UNICEF
1.6 million children stranded by floods in Bangladesh: UNICEF
Four million people, including 1.6 million children, stranded by flash floods in north-eastern Bangladesh, are in urgent need of help, said UNICEF on Monday.
UNICEF is on the ground to protect children and to deliver emergency water and health supplies.
“Children need safe drinking water right now. Preventing deadly waterborne diseases is one of several critical concerns,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh.
UNICEF is urgently seeking $2.5 million in funding for the emergency response as it provides life-saving supplies and services to children and families.
UNICEF has already dispatched 400,000 water purification tablets that can support 80,000 households with clean water for a week.
Also Read: South Asia floods hampering access to food, clean water
UNICEF is working to further support the Government of Bangladesh’s emergency response with millions of water purification tablets, more than 10,000 water containers known as jerry cans, and thousands of hygiene kits for women and adolescent girls.
UNICEF is also procuring emergency medicines supplies for district health facilities.
In Sylhet division, 90 per cent of health facilities have been inundated, while cases of waterborne diseases continue to rise.
Children are at heightened risk of drowning, already one of the major causes of child deaths in the country.
Over 36,000 children have taken refuge in overcrowded shelters together with their families.
Schools have been closed, and exams cancelled, further hampering the education of children who already suffered an 18-months of pandemic school closure.
At least eight children have tragically lost their lives, according to UNICEF.
“Our heart goes out for the children whose lives have been lost. Children are the most vulnerable in this desperate situation. UNICEF is working around the clock with authorities and our partners to meet the immediate needs of children,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh.
Nearly 37 million children displaced worldwide: UNICEF
Conflict, violence and other crises left a record 36.5 million children displaced from their homes at the end of 2021, UNICEF estimates which is the highest number recorded since the Second World War.
This figure includes 13.7 million refugee and asylum-seeking children† and nearly 22.8 million children who are internally displaced due to conflict and violence.
These figures do not include children displaced by climate and environmental shocks or disasters, as well as those newly displaced in 2022, including by the war in Ukraine.
Additionally, children and families are also being driven from their homes by extreme weather events, such as by drought in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel, and severe flooding in Bangladesh, India and South Africa.
There were 7.3 million new displacements of children as a consequence of natural disasters in 2021.
Read: Myanmar military killed at least 142 children in past 16 months: UN expert
The record number of children displaced is a direct result of cascading crises – including acute and protracted conflicts such as in Afghanistan, fragility in countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo or Yemen and linked shocks exacerbated by the impacts of climate change.
Just like fragility, child displacement is spreading fast. During the previous year, the global number of displaced children increased by 2.2 million.
"We can't ignore the evidence: The number of children being displaced by conflict and crises is rapidly growing – and so is our responsibility to reach them," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on Friday.
"I hope this alarming number will move governments to prevent children from being displaced in the first place – and when they are displaced, to ensure their access to education, protection, and other critical services that support their wellbeing and development now and in the future."
Crises like the war in Ukraine – which has caused more than 2 million children to flee the country and displaced 3 million internally since February – come on top of this record high.
The global refugee population has more than doubled in the last decade, with children making up almost half of the total.
Uprooted children – whether refugee, asylum seeker or internally displaced – can face grave risks to their well-being and safety.
Read: UNRC lauds remarkable eagerness of children to learn
This is particularly true for the hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied or separated children who are at heightened risk of trafficking, exploitation, violence and abuse. Children account for approximately 34 per cent of detected trafficking victims globally.
UNICEF urged Member States to adhere to their commitments to the rights of all uprooted children, including commitments established under the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) and the Global Compact for Migration (GCM), and to invest further in data and research that reflects the true scale of the issues facing refugee, migrant and displaced children.
Bangladesh number 1 recipient of COVID-19 vaccines under COVAX: UNICEF
In one year, UNICEF has delivered over 190 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Bangladesh through COVAX while a COVID-19 booster dose campaign is planned for June.
To date, Bangladesh remains the top recipient of doses under COVAX, the global initiative co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the World Health Organization, with UNICEF as a key delivery partner.
Also read: Richest countries damaging child health worldwide: Unicef
COVAX accounts for more than 62 per cent of doses received by the country. The goal of COVAX is to ensure equitable access of COVID-19 vaccines globally, said UNICEF on Tuesday.
COVID-19 vaccinations started in Bangladesh in February 2021. UNICEF delivered the first COVAX shipment of vaccines to Bangladesh on 1 June 2021, at a time when only 4 per cent of the population in the country were fully vaccinated.
A year on, thanks to a strong partnership between the Government, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and other partners, Bangladesh has fully vaccinated with two doses 69 per cent of its population – a staggering 117 million people.
“Bangladesh’s ability to absorb and roll out COVID-19 vaccines is a testament to what can be achieved when there is political commitment and an equitable supply of vaccines,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh.
The success in getting millions of vaccines quickly and safely into arms in every corner of the country has been nothing short of remarkable, Yett, added.
“With the committed strong leadership of the Prime Minister, Bangladesh has shown incredible resilience to face the COVID-19 pandemic. With continuous supply of vaccines and hard work of dedicated health workers, we have been able to vaccinate the targeted population without wasting doses,” said Prof. Dr. Meerjady Sabrina Flora, Additional Directorate General (Planning and Development), DGHS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
UNICEF has also supported the Government’s COVID-19 response by strengthening the cold chain and ultra-cold chain, delivering critical supplies, generating demand, supporting data management and building capacity for vaccine administration.
These investments will continue to serve the people of Bangladesh for years to come beyond the COVID-19 crisis.
Also read: UNICEF: South Asia is epicentre of severely wasted children; Bangladesh fares better than India, Pakistan
They are especially important to keep children safe from vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and polio.
“Bangladesh with 69 per cent fully vaccinated population is close to achieving the global benchmark of 70 per cent fully vaccinated population by June 2022.
The success could not have been possible without COVAX support. The ongoing pace of vaccination gives us a hope to see the end of COVID-19 as a global health emergency. Let us also not forget that the pandemic is not over anywhere until it’s over everywhere” said Dr. Bardan Jung Rana, WHO Representative to Bangladesh.
Richest countries damaging child health worldwide: Unicef
Over-consumption in the richest countries is creating unhealthy, dangerous, and toxic conditions for children globally, according to a recent report by the UN Children's Fund (Unicef).
"Not only are the majority of rich countries failing to provide healthy environments for children within their borders, but they are also contributing to the destruction of children's environments in other parts of the world," said Gunilla Olsson, director of the Unicef Office of Research – Innocenti.
The latest Innocenti Report Card 17: Places and Spaces, published Tuesday, compares how 39 countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and European Union (EU) impact children's environments.
Indicators include exposure to harmful pollutants, such as toxic air, pesticides, damp and lead; access to light, green spaces and safe roads; and countries' contributions to the climate crisis, resource consumption, and e-waste dumping.
Read: WHO: COVID-19 cases mostly drop, except for the Americas
The report states that if the entire world consumed resources at the rate of the OECD and the EU countries, the equivalent of 3.3 earths would be needed to keep up with consumption levels.
If it were at the rate at which people in Canada, Luxembourg and the US do, at least five earths would be needed.
While Spain, Ireland and Portugal feature at the overall top of the list, all the OECD and the EU countries are failing to provide healthy environments for all children across all indicators.
Based on CO2 emissions, e-waste and overall resource consumption per capita, Australia, Belgium, Canada and the US are among other wealthy countries that rank low on creating a healthy environment for children within and beyond their borders.
Meanwhile, Finland, Iceland and Norway are among those that provide healthier environments for their country's children but disproportionately contribute to destroying the global environment.
"In some cases, we are seeing countries providing relatively healthy environments for children at home while being among the top contributors to pollutants that are destroying children's environments abroad," said Gunilla.
In contrast, the least wealthy OECD and EU countries in Latin America and Europe have a much lower impact on the wider world.
Read: Davos climate focus: Can ‘going green’ mean oil and gas?
Over 20 million children in this group have elevated levels of lead – one of the most dangerous environmental toxic substances – in their blood.
Many children are breathing toxic air both in and outside of their homes.
More than one in 12 children in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Israel and Poland are exposed to high pesticide pollution, which has been linked with cancer – including childhood leukaemia – and can harm vital body systems.
"Mounting waste, harmful pollutants and exhausted natural resources are taking a toll on our children’s physical and mental health and threatening our planet’s sustainability," said Gunilla.
Over 1.5mn children at risk as devastating floods hit north-eastern Bangladesh: UNICEF
Over 1.5 million children are at increased risk of waterborne diseases, drowning and malnutrition due to extensive flooding in north-eastern Bangladesh, says UNICEF on Monday.
The UN agency is on the ground with the government and non-government partners to respond to the urgent safety, health, nutrition and clean water needs of children and their families.
Over four million people in five districts of north-eastern Bangladesh – Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj, Netrokona and Maulvibazar – are affected by extensive flooding.
Sylhet and Sunamganj have been most affected, with water flowing above dangerous levels. Agricultural land and critical infrastructure, including power stations and schools, have been submerged.
Cases of diarrhoea, respiratory infection, and skin diseases have already been reported. At least three children have died after being struck by lightning, said UNICEF.
READ: Bidya Sinha Mim appointed UNICEF National Ambassador in Bangladesh
Hundreds of schools have been closed, further jeopardizing the education of children. After 18 months of pandemic school closures in the last few years, children are once again missing out on learning.
“The damage to lives, homes and schools is heartbreaking. In this disaster, as in most others, children are the most vulnerable. UNICEF is on the ground to protect children and to meet their urgent needs, supporting the Government and working closely with our local partners,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh.
UNICEF said it is supporting the government of Bangladesh’s flood response by supplying clean water, hygiene kits, therapeutic milk and learning kits.
UNICEF also works closely with the Department of Social Services to ensure that social workers stand ready to protect the safety and security of children. Raising awareness about drowning prevention in communities is at the centre of the response.
Bidya Sinha Mim appointed UNICEF National Ambassador in Bangladesh
National Film Award winning actress Bidya Sinha Saha Mim has been appointed UNICEF’s newest National Ambassador in Bangladesh.
As a UNICEF National Ambassador, Mim joins prominent personalities around the world who use their voice and prominence to advocate for the rights of children.
Also read: UNICEF: South Asia is epicentre of severely wasted children; Bangladesh fares better than India, Pakistan
“Across our country, UNICEF is there with us to protect children and their right to education, health and a bright future. I have long admired UNICEF’s work for children. It is an honour for me to be part of that cause, for every child,” said Mim on Thursday.
“Each of us has a responsibility to speak up for the rights of children and women. I am looking forward to doing my part together with UNICEF,” she added.
As one of the best-known film stars in Bangladesh, Mim brings with her energy and enthusiasm, as well as a deep commitment to the protection of the most vulnerable children and women in this country, said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh.
“We are thrilled to have Mim on board and we look forward to working with her for the rights and well-being of every child,” Yett said.
In her professional life, Mim has established herself as an inspiring advocate for women’s rights and a leading voice against violence.
Also read: UNICEF finds Bangladesh as Covid-19 vaccine success story
As a UNICEF National Ambassador in Bangladesh, Mim will raise awareness about the rights of children, especially those most vulnerable. She will lend her voice to UNICEF’s causes that are closest to her heart, including speaking out against the violence that children and women face in Bangladesh.
Before her appointment, Mim has already collaborated with UNICEF to raise awareness about COVID-19 prevention. Since the start of the pandemic, she has joined the chorus of voices around the world highlighting the critical role of vaccines in saving lives, and the need for greater investment in immunization services.
UNICEF: South Asia is epicentre of severely wasted children; Bangladesh fares better than India, Pakistan
South Asia remains the ‘epicentre’ of severe wasting, where roughly 1 in 22 children is severely wasted, three times as high as sub-Saharan Africa, says UNICEF on Tuesday.
Bangladesh is among the top 10 countries with the highest number of children under 5 years of age affected by severe wasting.
Bangladesh’s situation is, however, better than India and Pakistan.
Bangladesh ranks fifth with 327,859 children affected by severe wasting while India ranked first with 5,772,472 affected children and Pakistan third with 678,925 affected children, said the report.
At least 10 million severely wasted children globally – or 2 in 3 – do not have access to the most effective treatment for wasting, ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF).
The number of children with severe wasting was rising even before war in Ukraine threatened to plunge the world deeper into a spiraling global food crisis - and it’s getting worse, the UN agency warned in a new Child Alert.
Released on Tuesday, Severe wasting: An overlooked child survival emergency shows that in spite of rising levels of severe wasting in children and rising costs for life-saving treatment, global financing to save the lives of children suffering from wasting is also under threat.
Read: Nearly 1 billion people in need of assistive technology denied access: Report
Severe wasting – where children are too thin for their height resulting in weakened immune systems – is the most immediate, visible and life-threatening form of malnutrition.
Worldwide, at least 13.6 million children under five suffer from severe wasting, resulting in 1 in 5 deaths among this age group.
UNICEF warns that a combination of global shocks to food security worldwide – led by the war in Ukraine, economies struggling with pandemic recovery, and persistent drought conditions in some countries due to climate change – is creating conditions for a significant increase in global levels of severe wasting.
“Even before the war in Ukraine placed a strain on food security worldwide, conflict, climate shocks and COVID-19 were already wreaking havoc on families’ ability to feed their children,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “The world is rapidly becoming a virtual tinderbox of preventable child deaths and child suffering from wasting.”
Meanwhile, the price of ready-to-use therapeutic food is projected to increase by up to 16 per cent over the next six months due to a sharp rise in the cost of raw ingredients, according to UNICEF.
This could leave up to 600,000 additional children without access to life-saving treatment at current spending levels. Shipping and delivery costs are also expected to remain high, said the UN agency.
“For millions of children every year, these sachets of therapeutic paste are the difference between life and death. A sixteen per cent price increase may sound manageable in the context of global food markets, but at the end of that supply chain is a desperately malnourished child, for whom the stakes are not manageable at all,” said Russell.
The Child Alert also notes that even countries in relative stability, such as Uganda, have seen a 40 per cent or more increase in child wasting since 2016, due to rising poverty and household food insecurity causing inadequate quality and frequency of diets for children and pregnant women.
Climate-related shocks including severe cyclical drought and inadequate access to clean water and sanitation services are contributing to the rising numbers.
Read: NEC approves Tk 2.46 trillion ADB with highest allocation for transport & communication
The report goes on to warn that aid for wasting remains woefully low and is predicted to decline sharply in the coming years, with little hope of recovering to pre-pandemic levels before 2028.
To reach every child with life-saving treatment for severe wasting, UNICEF urged the governments to increase wasting aid by at least 59 per cent above 2019 ODA levels to help reach all children in need of treatment in 23 high burden countries.
It also called upon the countries to include treatment for child wasting under health and long-term development funding schemes so that all children can benefit from treatment programmes, not just those in humanitarian crisis settings.
UNICEF called for ensuring that budget allocations to address the global hunger crisis include specific allocations for therapeutic food interventions to address the immediate needs of children suffering from severe wasting.
Donors and civil society organizations have been urged to prioritize funding for wasting to ensure a diverse, growing and a healthy ecosystem of donor support.
“There is simply no reason why a child should suffer from severe wasting – not when we have the ability to prevent it. But there is precious little time to reignite a global effort to prevent, detect and treat malnutrition before a bad situation gets much, much worse,” said Russell.
UNICEF finds Bangladesh as Covid-19 vaccine success story
UNICEF has listed Bangladesh, Peru, Vietnam and the Philippines as "Covid-19 Vaccine Success Stories" in their recent report, noting that Bangladesh's vaccination rate has risen sharply.
When the first COVID-19 vaccines supplied by COVAX touched down in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, in June 2021, less than four per cent of all adults were fully vaccinated, said UNICEF.
Also read: Help all reach vaccination targets, Hasina urges COVAX summit
Fast forward less than a year and that number has risen dramatically, said the UN agency, adding that by the beginning of April, 67 per cent of the population had received two doses.
Bangladesh has advanced eight notches to rank 5th out of 121 countries across the globe on Nikkei’s Covid-19 Recovery Index.
Of the other South Asian countries in the list, Nepal ranked 6th, Pakistan 23rd, Sri Lanka 31st, and India were 70th.
With a score of 80 on the index, Bangladesh ranked only below Qatar, the UAE, Cambodia and Rwanda in the latest edition of the index published recently.
COVAX has played a crucial role in that achievement. More than half of all the COVID-19 vaccines delivered to Bangladesh last year were through the programme, according to UNICEF.
Political priority at the highest level spearheaded by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself; continuous diplomatic efforts to acquire sufficient amount of vaccines from bilateral as well as multilateral sources and an established capacity, in terms of infrastructure and human resources, to roll out large-scale nationwide immunization programmes are mainly three factors enabled Bangladesh to pull of this amazing feat, said Shah Ali Farhad, a former special assistant to the Prime Minister, while sharing his observation in a Facebook post.
Also read: 2nd round of mega Covid vaccination drive extended until April 3: Health Minister
Young volunteers in Bangladesh have played an important role in making sure those shots get to people’s arms, UNICEF said.
“They’ve been reaching out to communities to amplify the message that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and available.”
Mukta is one of those volunteers and has been driven by a desire to help other people during the pandemic and so she joined UNICEF as a volunteer.
Mukta has been going door to door, often talking to elderly people, families living in slums, and those who don’t have access to a mobile phone or the internet.
“I’ve seen so many vulnerable people,” says Mukta. “I enjoy going to people’s homes and raising awareness about vaccination. I love helping them.”
Myanmar curriculum pilot reaches first 10,000 Rohingya children in Cox’s Bazar: UNICEF
A breakthrough for Rohingya refugee children living in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camps in Bangladesh sees the first 10,000 children enrolled to receive education based on the national curriculum of their home country Myanmar, says UNICEF.
This milestone will be reached this month, said the UN agency on Sunday.
The Myanmar Curriculum Pilot, launched by UNICEF and partners in November 2021, is a critical step forward towards ensuring the fundamental right to education for Rohingya refugee children. It will help prepare the children for their return to Myanmar.
“There is a tremendous demand for education among Rohingya refugee children, and UNICEF and partners are on the ground in the camps, responding to that demand,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh.
There are over 400,000 school-aged Rohingya children in the Bangladesh refugee camps.
With approximately 300,000 of these children attending learning centres, UNICEF and partners are running a mammoth education operation in what is the largest refugee settlement in the world.
There are 3,400 learning centres across multiple camps, of which 2,800 are supported by UNICEF.
To date, most of the children have been learning through the so-called Learning Competency Framework Approach (LCFA), which covers levels one to four and caters primarily to children aged 4-14.
The LCFA was created as an emergency measure for Rohingya refugee children and is a largely informal learning system.
The curriculum that is now being piloted is based on the Myanmar national curriculum, and it provides Rohingya refugee children with formal and standardized education.
In addition, the Myanmar Curriculum fills a critical secondary education gap: It provides schooling also for older children who have largely lacked access to education.
The Myanmar Curriculum Pilot initially targets 10,000 children in grades six to nine.
In normal circumstances, grades six to nine cater to children aged 11-14.
However, many Rohingya refugee children have fallen behind in their education, and so most children enrolled in grades six to nine are aged 14-16.
UNICEF aims to scale up in phases so that by 2023, all school-aged children are taught through the Myanmar curriculum.
Despite much progress, approximately 100,000 school-aged Rohingya refugee children are not in school, said the UN agency.
UNICEF and partners are working to reach out to these children and to remove the barriers that prevent them from going to school.
Private and community-based learning facilities that meet the needs of both boys and girls, and which are operated with sufficient oversight, could also play a role in providing educational services.
UNICEF engages with all stakeholders who play a role in the effort to provide Rohingya refugee children with equitable and inclusive access to standardized education.
“We need to do all we can to give these children hope, to provide them with education, to prepare them for their futures in Myanmar. UNICEF will continue to work with the Rohingya refugee community, the Government of Bangladesh and partners until every refugee child is reached with quality education,” said Yett.
World Immunization Week: UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador calls for greater investment
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Liam Neeson is leading UNICEF’s global immunization initiative with a global message thanking the scientists, parents, health workers and others who have been so critical in helping to immunize children over the last two decades.
In a video released ahead of World Immunization Week, Neeson talks about how the efforts of scientists such as Jonas Salk, who developed the first vaccine against polio, and dedicated workers who fill vials at factories or deliver vaccine injections, have made it possible to save two to three million child lives each year.
“Vaccines are a remarkable human success story. Over the last 75 years, billions of children have been vaccinated, thanks to scientists, to health workers, to volunteers. If you’ve ever been vaccinated, or vaccinated your children, then you are part of the arm-to-arm chain that keeps all humanity safe,” said Liam Neeson, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
“We live our lives free of worry about catching smallpox. Once a terrifying diagnosis, polio is no longer a threat in most of the world. The conversation about vaccines in recent years has lost sight of how much good they have done for each of us. We need to celebrate this. It is perhaps one of the biggest collective achievements in human history.”
Every like, share, or comment on posts mentioning a UNICEF social media account and using the hashtag #longlifeforall from now until May 10 will unlock US $1 to UNICEF, from the United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life campaign and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – up to a total of US$10 million – to help ensure all children get the life-saving vaccines they need.
Despite the successes, an alarming 23 million children missed out on vaccinations in 2020. This number can only be reduced through greater commitment to and investment in immunization services.
UNICEF is the world’s leading provider of vaccines to children in over 100 countries, according to a message received here from New York.
With Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and partners UNICEF supplies vaccines to reach 45 per cent of the world’s children under five. UNICEF also works with Governments in over 130 countries to strengthen national health and immunization programmes.
“The last two years have taught us that a health care system that leaves some children exposed, is a health care system that leaves all children exposed,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
“The best way for the world to recover from this pandemic – and to prepare for future health emergencies – is to invest in stronger health systems, and immunization and essential health services for every child.”
World Immunization Week – celebrated every year in the last week of April – is spearheaded by the World Health Organization and brings together global partners to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease.
The theme for this year is #LongLifeForAll, with ‘long life’ reflecting the importance of lifespan vaccinations.
“We are in a race against time to restore the immunization services disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerate progress against all vaccine-preventable diseases,” said Gargee Ghosh, President of Global Policy and Advocacy at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“That is why we are thrilled to work with UNICEF and other partners around the world to ensure children – especially those in the world’s poorest countries – have access to the vaccines they need to live a long, healthy life.”
“UNICEF ensures that nearly half of the world’s children under five are ‘protected by love’ with lifesaving vaccines,” said Martha Rebour, Executive Director of Shot@Life, United Nations Foundation.
“We are honored to support and promote their work during World Immunization Week and hope that others will join us in our advocacy for these critical global vaccine programs.”