As we receive word of another major earthquake in the region, here's a disturbing story about the after-effects of the Christmas tsunami:
Child Traffickers Prey on Indian Tsunami Victims
and this:
Charity Says Tsunami Killed 3 Times More Women Than Men; Female Scarcity Said to Lead to Rapes
NAMIBIA: Lack of data and resources affects OVC interventions
SOUTH AFRICA: Rural education needs more resources, study
SUDAN: Coping with disease and drought in Upper Nile
SWAZILAND: New education policy launched
ETHIOPIA: Two new polio cases reported
More...
UN News Center: "Warning that an additional 12,000 Nepalese children could die annually without access to vaccines, Vitamin A and de-worming drugs held up in a transport shutdown, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has called on all parties in the conflict in the Himalayan kingdom to help facilitate supplies."
CNN Health: "A global treaty aimed at dissuading children from smoking and helping adults kick the habit came into force on Sunday with the United Nations saying it could save millions of lives.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) applauded the strong warnings on cigarette packages and the eventual ban on tobacco advertising and sponsorship laid down in the the world's first international public health treaty.... Tobacco, the second leading cause of preventable deaths globally after hypertension, kills 4.9 million people a year, the U.N. agency says."
"A mass polio immunization campaign began on Friday across Africa, targeting 100 million children, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported. The 22-nation synchronised campaign, dubbed the Coast-to-Coast Polio Drive, comes as reports from Ethiopia indicated that a child there had contracted polio, the first case in the country in four years." Learn More...
Disturbing numbers published by UNICEF: "One in 12 of the world's children is involved in the worst forms of child labor, including slavery, forced labor, hazardous work, militant action and the commercial sex industry, according to a report published Monday by the U.N. child welfare agency, UNICEF." Full Article
"Aiming to ease the emergency conditions caused by recent flooding in Venezuela, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has allocated $100,000 for initial relief efforts being carried out in coordination with the country's Government. The agency will seek first to re-establish basic services for children, provide psychosocial support and dispatch supplies such as water purification tablets." More...
"United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy for children and armed conflict (CAAC) today launched an action plan for systematically monitoring and reporting of child abuse in situations of armed conflict, or in "situations of concern," with a view to triggering a strong international response." Learn More...
Via UN Wire, this article on the battle to end HIV/Aids in Africa. Quote: "The United Nations children's and public health agencies may be able to develop and market anti-HIV/AIDS formulations for children within 18 months, the UN Special Envoy helping to coordinate the battle against HIV/AIDS in Africa said today in Barcelona, Spain.... "The most important touch of solace on the horizon is that UNICEF and WHO have come together in an effort to address the most complex aspects of this predicament," he said."