GURAGE ZONE, Ethiopia, 25 June 2008 -- Mubarek weighed barely 3.5 kg when he arrived at th
GURAGE ZONE, Ethiopia, 25 June 2008 -- Mubarek weighed barely 3.5 kg when he arrived at the Kuno Alimena Health Post in Ethiopia's drought-affected Gurage Zone. His weight would be average for a newborn baby, but as a toddler, he weighs approximately one-third of what he should. His diagnosis is severe acute malnutrition.
Still, Mubarek was lucky; his mother brought him to the weekly UNICEF-supported therapeutic feeding programme that has been set up to save the lives of severely malnourished children. He did not have medical complications that would require clinical treatment and was able to begin home-based care, receiving weekly rations of ready-to-use therapeutic foods.
Children are the most vulnerable to nutritional deficits and the first to succumb when there is not enough food at home. Those with severe acute malnutrition have a 25 to 50 per cent chance of dying if they don't receive proper treatment.
UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Hilde F. Johnson visited Guraghe Zone during her recent trip to drought-affected areas of southern Ethiopia. She concluded her trip by calling for immediate help to feed malnourished children and their families.
To read the full story, visit: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ethiopia_44623.html
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GOMA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 24 June 2008 -- In a momentous step forward for th
GOMA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 24 June 2008 -- In a momentous step forward for the protection of women and girls in DRC and around the world, the UN Security Council has voted unanimously in favour of a resolution classifying rape as a weapon of war.
Resolution 1820, which passed last week, reiterates the status of sexual violence as a war crime, a crime against humanity, a form of torture and a constituent act of genocide. It also advances efforts to sanction perpetrators and raise the political, military and economic cost of such violence.
"Sexual violence in DRC is on a scale and brutality unparalleled elsewhere in the world," says Child Protection Specialist Pernille Ironside in UNICEF's eastern DRC regional office. "While rape certainly existed prior to the war, the brutal nature of the violations that we see is appalling -- with over 1,000 women and girls raped per month.
"This is truly a context in which sexual violence has taken on a new dimension," she adds.
To read the full story, visit: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/drcongo_44598.html
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DJIBOUTI, Djibouti, 23 June 2008 -- Shortly before giving birth to her second child, Saida
DJIBOUTI, Djibouti, 23 June 2008 -- Shortly before giving birth to her second child, Saida, 22, became ill and was tested for HIV through a UNICEF-supported maternal health clinic. Saida now knows she is living with HIV, but her passion for life and her determination to care for her young family have not been diminished by the diagnosis.
"I would have been dead," Saida says. "They used to say it was tuberculosis to explain why people were dying. But now they test for HIV. They can take care of you and you can survive."
When Saida received her diagnosis, she immediately began a programme to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. The PMTCT programme provides women with free anti-retroviral drugs and health care for their children.
UNICEF is working to raise community awareness of HIV prevention and working with non-governmental organizations to provide social support to people like Saida who are living with HIV and AIDS.
To read the full story, visit: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/djibouti_44573.html
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HUSEINEYEH CAMP, Syria, 24 June 2008 -- If Aziza Melkash were not in this yellow-curtained
HUSEINEYEH CAMP, Syria, 24 June 2008 -- If Aziza Melkash were not in this yellow-curtained room among 31 other teenagers intently discussing research findings, she would be holed up at home with little to do and nowhere to go.
As an eighth-grader living in Huseineyeh camp near Damascus, Aziza first came to the UNICEF-supported adolescent-friendly learning space (AFLS) here in 2005 to learn about child abuse. The diminutive adolescent and scores of her peers in Palestinian refugee camps across Syria have since learned something even more important: how to recognize what needs to change in their communities, and how to be part of that change.
"Now, when I see something wrong, I speak up," says Aziza.
Since 2005, up to 3,500 adolescents have received AFLS training on child rights and life skills -- ranging from leadership and communication to healthy behaviour -- as part of a Norwegian-funded, UNICEF-designed programme to help young Palestinian refugees better protect themselves and contribute to their communities.
To read the full story, visit: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/syria_44612.html
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LONGNAN PREFECTURE, China, 20 June 2008 -- Bending over a tiny desk, seven-year-old Zhang
LONGNAN PREFECTURE, China, 20 June 2008 -- Bending over a tiny desk, seven-year-old Zhang Ziwen did his homework in a tent near the Bailongjiang River.
"I used to live in the town with my family. But now we can't live in our house anymore," Zhang said.
Before the earthquake struck the region in May, Zhang attended all his classes from Monday to Friday. But since the quake, he has been one of the 518,000 students who have limited classes taught in tents or pre-fabricated classrooms in Longnan Prefecture.
"I am still afraid of the aftershocks. There is no electricity in the tent at night and I am bit by lots of mosquitoes," he said. "I just wish to go to school every day, as usual."
To read the full story, visit: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/china_44559.html
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YANGON, Myanmar 17 June 2008 -- The weather has become an added challenge to delivering ai
YANGON, Myanmar 17 June 2008 -- The weather has become an added challenge to delivering aid in cyclone-ravaged Myanmar.
On Sunday, a UNICEF mission delivering school tents was hampered by strong wind gusts, rain and pools of mud, making the unloading of some 900 kg of supplies very difficult.
UNICEF and its partners have been able to reach people who live in the southern Irrawaddy Delta, but more aid is needed. Where villages have lost school buildings, UNICEF is delivering about 80 large tents that will provide safe learning spaces for more than 6,000 children.
To read the full story, visit: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/myanmar_44518.html
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LILONGWE, Malawi, 16 June 2008 -- Arguments and debates echoed through the vast red brick
LILONGWE, Malawi, 16 June 2008 -- Arguments and debates echoed through the vast red brick hall here last week. Parliament was in session.
Malawi's Youth Parliament met for the seventh time in the capital, Lilongwe, from 12 to 14 June. Held annually since 2001, the gathering coincided with the run-up to the Day of the African Child, 16 June.
The theme this year's Day of the African Child is particularly apt: giving youth a voice. In marking the day, UNICEF is drawing attention to the importance of child participation in schools, community action, media and governance.
To read the full story, visit: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/malawi_44478.html
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GROZNY, Chechnya, Russian Federation, 16 June 2008 -- The legacy of conflict is all over t
GROZNY, Chechnya, Russian Federation, 16 June 2008 -- The legacy of conflict is all over this indoor football field, where 11 young men, all missing a limb, regularly gather to score a goal for beating the odds.
A local non-governmental organization know as Laman Az (Chechen for 'Voice of the Mountains') created the football team with help from UNICEF in 2002 as part of the Mine Action Survivor Assistance programme. UNICEF provided the team with basic equipment and restored the premises for training in the only surviving gym in war-torn Grozny.
UNICEF's Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, Maria Calivis, recently visited the team and commended its young members for their courage, calling them "an example for all of us."
To read the full story, visit: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/russia_44499.html
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TASIK CINI, Malaysia, 17 June 2008 -- Assembled around a village elder, members of the you
TASIK CINI, Malaysia, 17 June 2008 -- Assembled around a village elder, members of the younger generation listen to tales of their ancestors. Clad in a traditional headpiece made of dried leaves, Awang Bin Alok, 67, shares his stories with young students sitting on the porch of a wooden house.
The oral tradition continues to serve an important role for the ethnic Jakun community of Tasik Cini in Peninsular Malaysia. It is a role that not only informs children like nine-year-old Nurkafiha about the past, but could also brighten her chances for the future.
"I like the folktales because they are funny," said Nurkafiha. "And I get to act, and read and write."
Introducing ethnic folklore into the curriculum is part of a UNICEF-supported effort to reduce dropout rates among the indigenous inhabitants of Malaysia, known as the Orang Asli.
To read the full story, visit: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/malaysia_44515.html
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