Janez Janša. They also discussed issues relating to the principle known as the responsibility to protect, and the involvement and participation of civil society in this context, in addition to discussing the situation in Syria.

Malta’s role as a strong advocate for tackling climate change, as well as its contributions to international efforts to combat piracy, was discussed in the Secretary-General’s meeting with the Mediterranean nation’s Deputy Prime Minister, Dr. Tonio Borg,

They also exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East and North Africa and Malta’s strategic role as “a bridge between North and South,” in addition to discussing the immigration and refugee issue in the Mediterranean region. The Secretary-General commended Malta’s efforts in this regard and recalled the importance of upholding the human rights of those affected.

The President of Albania, Bujar Nishani, emphasized his country’s commitment to UN principles and actions – especially regarding human rights, women’s empowerment and peacekeeping – in his meeting with the Secretary-General.

They discussed developments in Albania and UN-Albanian cooperation, and Mr. Ban thanked Albania for its support in piloting the UN’s Delivering as One initiative. They also exchanged views on progress in the areas of peace and stability in the region.

In the meeting between the Secretary-General and San Marino’s Minister for Foreign and Political Affairs, Antonella Mularoni, the two discussed the political and economic situation in the small landlocked nation and in Europe, with Mr. Ban thanking San Marino for its continuing support to the UN.

The Secretary-General discussed regional cooperation – particularly the need to find a mutually acceptable solution to the region’s water and energy challenges – in a meeting with Turkmenistan’s Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Rashid Meredov.

The two men also recognized the useful role of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) and its head.

Uruguay’s presidency of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council and its participation in UN peacekeeping operations were discussed in the Secretary-General’s meeting with the Latin American country’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Luis Almagro. Other topics discussed included the implementation of the Delivering as One programme in Uruguay, the issue of drug control and regional developments.

In the meeting between the Secretary-General and the Crown Prince of Brunei Darussalam, Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the two men discussed issues related to UN-Brunei cooperation and the UN-Association of Southeast Asian Nations Comprehensive Partnership.

Also on Friday, the Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, met with Nepal’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha. They exchanged views on Nepal’s peace and constitution-making process and the economic and social situation in the country, including the MDGs.

The Deputy Prime Minister expressed appreciation for the role of the United Nations in Nepal’s peace process, and briefed Mr. Eliasson on current efforts to end the political deadlock and to move forward, including possibly through new elections. The Deputy Secretary-General was encouraged by the new efforts and urged the Nepalese parties to complete the constitution-making process without delay while protecting the gains achieved so far.

The pair also exchanged views on the importance of transitional justice and international standards in the context of Nepal’s peace process, and Mr. Eliasson expressed his appreciation for Nepal’s contribution to United Nations peacekeeping.

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PHOTO: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

See this article at its original location at UN.org: http://www.un.org/News/

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By the end of July the population of the camp established in northern Kenya in 1992 had reached 100,009 following a steady influx of new arrivals over the past two years.

“The threat of conflict in neighboring countries, particularly Sudan and South Sudan, is expected to continue to drive asylum seekers toward Kenya for the remainder of the year and into 2013,” said Guy Avognon, UNHCR’s Head of Sub-Office in Kakuma.

Through the first seven months of this year 12,123 individuals were registered in the camp, the majority having fled violence and conflict in South Sudan’s Jonglei State and Sudan’s South Kordofan. Significant numbers from Burundi, Ethiopia, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have also sought asylum in Kakuma this year.

Avognon expressed concern about possible tension between camp residents and members of the local community due to the limited water and other resources in the area. The provision of life-saving assistance and important services is becoming increasingly difficult due to limited funding to cater for the growing population, particularly in the shelter, sanitation, education, and healthcare sectors.

“The sustained rate of new arrivals to the camp has already depleted all available land in the new settlement areas, and despite serious overcrowding in many parts of the camp, UNHCR and its partners are working to identify available space to settle new arrivals within existing settlements,” the head of the UNHCR sub-office said.

The increasing population is creating serious concerns for the operation as the boundaries of the camp cannot be extended further unless new sources of water are identified. Since the beginning of the year efforts to supply sufficient quantities of clean, safe drinking water have become a critical challenge, with refugees now receiving less than the standard 20 liters of water per person per day.

UNHCR’s discussions with the Kenyan government to establish a second camp have been ongoing for the past year, but as yet no agreement has been reached, though a potential site has been identified some 35 kilometers from Kakuma. UNHCR is optimistic the discussions will be successful and additional land will be made available before the end of the year.

However, an estimated US$16.7 million would be required to set up a second camp and UNHCR’s current financial constraints mean this would likely also pose significant challenges.

(By Emmanuel Nyabera, reporting from inside the Kakuma Refugee Camp. Photo: UNHCR/R.Gangale)

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Related MissionNewswire article: Refugee Youth at Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya Find “New Beginnings” with Job Training

See this article at its original location at UNHCR >

The post UNHCR: Kakuma Camp in Kenya Surpasses its 100,000 Capacity first appeared on MissionNewswire.

By Athanas Makundi/UNICEF

Amina walked briskly with her 4-year-old son, Ismail Mohamed, to fetch water at the edge of the camp where they live in Mogadishu. As the sun rose, they could hear the sound of babies crying and distant gunfire.

“We have to wake up early to fetch water because it is so scarce,” Amina said. “If you don’t, then you find a long queue at the pump, and sometimes the water runs out altogether.”

Once she had filled her yellow plastic containers, she hurried home with to prepare breakfast. The family’s home, made of plastic sheeting, cardboard and colourful fabric, provides little protection from the heavy overnight rains.

“Our shelter is exposed and the children are often cold,” Amina said as she boils the water on an open fire. “But I prefer to be here than in the village because we get food, water and medicine.”

Finding treatment

A year ago, drought coupled with escalating fighting and lack of access for aid workers led to a terrible famine in the Lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia where Amina’s family lived.

“All our animals died and there was nothing left,” said Amina’s husband, Mohamed Ibrahim, as he sips his tea. “We had to leave; my son Ismail had fallen ill.”
Amina’s voice cracked with emotion as she narrated their ordeal.

“When we arrived in Mogadishu, Ismail was already very sick,” she said. “His body started to swell, and his skin started to peel off.”

Ismail was severely malnourished and, like many children in his condition, he contracted measles and cholera. His body swelled up so much he was unable to open his eyes.
“I was so worried when his eyes closed,” says Amina, shaking her head. “I didn’t know what to do. I used to ask myself, where can I find help?”

Ismail’s father heard from outreach workers at the camp about a feeding centre run by the Somali NGO SAACID and supported by UNICEF.

There, they learned that Ismail had a form of severe malnutrition known as kwashiorkor that required urgent treatment.

“When he was brought to us, the rate of the swelling – called edema – was very high,” said Abdullahi Mohamed, a nurse with SAACID, who was the first person to treat Ismail at the centre. “We could not do much for him then.”

Ismail was then sent to a hospital run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Belgium, where he was admitted for two weeks until the edema subsided.

“Then we took him to our feeding centre, where we put him on a therapeutic programme,” Mr. Mohamed said. “Now you can see Ismail is alive and kicking.”

Aid since the famine declaration

Thousands of children in central and southern Somalia died before famine was declared on 20 July 2011. But the massive humanitarian response helped save many lives.

Over the past year, UNICEF has treated more than 455,000 acutely malnourished children throughout Somalia, of whom almost 225,000 were severely malnourished – the vast majority in the central and southern regions.

Ismail has made extraordinary progress and his mother can still scarcely believe the change.

“When he recovered, I felt hope restored in my heart,” she said. “I’m very happy.”

Yet the situation in many areas of Somalia remains fragile. An estimated 2.5 million people – half of them children – still need assistance.

“Although the need is not high as it was a year ago, there are still children who are suffering like Ismail,” Mr. Mohamed said. “We do still see children like him in our feeding centres, but the scale of the need is not as it was a year ago.”

Emergency assistance is clearly needed, but it will not be enough. UNICEF is also working to boost the resilience of the most vulnerable by strengthening basic services at the community level. This, in the long term, is the only way to reduce the risks caused by crises such as drought and food insecurity and ensure that children like Ismail can look forward to a normal childhood.

The post UNICEF: One Year After Somalia’s Famine, a Story of Recovery first appeared on MissionNewswire.

“Halfway through this year we are seeing people in desperate need in 20 countries, whose lives and livelihoods have been shattered by conflict, hunger and disaster,” said the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos.

“As well as providing effective emergency aid, humanitarian organizations are also working to improve the resilience of communities so that they can better cope with the impact of future natural disasters and conflicts,” she added.

In a news release, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which Amos heads, noted that the number of people needing assistance had risen from 51 million to 62 million – an increase of more than 20 per cent – during the first half of this year.

A large number of these people are in the African continent, with more than 18 million people facing a severe food and nutrition crisis in countries of the Sahel region, which includes Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and parts of Sudan, Cameroon and Nigeria.

Conflict has worsened the situation in Mali, as well as in South Sudan, which is coping with increasing numbers of refugees from Sudan who have fled conflict in border areas.

Food insecurity, malnutrition and insecurity have also worsened the situation in Yemen, where 60 per cent of children under five are chronically malnourished – a rate second only to Afghanistan, where so far this year, more than 200,000 people have been affected by some 300 natural disasters. In addition, hundreds of thousands of people are being affected by the intensifying armed conflict in Syria, which has caused many to flee to neighboring countries.

To respond strategically to major crises and monitor the effectiveness of their work, OCHA said that some 560 humanitarian aid organizations are using the Consolidated Appeal Process, a tool used by aid organizations to plan, implement and monitor their activities together. Collaborating in the world’s crisis regions, they produce appeals, which they present to the international community and donors.

As of today, the agency reported, humanitarian partners have raised their funding requirements, from $7.8 billion, at the beginning of the year, to $8.8 billion. However, while 45 per cent of the funding required has been received, a gap of $4.8 billion for what is left of the year remains.

“We have reached at least 21 million people so far with humanitarian aid, but our partners need further resources to reach everyone in need,” said Amos. “I commend humanitarian donors for maintaining their generosity and commitment to effective, coordinated and timely aid.”

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PHOTO CREDIT: Reuters / Ho New

See this news release at its original location.

Learn more about Salesians at the United Nations.

The post UNITED NATIONS: Number of People Needing Humanitarian Help Globally Rises to 62 Million first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Over the past 40 years, new vaccines, improved health care practices, investments in education, and the dedication of governments, civil society and other partners have contributed to reducing the number of child deaths by more than 50 per cent.

Still, millions of children – most of them in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia – die every year from largely preventable causes before reaching their fifth birthdays.  In 2010, this translated to 57 children dying for every 1,000 live births.

The Call to Action challenges the world to reduce child mortality to 20 or fewer child deaths per 1,000 live births in every country by 2035.  Reaching this historic target will save an additional 45 million children’s lives by 2035, bringing the world closer to the ultimate goal of ending preventable child deaths.

Modelling shows that this goal can be reached by greater effort across five key areas:

1. Geography: Increasing efforts in the 24 countries that account for 80 percent  of under-five deaths.
2. High Burden Populations:  Focusing country health systems on scaling-up access for underserved populations, to include rural and low income groups
3. High Impact Solutions:  Addressing the five causes that account for nearly 60 per cent of child deaths: pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, pre-term births and intrapartum (around the time of childbirth)
4. Education for Women and Girls: Investing beyond health programs to include educating girls, empowering women, and promoting inclusive economic growth
5. Mutual Accountability: Unifying around a shared goal and using common metrics to track progress

At the Call to Action, governments and partners are being asked to pledge their support for A Promise Renewed, a commitment to work together on sharpening national plans for child survival, monitoring results, and focusing greater attention on the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children.

“We have the tools, the treatments, and the technology to save millions of lives every year, and there is no excuse not to use them,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake.  “To renew our promise to the world’s children, we have to focus on the leading causes of child mortality like diarrhea, pneumonia and malaria, scaling up coverage of high-impact, low-cost treatments, sparking greater innovation, and spurring greater political will to reach the hardest to reach children. The grand goal of preventing child deaths must be our common cause.”

”India is honored to co-convene this global call to action.  The opportunity is timely, and we have to seize it.  Though there has been a steady decline in child mortality rates in India over the past 10 years, there is no place for complacency,” said Ghulam Nabi  Azad , India’s Minister of Health and Family Welfare.  “Reducing neonatal, infant and child mortality remains the topmost goal of India’s National Rural Health Mission.  With India’s experiences in child survival interventions, and the magnitude of scale of programming, the country is well positioned to work towards furthering collaboration in implementation of Child Survival Initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region,” he added.

“In the world, there are no two countries that are the same.  Therefore each of us needs to define our own roadmap to achieve this laudable goal.  In Ethiopia, we have halved under-5 mortality rates from 166 to 88 per 1,000 live births just in the last decade,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Ethiopia’s Minister of Health. “What we can promise the world and our children now is that Ethiopia will try our best, as we have done in the past, to bring the rate down to fewer than 20 deaths per 1000 live births by 2035. We will then be able to look back and say that we have done justice for our children, and we have written an important piece in human history,” he added.

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah said: “Development can be full of problems we have few ways to solve.  Helping a child reach their 5th birthday is not one of them.  It is not a question of whether the world can end preventable child deaths; it is question of whether we will.”

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Photo: © UNICEF/NYHQ2009-0870/Sokol

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According to a UNICEF news release, the price of an insecticide-treated, long-lasting bed net has dropped to under $3.

“Never before have bed nets been as accessible and affordable for children and families in developing countries,” said the Director of UNICEF’s Supply Division in Copenhagen, Shanelle Hall, adding that the price reduction is the result of a long-term strategy to create a healthy global market for bed nets.

Last year, UNICEF made available on its website the prices it pays for vaccines so that the availability of this information would improve market transparency and efficiency, and support governments and partners in making more informed decisions.

UNICEF and its partners also implemented other strategies to achieve savings in supplies. These include aggregating demand and pooling procurement to help achieve economies of scale, transparent and long-term forecasts to industry, special financing terms and clear quality requirements, among others.

The drop in bed net prices, follows projected cost savings and cost avoidances for vaccines and child survival supplies worth $735 million in the coming years, according to UNICEF’s Supply Annual Report. This amount includes a projected $498 million in costs avoided in the rotavirus vaccine procurement, which protects children against virulent strains of diarrhea, the second largest cause of death for children under five.

According to the agency, for supporting child survival and development programs around the world, its procured supplies are critical in providing for children’s health, education and protecting them from abuse, exploitation, and neglect. It procures and supplies over 5,000 products to address the needs of children.

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Photo: UNICEF/Jan Grarup

UNICEF and Salesian Missions

Around the globe, Salesian institutions are among the UNICEF-supported schools that work beyond just providing a basic education–they provide customized solutions to meet the needs and challenges of the world’s poorest children and focus on better futures and lasting change.

Working in more than 150 countries, UNICEF provides children with health care, clean water, nutrition, education, protection, emergency relief, and more.

The post UNICEF: More Affordable Malaria Bed Nets will Save $22 Million first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The new operation, which will be carried out by the World Food Program (WFP) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), aims to assist 300,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) and 255,000 refugees this year.

“We are working side by side with UNHCR to help families who have been forced from their homes in Mali and now need urgent food and shelter,” said WFP’s Executive Director, Ertharin Cousin, in a news release. “The refugees from Mali have fled conflict in their own country, and now find themselves across the border in neighboring states that are already suffering from the severe effects of a regional drought.”

Mali is among several countries in the West African part of the Sahel region, which stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, that are suffering from a food crisis resulting from prolonged drought. The northern part of the country has also witnessed resumed clashes between Government forces and Tuareg rebels since January, leading to the mass displacement of civilians who have sought refuge in neighboring countries.

WFP and UNHCR said the $77 million operation will give WFP the flexibility to respond to the evolving refugee situation, and appealed to the international community to help fund the response.

“The Sahel represents a deadly combination of drought and displacement by conflict. This is not only a dramatic humanitarian problem but it has become a threat to global peace and security,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres. “Donor support is crucial if any humanitarian effort is to make headway.”

So far, WFP has reached IDPs and refugees with food assistance in Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Niger, as part of its overall Sahel emergency operation which aims to support around 9.6 million people affected by the hunger crisis caused by a combination of insecurity, drought, crop deficit and high food prices. To do this, the agency must secure funding to help bridge a shortfall of around $ 360 million.

For its part, UNHCR has been establishing refugee sites and working in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania to help tens of thousands of refugees who continue to cross over from Mali. Inside Mali, UNHCR is working with its partners to reach IDPs.

“Time is not on our side,” said Ms. Cousin. “If no new food or cash contributions are received immediately, the resulting inability to pre-position and distribute enough food at the peak of the lean season, from June to September, would be catastrophic for the most vulnerable, food insecure people – especially women and children.”

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Photo: UNHCR/H.Caux

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The landmark document was adopted on 10 May 2002, during the first-ever UN General Assembly session devoted exclusively to children’s issues. The event was preceded by a UN Children’s Forum, organized by UNICEF and its partners, in which more than 400 child delegates enumerated the needs and priorities of children around the world.

“Ten years ago today, at an historic special session of the UN General Assembly with 180 nations present, we heard the voices and saw the faces of children demanding a world fit for them,” said UNICEF Executive  Director Anthony Lake.

“We cannot say we have fulfilled what children asked of us. We can say we listened. And we have made progress.”

PROGRESS, BUT NOT ENOUGH

“We, the heads of State and Government and representatives of States … are determined to seize this historic opportunity to change the world for and with children,” the document begins, laying out goals in four overarching categories: promoting healthy lives;  providing a quality education; combating HIV and AIDS; and protecting against abuse, exploitation and violence.

In the ten years that have passed, there has been much improvement in the welfare of children – but not enough.

Deaths among children under age 5 have declined by one third since 1990, meaning nearly 12,000 fewer children die every day.

Yet too many children continue to die needlessly, many from causes that are both treatable and preventable.

“Child deaths have come down gradually, but by no means sufficiently,” said Richard Morgan, UNICEF Senior Adviser for the Post-2015 Development Agenda. “Child malnutrition – and particularly stunting among children – is persistent and stubborn across many countries.”

The past decade has also seen improvement in access to education. Some 90 per cent of primary-school-aged children are now enrolled in primary school, and most countries have achieved gender parity in primary education.

“Our main problem was the disparity between girls and boys. So many more boys than girls were in school,” reflected Caroline Barebwoha, who was a 15-year-old representative from Uganda at the 2002 Children’s Forum. She is now a lawyer and a youth participation consultant for UNICEF.

“Today, as I speak – especially with the help of the Girls Education Movement clubs in schools – so many more girls are in school.”

Still, only 87 per cent of children in the developing world complete their primary educations, and secondary school enrollment remains low, especially among girls.

A NEED FOR VIGILANCE

The world has achieved a steady reduction in HIV infection rates, with the global incidence rate declining by nearly 25 per cent between 2001 and 2009. Many of the most significant declines were seen in sub-Saharan Africa, stabilizing or moderating some of the biggest HIV epidemics in the world. And the number of people receiving anti-retroviral treatment has increased 13-fold between 2004 and 2009, cutting AIDS-related deaths by 19 per cent.

But officials must remain vigilant. HIV incidence rates in Eastern Asia, Western and Central Europe, and North America have remained constant, and in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, they have begun to rise.

And violence, abuse and exploitation of children remain unacceptably common.

In developing countries, one in six children is engaged in child labor. Studies from low- and middle-income countries show that as much as three quarters of children face violent discipline at home.

Large proportions of adolescent girls report experiencing sexual violence; in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a staggering 21 per cent of girls aged 15 to 19 have been sexually assaulted. And tens of millions of girls continue to be forced into marriage while still children, a practice that increases their vulnerability to domestic abuse and complications during pregnancy and childbirth.

RENEWING THE COMMITMENT TO CHILDREN

“We really had the hope and enthusiasm that it wouldn’t just be a document,” Ms. Barebwoha said of the adoption of ‘A World Fit for Children’.

“These heads of State were all committed and made promises to us,” she said.

UNICEF is working to ensure these promises are kept.

“There is much unfinished business before us,” Mr. Lake said. “This year, on this anniversary year, we are renewing our commitment to our cause: A world fit for our children and our grandchildren, a better world for all of us.”

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See this article at its original location at Unicef.org along with videos and other information.

Learn about Salesian Missions at the United Nations.

The post ‘A World Fit for Children’ – 10 Years After UN Special Session on Children, UNICEF Marks Progress first appeared on MissionNewswire.

In the run-up to Child Protection Week, which will occur from 28 May to 3 June, the newly launched ‘Believe in Zero’ campaign highlights the role that everyone has to play in the protection of children.

Among the world’s highest abuse rates

“South Africa’s levels of violence against children are among the highest in the world. Tens of thousands of children are victims of abuse, neglect and exploitation every year – and offenders often go unpunished,” said UNICEF Representative in South Africa Aida Girma.

Statistics from the South African Police Service show there were more than 54,000 reported crimes against children between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2011. However, crimes against children are grossly under-reported and the real figure is believed to be much higher.

Sexual offenses make up about half the reported figure. Around 30 per cent of these victims are under 10 years old. Research has shown that in most abuse cases, the offenders are known to the children.

Support for Believe in Zero

UNICEF Ambassador Yvonne Chaka Chaka has added her voice to the Believe in Zero campaign. “Child protection starts with every one of us, as individuals – no matter who we are and where we live,” she said.

UNICEF is driving the Believe in Zero initiative online. A specially designed Facebook app urges people to express their support, upload photos or videos, post messages and engage their friends on the goal of eliminating child abuse.

Among those who share their views through the app, one passionate supporter from South Africa will be given the chance to take a field trip with UNICEF to see first-hand how the organization works with partners – and children themselves – towards the fulfillment of child rights.

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UN Photo/Arpan Munier

See this UNICEF press release at its original location.

About SALESIAN MISSIONS in South Africa.

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“The Committee bill takes some good steps to improve emergency food aid, such as expanding pre-positioning of commodities in areas of potential need, but it diminishes support for nonemergency food aid programs that improve the ability of poor communities to meet their own needs. Restoring funding for those developmental programs and tweaking some of the new provisions to emphasize local capacity building is critical,” said Dave Evans, President of Food for the Hungry and Chair of the Alliance.

Mr. Evans continued, “It’s troubling that the Committee bill would authorize $10 million a year for a new program to review and coordinate ‘resiliency’ programs in the Horn of Africa; yet the bill severely limits and cuts the very programs that are actually building resiliency – particularly the Food for Peace Title II nonemergency programs.”

Food for Peace (PL 480) Title II Development Programs

Food for Peace emphasizes the importance of using food aid to promote food security in areas where people regularly suffer from hunger and children are highly malnourished. Under current law, 75 percent of Title II funds should be used for developmental programs and, at a minimum, $450 million per fiscal year must be allocated for those purposes. The Committee bill reverses the developmental focus of PL 480 Title II. Claiming that more “flexibility” is needed to use funds for emergencies, the bill cuts the minimum funding level for developmental programs by 39 percent, allowing them to fall to the historically low level of $275 million, and caps the amount of funds that can be used for nonemergency programs at 30 percent.

The Alliance urges elimination of the cap and continuation of the current minimum funding level for developmental Title II programs. Mr. Evans commented, “Developmental food aid programs are not decreasing the availability of emergency food aid; they are reducing reliance on it.”

Moreover, in addition to Title II, other funds are available to meet emergency food needs, such as the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust and $300 million a year in disaster assistance funds.

According to Ellen Levinson, executive director of the Alliance for Global Food Security, “More than half of Title II emergency funding is spent on programs that continue for two or more years and are located in areas that suffer from recurring crises, such as production shortfalls, droughts and economic downturns. Well-planned, developmental food aid programs are much more effective than emergency distribution those types of poor communities, which are plagued with chronic shortfalls and needs. By preserving land and water and improving agriculture, incomes, and child nutrition, millions become less vulnerable to food shortages and escape the hunger cycle.”

Using Monetization to Promote Development

As part of a nonemergency food aid program, the U.S. government may allow the sale of a commodity that is in short supply in the recipient country because of insufficient production and inadequate commercial imports. The proceeds must be used for specific developmental activities within that country. This is called “monetization.” Informally, monetization may also take place when recipients of emergency food aid sell some of the commodities they receive in nearby markets.

The Senate bill does not allow monetization for nonemergency programs if the sales price is less than 70 percent of the amount spent to buy and ship the commodity to the recipient country. That formula undervalues the commodity to a food deficit, developing country and is unworkable because it is not possible to know the procurement cost or sales price until the program is underway. The Alliance recommends changing the provision to require that the sale takes place at the fair market price for the commodity in the recipient country in order to avoid interfering with local production and marketing. In addition, there should be better coordination between the two government agencies that have monetization programs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Agency for International Development.

Procuring Food Aid Commodities Overseas

As a follow on to a pilot program in the last Farm Bill, the Senate bill would establish a new “local-regional purchase” program at USDA for procuring food aid commodities in developing countries for emergency or nonemergency programs. USAID uses disaster assistance funds for buying commodities overseas for emergencies and this new USDA program should avoid duplicating the USAID program. Thus, the Alliance recommends modifying the bill’s local-regional purchase program to focus on developing the capacity of low-income agricultural producers, cooperatives, and processors to supply safe, wholesome foods to their local markets and food assistance programs.

Alliance members are private voluntary organizations and cooperatives that are committed to addressing hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity. They operate in over 100 developing countries, implementing emergency and development programs that build the capacity of local communities, enterprises and institutions. For further information on food assistance programs, please see www.foodaid.org.

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ABOUT THE ALLIANCE FOR GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY:

The members of the Alliance for Global Food Security are private voluntary organizations and cooperatives that are committed to addressing hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity. They operate in over 100 developing countries, implementing emergency and development programs that directly engage, support and build the capacity of local communities, enterprises and institutions. Members include ACDI/VOCA, Adventist Development & Relief Agency International, Congressional Hunger Center, Counterpart International, Food for the Hungry, International Relief & Development, United Methodist Committee on Relief, Land O’Lakes, OIC International, Planet Aid, PCI, Salesian Missions and World Vision.

PHOTO: USAID

The post GLOBAL: Alliance for Global Food Security Urges Senate to Fix Food Aid Provisions in Farm Bill first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Latest data indicates that more than 200 million children from low- and middle-income countries under the age of five are failing to attain their developmental potential because of poverty, poor heath and limited opportunities to learn.

This year’s theme for Global Action Week focuses on early learning under the slogan “Rights from the Start! Early Childhood Education Now!” Today, more than half of the world’s children remain excluded from pre-primary education.

Early childhood is defined as the period from birth to eight years old. A time of remarkable brain growth, it lays the foundation for future learning and development. In fact, 85 per cent of a child’s brain develops by age five, even before a child enters school.

“Quality early childhood programs, designed for the most vulnerable and combined with parenting support, have a significant impact on linguistic, cognitive and social skills necessary for lifelong learning,” said Susan Durston, UNICEF’s global chief of education.

“Opening the doors for early learning, also presents a unique opportunity to  break the cycle of poverty and disadvantage for many millions of children, including breaking down gender stereotypes through positive early gender socialization.”

By helping children prepare for school, early learning initiatives also lessen the effects of household deprivation, halt the transfer of educational disadvantage from parents to children and strengthen prospects for economic growth for families and communities.

However, many barriers stand in the way of early childhood learning. Barriers such as the lack of importance and resource allocation given to pre-primary education, lack of annual statistical data, cost of enrollment, limited availability of nearby early childhood facilities and a dearth of skilled educators and teachers persist in excluding children from pre-primary education.

While an increasing number of countries have developed and ratified national policies on early childhood care and learning, many of these policies continue to suffer from insufficient funding and fragmented planning, and as a result, they ultimately fail to translate into action.

To address some of these constraints, UNICEF focuses on ensuring that children enroll in school at the appropriate age and that those who enter the first grade of primary school come ready to learn.

By providing appropriate options for early learning, countries can then decide depending on the situation which strategy and option to implement for maximum result in getting children the opportunity for early learning.

For example, the Getting Ready for School: A Child to Child approach initiative provides a cost-effective supplemental model countries with resource constraints can use, which has shown significant gains in children’s readiness for school as well as get them into school at the right age.

Supporting countries in the development of national policies that support universal school readiness and translating them into action also helps provide this service to young children, especially the most marginalized.

“Getting children ready for school and in school at the right age demands concerted efforts and political will,” Durston said. “By investing in our youngest learners now, we not only enable them to fulfill their potential, but also contribute toward achieving all the Millennium Development Goals.”

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org

About Child-to-Child Trust

Child-to-Child Trust is an international network promoting children’s participation in health and development based at the University of London’s Institute of Education. During the past 30 years, the work has spread to more than 70 countries worldwide and impacts more than a million children annually. To achieve its mission, the Trust promotes child-centered, active learning approaches that engage children on health and development issues. Children then disseminate their learning to other children, their families and their wider communities through participatory research activities. To advocate for these approaches the Child-to-Child Trust produces publications and teaching aids and provides training courses and consultancies. The Trust works through both local partners in-country as well as through large international organizations such as UNICEF and UNESCO. For more information visit www.child-to-child.org.

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See this release at its original location at www.unicef.org.

UN Photo/Kibae Park

The post UNICEF Urges Access to Early Learning for the Most Disadvantaged Children first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The report, for example, identifies sub-Saharan Africa as the most challenging place for an adolescent to live. The adolescent population of the region is still growing, and it is projected to have the greatest number of adolescents in the world by 2050. But only half the children in sub-Saharan Africa complete primary school and youth employment is low.

Progress for Children: A Report Card on Adolescents highlights other alarming consequences of the benefits of progress not being equally shared among the total of 1.2 billion adolescents—defined by the United Nations as between the ages of 10 and 19—now living in all the regions of the world.

“The disadvantages of poverty, social status, gender or disability prevent millions of adolescents from realizing their rights to quality education, health care, protection and participation,” said UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Geeta Rao Gupta. “This comprehensive report card strengthens our understanding of the problems facing the poorest and most disadvantaged adolescents. It is time to attend to their needs; they must not be left behind.”

The report points to a significant need for improved investment in all aspects of adolescents’ lives and well-being—even in their struggle for survival. Each year, 1.4 million adolescents die from road traffic injuries, childbirth complications, suicide, AIDS, violence and other causes. In some Latin American countries, more adolescent boys die as a result of homicide than from road traffic injuries or suicide.  In Africa, complications in pregnancy and childbirth are the top cause of death for girls aged 15 to 19.

Children entering adolescence are increasingly at risk of violence—a shift from early childhood when disease and nutrition are the major threats. Adolescent girls are particularly vulnerable to violence in marriage. In a survey in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 70 percent of girls aged 15 to 19 who had been married said they experienced violence at the hands of a current or former partner or spouse.

Adolescents, particularly girls, are often forced to abandon childhood and take on adult roles before they are ready, limiting their opportunities to learn and grown, and placing their health and safety at risk. The report says that over a third of women aged 20 to 24 in developing countries excluding China were married or in a union by the age of 18 with about one third of these being married by age 15.

Adolescent birth rates are relatively high in Latin America, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa, the report says. In Niger, half of young women aged 20 to 24 gave birth before the age of 18.

Globally, 90 percent of children of primary school age are enrolled in primary schools and secondary education systems have expanded in many countries. Secondary school enrollment however remains low in the developing world, especially in Africa and Asia. Many pupils of secondary school age are in primary schools. Sub-Saharan Africa has the worst secondary education indicators of any region.

Some 71 million children of lower secondary school age worldwide are not in school and 127 million youth between 15 and 24 are illiterate – the vast majority in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

The report says significant efforts in advocacy, programs and policy are needed to realize the rights of all adolescents. Adolescence is a critical stage of childhood at which the right investment can break the poverty cycle and result in social, economic and political benefits for adolescents, communities and nations.

But the report also notes that adolescents should be recognized as real agents of change in their communities. Programs and policies, while protecting adolescents as children, must acknowledge their capacity for creativity, innovation and energy to solve their problems.

Full Report: Progress for Children: A Report Card on Adolescents [PDF]

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Special Note: Salesian Missions supports programs throughout Africa that empower at-risk adolescents by providing education and opportunity. Learn more about programs in Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

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Alongside the WDI and the latest update to the on-line WDI database, major improvements to the data access, analysis and visualization tools are also now available. These make it easier than ever to use and analyze the full range of datasets available in the Bank’s data catalog – all freely available as part of the Open Data Initiative launched two years ago.

“These new tools and mobile applications take us closer to our vision of getting data into the hands of people everywhere, so that they can be used to inform the decisions of both the policy maker and the individual citizen“, said Shaida Badiee, Director, Development Data Group.

WDI 2012 includes data for the first ten years of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), providing an important data resource for the Global Monitoring Report (GMR), being released tomorrow. Measured against 1990 benchmarks, progress accelerated in the past decade, lifting millions out of poverty, enrolling millions of children in school, and sharply reducing the loss of life due to preventable causes.

“The World Development Indicators laid the path for the Bank’s expansion into the frontiers of open development and are highly valued as a definitive reference for measuring development progress,” said Justin Yifu Lin, World Bank Chief Economist and Senior Vice President.

The WDI provides relevant and high-quality data on a wide range of development issues. New data in this year’s WDI include more recent data on poverty at international poverty lines, for more countries, including global and regional estimates; measures of malnutrition disaggregated by sex; health indicators disaggregated by income quintile; carbon dioxide emissions by economic sector, and data on climate variability, exposure to impact, and resilience. This year’s WDI illustrates that:

• Fewer people live in extreme poverty, though poverty and hunger persist. The proportion of people living on less than $1.25 a day fell from 43.1 percent in 1990 to 22.2 percent in 2008. And preliminary estimates for 2010 indicate that the extreme poverty rate fell further, reaching the global target of halving world poverty five years early.
• The proportion of people in developing countries with access to an improved water source increased from 71 percent in 1990 to 86 percent in 2008, which means that the MDG target of halving proportion of the population without access has already been met.
• Some goals still remain out of reach. Only one region, Latin America and the Caribbean, will reduce child mortality by two-thirds. In Sub-Saharan Africa, only two countries (Madagascar and Malawi) are on track to reach the target in 2015. And while primary school enrollment rates have reached 87 percent, that leaves 64 million children out of school, mostly in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Women in the Middle East and North Africa have made impressive gains in health and education. The total fertility rate fell from 4.9 births per woman in 1990 to 2.7 in 2010, women’s secondary enrollment rate increased from 46 percent to 69 percent between 1991 and 2009, and tertiary enrollment rate tripled from 9 to 27 percent. But women’s labor force participation remains at about 20 percent – by far the lowest among all regions.
• Africa is urbanizing rapidly. In 2010, only 37 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population lived in urban areas, but between 1990 and 2010 the urban growth rate of 4 percent per year was the highest among developing regions.
• The East Asia and the Pacific region spends more on Research and Development than other regions. And China leads the developing economies of the region, spending about 1.75 percent of GDP in 2010 on R&D.
• People in the developing countries of Europe and Central Asia have greater access to commercial bank branches and automated teller machines than people in other developing regions—about 18 commercial bank branches per 100,000 adults and 45 ATMs per 100,000 adults. The region also ranks highly on access to commercial deposit and loan accounts.
• Latin America and the Caribbean has the greatest share of protected land and marine areas among developing regions, with 20 percent of the land area and 13 percent of the territorial water area designated as protected areas. Even so, Latin America and Caribbean, which has about one quarter of the earth’s forest resources, has lost some 93 million hectares — about 9 percent of its forest area — between 1990 and 2010.
• High-income economies use nearly four times as much energy per capita as middle-income economies, and more than 13 times as much as low-income economies. Per capita energy use in South Asia remains the lowest among all developing regions even after an increase of 51 percent between 1990 and 2000 – from 340 to 514 kilograms of oil equivalent.

New and improved tools to access, explore, and interact with the WDI 2012 and other datasets include:

• New open data “mash-ups” for over 200 economies, with development indicators, household surveys, data on the World Bank’s finances and projects, and data on climate change presented in a single snapshot, available at http://data.worldbank.org/country
• Free, upgraded mobile applications (“DataFinder 3.0”) for iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry mobile devices, to access and explore indicators in English, French, Spanish and Chinese.
• A new version of the popular “DataBank” interface to the World Bank’s time-series databases: create, save, and share tables, charts and maps – and embed them in blog posts and websites.
• In-depth data portals on poverty, jobs, climate change, and financial inclusion.

Links

WDI and Regional Highlights: http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators

DataFinder 3.0 app: http://data.worldbank.org/products/applications

New DataBank: http://databank.worldbank.org/data/home.aspx

Poverty data portal: http://povertydata.worldbank.org/poverty/home/

Jobs data portal: http://datatopics.worldbank.org/jobs/

Financial inclusion data portal: http://datatopics.worldbank.org/financialinclusion/

Data website: data.worldbank.org

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“We came because two paramilitary factions and one guerrilla group were wreaking havoc in the area where we lived. They are killing a lot of the local people,” Padilla told UNHCR. Growing numbers of people have been arriving in northern Ecuador‘s Esmeraldas province this year and asking for asylum. Like Padilla, they cite increased violence across the border.

Significant numbers of people have been crossing into the province to seek shelter for years, with government figures putting the number at 1,200 to 1,500 people a month, said Oscar Sánchez Piñeiro, head of UNHCR ‘s field office in Esmeraldas.

But he added that the number had risen due to “the deteriorating conditions” in and around Tumaco, the main Pacific port in south-west Colombia‘s Nariño department. In one week earlier this year, UNHCR estimates that there were 600 arrivals.

Sánchez Piñeiro said that a further 1,000 people are believed to have arrived in Esmeraldas province during the same time, but had not been able to file asylum claims because it was difficult getting from border areas to the provincial capital, Esmeraldas, where the government registers new arrivals.

“The new arrivals say the situation in Colombia remains volatile,” the UNHCR official said. “Among the arriving population there are many women and children who had to flee because of threats, assassinations of relatives or the occupation of their land by irregular armed groups. Many live in precarious conditions, especially due to their proximity to the conflict zone and increasing violence in the border.”

UNHCR visitors met Padilla and his family at a shelter in San Lorenzo, where they were receiving assistance until they could find somewhere more permanent to live and look for a livelihood. They decided to leave Tumaco after one of the armed groups killed three people in their neighborhood, Padilla said, adding: “It was rumored that three more people were missing.”

But Padilla did not have enough money for transport to the border and he and his wife made the tough decision to leave their two oldest children – a 10-year-old girl and a boy aged 13 – with relatives in the hope that they could later reunite in Ecuador. His wife worries about the two children. “It hurt me a lot when I had to leave as I had never been far away from them, never.”

Many of the families arriving in this area stay with local communities on San Lorenzo’s stretch of coast, while others – like Padilla’s family – are provided with temporary accommodation. “We have several locations where we provide shelter for the new arrivals, especially for the vulnerable ones in San Lorenzo,” said Piñeiro, adding that needs surpassed UNHCR’s capacity.

UNHCR offers weekly briefings for the new arrivals in San Lorenzo, which is the first point of entry for many. The sessions include orientation on how to access the asylum process and also arranged information meetings through the provincial Refugee Directorate, which is the state entity in charge of providing registration and conducting the asylum process.

One priority for UNHCR is to work with the protection networks established in the border region to help trace the separated family members and to enhance protection activities along the northern border with Colombia.

Debbie Elizondo, UNHCR’s representative in Quito, noted that Ecuador is the largest refugee-hosting country in Latin America, with more than 55,000 recognized Colombian refugees. But she also expressed concern about the dangers asylum seekers face in the border areas inside Ecuador .

“Many people may think that perhaps there is no more conflict in Colombia , but the reality is that we continue to see thousands fleeing the increasingly volatile areas and fragmented fighting,” she said, adding that the border area was dangerous.

“Just last year, 15 refugees or asylum-seekers were assassinated in the province of Esmeraldas. There is also an increased presence of illegal armed groups along the border and they operate in the region and foster systemic human rights violations,” Elizondo added.

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By Babar Baloch in San Lorenzo, Ecuador (UNHCR) | PHOTO: B. Balach/UNHCR

See this news article in its original location.

See related article: “New Beginnings” Program Expands to Assist Colombian Refugees in Four Countries

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“Despite significant progress in the food security outlook for the Horn of Africa, the child survival crisis is far from over. Millions of children require sustained assistance in the critical months ahead. Otherwise we can easily see a reversal of the hard-won achievements,” said Elhadj As Sy, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, on the occasion of the launch of the report Response to the Horn of Africa emergency that describes the UNICEF humanitarian operation in the six months after famine was declared in parts of Somalia in July 2011.

“The prospects for a sustained recovery are increasingly precarious. The most recent weather outlook in combination with persisting insecurity and violence in many areas can lead to new shocks and disruptions, a development which again puts the lives of hundreds of thousands of children at risk,” said As Sy, who is the UNICEF Global Emergency Coordinator for the Horn of Africa crisis.

According to the latest projections, the March-May seasonal rains will remain below average in most parts of the region. On-going conflict in Somalia, terror attacks and ethnic violence in parts of Kenya as well as threats against aid workers are limiting humanitarian access to refugees and communities affected by the crisis.

More than 8 million people across the Horn of Africa need emergency assistance. Nearly a third of Somalia’s population—some 2.51 million people—are still in acute humanitarian crisis, including more than 323,000 acutely malnourished children. Some 463,000 Somali refugees in the Dadaab camps in north eastern Kenya, 142,000 people in the Dollo Ado camps in Ethiopia as well as  22,000 people in the Ali Addeh camp in Djibouti as well as 1.35 million Somalis displaced within their own country also continue to require support.

Results achieved in 2011

The report details the results of UNICEF’s massive humanitarian response in the second half of 2011 which include:

• The delivery of more than 60,000 metric tons of life-saving UNICEF supplies to Horn of Africa countries by air, land and sea routes;
• The treatment of close to 350,000 severely malnourished children;
• The vaccination of 7.9 million children against measles;
• The provision of safe water to 3.2 million people; and
• The facilitation of access for more than 200,000 children to child-friendly spaces or other safe environments.

Thanks to massive support from donors and other partners, UNICEF contributed to the downgrading of Somalia’s originally six famine zones to the lower emergency level; a three-fold reduction in global acute malnutrition in Kenya’s Turkana region; and very high recovery rates from acute malnutrition and low mortality rates among children in Ethiopia.

Building the resilience of families and communities

In 2011, UNICEF received more than $405 million for its humanitarian response in the Horn of Africa, reaching 96 per cent of the total amount needed. This year, UNICEF needs an additional $413.8 million for its relief and recovery operations in the Horn of Africa.

Interventions include a strong focus on resilience building among families and communities, for instance through targeted cash transfers, the increased use of mobile health teams, strengthening capacities at community level for early surveillance and treatment of acute malnutrition, mapping of water and sanitation facilities in high risk areas to enable better preparedness, alternative basic education with flexible schooling hours and mobile schools for hard-to-reach populations such as pastoralists and the inclusion of peace education in teacher training programmes as well as other activities to reduce the risk that natural and other hazards turn into yet another disaster.

“The coming months demand continued and sustained support to ensure that the multiple needs of vulnerable children are met and that another catastrophe can be averted,” said As Sy. “If vigilance is not maintained, famine may return. However, together we can make a fundamental difference for millions of children in the Horn of Africa.”

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See this release at Unicef.org.

About UNICEF
UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org

Learn about what the Salesians are doing to help those in need in the Horn of Africa.

Special Note: Salesian Missions is working to raise funds to support the aid efforts of Salesians in the Horn of Africa (Kenya and Ethiopia). The Salesians are part of the international Catholic response to the crisis, reaching approximately one million people currently. To make a donation, go to SalesianMissions.org, click on Donate Now and select “African Famine Fund.”

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“We are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with Brazil and take advantage of our countries’ relative expertise in agriculture,” said Mark Feierstein, Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean at USAID. “By combining efforts, our countries can help others improve nutrition for rural communities and increase incomes for poor farmers.”

In Haiti, the partnership will primarily focus on sharing new technologies and implementing exchange programs and training opportunities. The three governments will: 1) test new varieties of maize, rice, beans, cowpeas and other crops; 2) implement new farming systems that use less water, fertilizer, and seeds; 3) improve mango production; 4) adopt technologies to store and process grains and vegetables; 5) enable farmers to use their land to sustainably produce both food and wood; 6) conduct exchange and training programs for farmers and researchers; and 7) promote nutrition, specifically for mothers and children.

“This partnership leverages the expertise of Brazilians and Americans to make a difference in food security in the region and directly help Haitians,” noted Paul Weisenfeld, Assistant to the Administrator for the Bureau of Food Security at USAID.

The partnership builds upon the U.S. government’s Feed the Future initiative to help nearly 567,000 vulnerable Haitian women, children, and family members escape hunger and poverty and to provide 176,000 children with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality.

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See related article about the Salesian program: Opportunity Grows at Agriculture School in Haiti

See ProgressInHaiti.org for more stories of progress in Haiti.

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An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating March 22, 1993, as the first “World Water Day.”

Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater – this year’s theme is water and food security.

“Agriculture is by far the main user of freshwater,” said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in an address highlighting World Water Day on March 22, 2012.

“Unless we increase our capacity to use water wisely in agriculture, we will fail to end hunger and we will open the door to a range of other ills, including drought, famine and political instability,” Ban Ki-moon continued.

“In many parts of the world, water scarcity is increasing and rates of growth in agricultural production have been slowing,” he said. “At the same time, climate change is exacerbating risk and unpredictability for farmers, especially for poor farmers in low-income countries who are the most vulnerable and the least able to adapt.”

Two weeks prior to this year’s World Water Day, UNICEF and World Health Organization report showed conclusively that poor people in rural areas are overwhelmingly those without these most basic necessities for life.

As the world commemorated World Water Day, UNICEF called on governments to pay particular attention to those who are being left behind in their countries’ progress, especially with regard to access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

“Governments must make sure that their resources achieve real results for the poorest people,” said Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF’s chief of water, sanitation and hygiene. “Otherwise they risk leaving large portions of their populations, particularly children, increasingly vulnerable to disease.”

The report, Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation 2012, says the world met the Millennium Development Goal target for drinking water at the end of 2010, when 89 per cent of the world’s population, or 6.1 billion people, used improved drinking water sources.

However, it says that rural dwellers are several times more likely than their urban counterparts to be without access to safe drinking water. According to the report, globally there is an almost universal disparity of access to safe drinking water in rural areas compared to urban areas.

Of the 783 million people still without improved sources of drinking water in 2010, 653 million are from rural areas. The picture is even worse for sanitation, where globally, 79 per cent of the urban population use an improved sanitation facility compared to 47 per cent of the rural population. Fully 72 per cent of those without access to improved sanitation, or 1.8 billion people, live in rural areas.

UNICEF says the rural-urban divide for safe drinking water is particularly acute in poorer countries. In sub-Saharan Africa the gap between urban and rural is 34 percentage points. On average in Least Developed Countries, ninety-seven out of every 100 rural dwellers do not have piped water on premises.

Overwhelmingly, it is women and girls who are bearing the brunt of the water burden, UNICEF says. Surveys conducted in 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa found that in 71 per cent of all households without water on the premises women or girls are mainly responsible for water collection. Each household typically requires at least one trip a day, and often more, for water collection. It is estimated that women spend a combined total of at least 16 million hours each day collecting drinking water; men spend 6 million hours; and children, 4 million hours.

“Safe drinking water must reach everyone”, says Wijesekera. “We cannot celebrate progress until those who are hardest to reach can also turn on a tap, or go to a well or pump and get enough safe drinking water for their daily needs.”

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UN Photo/Martine Perret

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“International food assistance is a small but critical component of the U.S. Farm Bill, providing assistance to 50 million people a year and reducing the burden of destabilizing food shortages on poor and vulnerable populations,” explained Ellen Levinson, executive director of the Alliance for Global Food Security.

According to the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 925 million people have too little to eat and 12,000,000 metric tons of food would be required to close the food gap in the 70 most food insecure countries around the globe. U.S. food assistance can be effectively used to address those food gaps, to build capacity and self-reliance of poor populations, and to reduce recurring hunger in areas that are vulnerable to droughts and other crises.

Food programs improve agricultural productivity, incomes, living conditions and nutrition of the very poor as well as reduce the need for emergency aid.  Programs offered under the U.S. Farm Bill offer flexibility because there is no one solution for tackling global hunger and different situations require different approaches. A variety of commodity choices and options for distribution and/or monetization allow programs to be adapted to local contexts.

Levinson praised the progress of the bill stating, “Great strides have been made in the past five years allowing U.S. food aid programs to better adapt to the situation at hand and have more substantial results.”

For example, during emergencies the pre-positioning of food in warehouses overseas has reduced delivery times for U.S. commodities, which can be as short as two weeks. When necessary, food products can also be purchased closer to the region in crisis.

In addition, a wider variety of food aid products are now available, including fortified cereals and nut butters that are more appropriate for malnourished, young children. More support has been given to developmental food aid programs that boost impacts by improving the health of mothers and children and increasing agricultural productivity and incomes. Most important, by building the capacity and self-reliance of very poor communities, developmental food aid programs reduce the need for emergency aid and help people escape the hunger cycle.

But emerging economies and growing populations are placing greater demand on food supplies. By 2050, world population is expected to reach 9 billion and food production will have to increase by 50 to 70 percent to keep pace. Decreasing the amount of funding available for developmental food aid would greatly impede efforts to improve childhood nutrition, improve agriculture and incomes, and decrease reliance on emergency assistance.  It would jeopardize gains made in improving food security and stabilizing communities and, in the end, would be more costly for the American taxpayer.

SALESIAN MISSIONS ON THE ISSUE OF INTERNATIONAL FOOD AID:

For each county that receives assistance, such as Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, there is a story to be told and millions of people are being lifted from the grips of poverty and hunger.  Decreased childhood hunger, improved household incomes, increased agricultural productivity, and overall improved community resilience are testaments to the success of these programs under the U.S. Farm Bill and why Salesian Missions joins the other members of the Alliance for Global Food Security in urging congress to continue funding for international food aid. Salesian Missions, headquartered in New Rochelle, N.Y., is the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. For more information, go to SalesianMissions.org.

ABOUT THE ALLIANCE FOR GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY:

The members of the Alliance for Global Food Security are private voluntary organizations and cooperatives that are committed to addressing hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity. They operate in over 100 developing countries, implementing emergency and development programs that directly engage, support and build the capacity of local communities, enterprises and institutions. Members include ACDI/VOCA, Adventist Development & Relief Agency International, Congressional Hunger Center, Counterpart International, Food for the Hungry, International Relief & Development, United Methodist Committee on Relief, Land O’Lakes, OIC International, Planet Aid, PCI, Salesian Missions and World Vision.

To learn more about U.S. food aid programs, please see FoodAid.org.

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“Momentum is on our side. Let us use it to end AIDS – once and for all,” Mr. Ban said in his message for World AIDS Day, observed on Dec. 1 each year.

“The progress we have made so far is proof that we can realize our vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths,” he added.

The number of new HIV infections has fallen by more than 20 per cent since 1997, Mr. Ban noted. New infections are continuing to decline in most parts of the world. In addition, treatment has averted 2.5 million AIDS-related deaths since 1985, saving 700,000 lives last year alone.

“But, to end AIDS, we need to deliver even greater results,” stressed the Secretary-General. “We must build on the political commitments, investments, energy, activism and determination that have brought us to this turning point.”

Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of the Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), noted it has been a year of achievements, of collective action, of resilience and of courage. Despite the economic downturn that has stretched the AIDS response to its limits, millions of lives have been saved, as HIV treatment and prevention efforts continue to show results, he said.

“Never before in the history of AIDS have we reached a moment where we are able to stand up and say with conviction the end of AIDS is in sight,” he stated in his message.

“The road before us is clear and we can accelerate ahead with smart investments, capitalizing on scientific advancements and evidence and respecting human rights,” Mr. Sidibé said, calling on countries, donors and others to reach the global investment target of $22-24 billion for the AIDS response. “Only together can we secure the future and provide greater and long-term dividends.”

In a related development, Mr. Sidibé welcomed China’s decision to fill its HIV resource gap by increasing domestic investments. The new commitment from China comes at a crucial moment, according to UNAIDS, as resources for AIDS are declining and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is facing a major setback in resource mobilization.

The theme of this year’s World AIDS Day is “Getting to Zero,” which reflects both optimism and the need to do much more, the President of the General Assembly said in his message, noting that the challenges ahead are “sobering.”

While more than 6.5 million people now receive life-saving treatment, 7.6 million still have no access to it, said Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser. In 2010 alone, 1.8 million people died of AIDS-related illnesses, and there were 2.7 million new HIV infections.

“We cannot allow hard-won gains to unravel,” said Mr. Al-Nasser. “I call on all stakeholders to uphold their commitments, and to work together to sustain and accelerate the progress.”

A number of other senior UN officials issued messages, adding their voices to the call for sustained action to finally rid the world of the epidemic. They include the Executive Director of the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov; the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova; and the Director-General of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Juan Somavia.

The UN World Food Program (WFP) marked the Day by emphasizing the importance of providing food and nutrition support to people living with HIV and their families.

“Poor nutritional status and HIV can reinforce each other in a vicious circle,” said Martin Bloem, WFP’s chief of nutrition and HIV/AIDS policy. “WFP works with communities and health centers around the world to ensure that people affected by HIV and AIDS receive comprehensive support that nourishes and strengthens their bodies.”

In 2010, WFP supported 2.5 million people in 44 countries through its HIV and tuberculosis programs, providing food and nutrition support to some 1.3 million people living with HIV as part of their anti-retroviral treatment (ART) or TB treatment and another 1.2 million people affected by these diseases. It aims to reach about the same number of people this year.

Yesterday, the UN World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and UNAIDS released their report on the global HIV/AIDS response, highlighting the fact that there is a very real possibility of getting ahead of the epidemic.

This can only be achieved, however, by both sustaining and accelerating the current momentum over the next decade and beyond, the agencies stressed.

Meanwhile, a UN Development Programs (UNDP) study released today says that households in Asia that include people living with HIV exhaust their savings and liquidate assets at a disproportionately high rate, often plunging into “irreversible poverty.”

Catastrophic health care costs, stigma, unemployment, and bad credit also mean these households – which start out with fewer assets – consume less food of lower quality and keep fewer children in school, said the report, which calls for urgent mitigation measures, including HIV-sensitive social protection to help tens of thousands of households in the region.

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Learn about how Salesian Missions is working to fight HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia through a project funded by USAID.

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