By Chris Niles

NEW YORK, USA, 9 January 2012 – A quality education is the cornerstone of every child’s rights, yet across the developing world millions of children’s futures are stunted because they don’t have the opportunity to learn.

UNICEF is addressing this deprivation with an innovative approach that aims to remove barriers to success in primary school by giving pre-schoolers the knowledge to successfully enter first grade.

Called ‘Getting Ready for School: a Child-to-Child Approach’, the programme is a low-cost way to provide supplemental education to pre-schoolers, especially the most marginalized.

Learning from friends

The programme is succeeding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the poorest country on earth, and one with an entrenched cycle of exclusion from education. Half of adults there have either never attended school or only completed primary school.

“In class, I love to read, write and sing,” said Mariam, 5, who lives in Kinshasa, capital of DR Congo. She attends pre-school with a handful of young friends.

The unique part about the programme is that Mariam’s teacher is not much older than she is. Child-to–Child builds on the natural phenomenon of children learning from their older friends – in Mariam’s case, her neighbour Nefa Kabeya.

“It’s important to help the younger kids so they can avoid having problems in first grade. If they’re not well prepared in first grade they’ll never ask questions and won’t participate in class,” Nefa said.

© UNICEF video
In Kinshasa, DR Congo, 12-year-old Nefa Kebeya tutors two of her young friends through the UNICEF-supported Child-to-Child programme.

A successful pilot

The Child-to-Child programme was launched as a pilot programme in 2007 in partnership with the Child-to-Child Trust. Six countries participated in the pilot: Bangladesh, China, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Tajikistan and Yemen. It has proven successful in communities with strong community support, such as the Tigray Region of rural Ethiopia.

“The main reason for this is that the programme was designed to work within our culture,” said Maekelech Gidey, a UNICEF education specialist in Ethiopia. “It is our culture that neighbours work, eat and play together. The programme supports this, and that is why people can easily and happily participate in it.

Child-to-Child is filling a critical gap for pre-schoolers, giving them the social and academic confidence to begin their formal education on time and to stay with it. Ba-ati Primary School in Tigray is seeing the changes first hand.

“When I compare this year’s first graders to the last year’s, I can see a big difference. Ever since the Child–to-Child programme started, the children’s understanding has increased,” said teacher Tigist Araya.

In Bangladesh, 30 schools were selected for the Child-to-Child pilot because of their high drop-out and low school completion rates. In 2009, only 23 per cent of children between ages 3 and 5 attended pre-school.

Liton, 10, is making his own contribution to reversing that trend. Once a week he teaches two younger children the basics of reading, writing and counting. Guided by his own teachers, Liton makes lessons fun.

© UNICEF video
In rural Bangladesh, 10-year-old Liton (right) tutors his young neighbour Akhimoni.

Benefits to students and teachers

But the programme’s benefits go further than getting little ones ready for school. Since he’s been mentoring his young friends, Liton has discovered that, not only are his young charges improving in their studies, he is too.

“Since going into the Child-to-Child programme, I’ve learned a lot. My reading is much better. That’s been very good for me,” he said.

It’s also been good for Bangladesh, which aims to achieve universal primary school education.

“I have seen that enrolment has increased, school drop-outs have lessened in the areas that have the programme,” said Director General of the Director of Primary Education Shyamal Kanti Ghosh.

The programme is simple and cost-effective, which UNICEF and its partners hope will enable it to be expanded into more countries and regions and integrated into other UNICEF quality-education programmes.

“The most important thing for this innovation is that it’s less costly. And it is community-based, so everybody can see the changes. And the attachment of the teachers to the process is very strong,” said UNICEF Early Childhood Development Specialist Mohammad Mohsin.

NEW YORK, USA, 23 December 2011—Low-lying Bangladesh is one of the countries most affected by climate change, and the people who live in the Chars – small islands created by floods or erosion in the vast Ganges delta—are the most vulnerable of all.

Life on Natwarpara Char is extremely difficult. Most families make a living from growing rice or fishing. There is little economic development and few employment opportunities.

“There is no electricity, no services. There are no good schools, people don’t want to live here; there are no real advantages to living in the Char,” said primary school teacher Farida Yasmin.

The one thing people in the Char can rely on are floods.

© UNICEF Video

’Every year there is a flood’

“Every year there is a flood. Some years the floods are worse than others,” said Natwarpara Primary School Principal Mohammad Monwarul Islam Mukta.

He heads a school of about 170 students who, thanks to UNICEF’s support, are all well versed in how to deal with frequent emergencies.

“I was very scared during the floods. There was water everywhere. My whole family was worried. Where would we stay? What would we eat?” said student Farzana Tarafder Nishi.

Fortunately Farzana, 10, who is a star student, had a safe space—her school. It was re-situated and is now able to stay open during emergencies. She did not miss a day of school, even though her village was inundated.

Back on Track

The UNICEF-supported Education in Emergencies and Post-Crisis Transition programme, also known as Back on Track, is an innovative programme designed to rebuild education systems, often in countries working to make the transition from crisis to normal development.

The five-year programme is funded by the Government of the Netherlands and the European Commission.

Back on Track also provides comprehensive instruction on disaster risk reduction, so students and teachers know how to stay safe during emergencies. The lessons are laid out in a book published by UNICEF and Save the Children.

“The book is called Tuni’s Rooster. I have learned from it that the school should be on higher ground. There should be a boat to ferry school children and the school should have a proper toilet and tubewell,” said student Tasmia Yasmin Trishti.

© UNICEF Video

Keeping families safe

Children also participate in drama, which reinforces messages on how they can keep themselves and their families safe.

“We also teach from what we have learned in the disaster preparedness training handouts. From that we inform the students and their parents about what to do during disasters. We conduct parents’ meetings. We tell them that their children will be safer here at school,” said Mr. Mukta.

In the past three years, natural disasters, particularly cyclones, have disrupted the educations of more than 1.5 million children. But recently classes at Natwarpara Primary School have continued as normal.

“Now even after a massive natural disaster we do find school attendance is high. We see that school attendance has not dropped significantly, and teaching systems have not really been affected,” said Director General, Bangladesh Directorate of Primary Education Shyamal Kanti Ghosh.

’I want to work for the people here’

Staying in school is vital for Farzana, who hopes to use her talent and her education to make life better in Natwarpara Char.

“I want to be a doctor when I grow up. We don’t have a good doctor in this village so I want to work for the people here,” she said.

UNICEF Disaster Risk Reduction and Education

Disaster Risk Reduction at UNICEF.org

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By Chris Niles

NEW YORK, USA, 12 December 2011—Mohammad Azizul Islam, 28, is a trader in Chinipara, in the remote Rangpur region of Bangladesh. As a landless man, he has very few opportunities to make a living.

He wants his pre-school aged daughter, Akhimoni, to be educated and have a profession. Among his chief concerns is how he will pay for it.

At the moment, however, she is receiving an education. Once a week, she and another friend meet for classes that involve learning rhymes, counting and the alphabet.

“We study, play and do rhymes like ‘head and shoulders’ and ‘one little finger’,” Akhimoni said.

Stepping onto the education ladder

Pre-school is a luxury in most of Bangladesh, where fewer than 23 per cent of children aged 3 to 5 receive any type of early childhood education.

Chinipara is no exception.

“We live in a remote area. We have a lot of poverty here. All the students are children of day labourers and farmers,” Chinipara Primary School assistant teacher Sarkar Faruk Shana.

© UNICEF video
Akhimoni (left) is tutored by Liton, a 10-year-old facilitator in UNICEF's child-to-child programme, in the Rangpur region of Bangladesh.

For Mr. Islam, the chance to see his daughter step onto the education ladder, even before primary school, is very satisfying.

“When I was a child I had wanted to study,” he said. “In 1985, there was a drought in this area, and since we were poor I had to start working in the fields at a young age.”

A child-to-child approach

Ahkimoni’s facilitator at the school is not much older than she is; Liton is only 10. She is part of an innovative new UNICEF-supported programme that aims to prepare children, emotionally and academically, to go to primary school.

Called ‘Getting Ready for School: a Child-to-Child Approach‘, the pilot programme was launched in several countries in 2007. Its goal is to provide supplementary and cost-effective early learning to the most vulnerable.

The programme builds on the natural phenomenon of younger children learning from older children.

In March 2010, it came to 30 schools across Bangladesh selected for their high dropout and low school completion rates.

The programme is simple, cost effective and its benefits extend not just to the pre-schoolers. The facilitators also improve in their studies and find their increased responsibility earns them greater respect.

© UNICEF video
Pre-schoolers begin a class in UNICEF's child-to-child programme. The programme uses young facilitators, drawing on the natural phenomenon of younger children learning from their older friends.

Offering hope

Chinipara School has 15 facilitators and 30 teachers. The children who participate in the programme –– both students and facilitators – demonstrate a marked improvement over those who do not.

“At the moment we’re seeing that they are coming to school regularly, participating well in class and not dropping out. I believe this is a major achievement,” said Bangladesh’s Director General of Primary Education Shyamal Kanti Ghosh.

“Students who were facilitators in 2010 have moved forward a lot,” added Ms. Shana. “Their reading and their maths have advanced. I’m happy about that.”

Bangladesh is planning to expand the programme 30 schools at a time.

“The most important thing for this innovation is that it’s less costly. And it is community based, so everybody can see the changes. And the attachment of the teachers to the process is very strong,” said UNICEF Early Childhood Development Specialist Mohammad Mohsin.

The benefits of the programme are also very evident to Mr. Islam, who hopes that getting Akhimoni a good start for her education means that she will somehow, against the odds, be able to have opportunities that he was denied.

“I hope that Akhi will grow up educated. I hope to see her become a doctor. But I don’t know how to make it happen. I’m poor, how will I pay for her studies? I have hope but just hope isn’t enough,” he said.

By Daisy Serem

TURKANA DISTRICT, Kenya, 11 November 2011- Lowa Lokopu, lost her husband four years ago after he fell ill. Forced to take up the responsibility of running a family alone, she struggles to provide for her five children.

Lowa’s eldest daughter, Sheila, a student at Napuu Primary School, was only 13 years old when her father died. Her educational pursuits became increasingly challenging as the family did not have enough money for food and school supplies. Sheila would walk almost five kilometers to school and back home every day as she could not afford boarding at the school. It was during this time that she conceived her first child at the age of 15.

”I didn’t have money for boarding and the school was far,” said Sheila. ‘The person who impregnated me used to wait for me when I walk back home and give me money. He used to entice me with money but when I became pregnant he disappeared and it is my mother who has supported me.”

Back to school

Almost two years on, her daughter is healthy and happy and innocently unaware of the challenges Sheila and her grandmother have faced bringing her up. Despite her struggles, Sheila is determined to secure a better life for her and her daughter and has even resumed her studies at Napuu Primary.

The Napuu Primary School in Turklana District, Kenya, is benefitting from the partnership between UNICEF and the African Girl’s Education Initiative (AGEI)aimed at promoting girl-child education.

The school has had its fair share of teenage pregnancies leading to school drop outs. Early marriages are also a common barrier for the girls who seek an education. It takes great courage and commitment for young mothers like Sheila to return to school, leaving their children at home to concentrate on their studies. For many this is an impossible feat.

“The issue of pupils dropping out of school especially girls has been brought out by the factor of poverty which is affecting almost all families in Turkana,” explained Napuu Head teacher, Gabriel Ekalale.

Making education a priority

UNICEF has partnered with the African Girl’s Education Initiative (AGEI) to promote girls’ education and ensure it is a priority in Turkana County. They have supplied sanitary towels for girls and boarding equipment such as beds, mattresses, bed sheets and mosquito nets in a bid to lessen the burden on girls seeking an education.

Anne Ekai, 15, says the sanitary towels and hygiene facilities have made a great change for the young girls in the school.

“Before UNICEF brought for us the sanitary towels we used to just stay home when menstruating and come to school when they finish,” she said. “It used to be very difficult but since then there has not been even one girl missing school because of their periods.”

Never too late

Back in Napuu Primary School, the evening is drawing in and Sheila has settled in to her bed at the school’s girls’ dormitory while her mother is at home taking care of little Napus. A few years ago she could not afford to board but the Government’s low cost boarding initiative has cut down on these expenses. And with the supplies from UNICEF, Sheila is even more motivated to stay in school. Some would say this is a little too late for this young mother, but for a girl who is determined to see through her ambitions, it is never too late.

By Eva Gilliam

MOGADISHU, Somalia, 9 November 2011 – For hundreds of thousands of displaced Somali children, daily life is a mixture of fear and insecurity. Communities break apart, as one by one families leave their villages to flee ongoing conflict. If they survive the journey to Mogadishu, life is not much easier, as they are faced with the daily challenge of finding food and shelter.

For children, this experience can be traumatizing. Having fled their homes in search of safety, they find themselves in overcrowded camps, away from all they know.

“They have faced a lot of problems on the way while fleeing,” said Omar Ahmed, who works with UNICEF partner NGO Cesvi at what is called a Child Friendly Space in the Somali Capital. “So first we interview the children to see what problems they might have had, then we register them, and if it looks like they need it, we refer them to other health services.”

The Child Friendly Space where Mr. Ahmed works is located in a cluster of small white tents that are nestled between Mogadishu’s bullet ridden walls. Together, they provide a safe space for over 200 children.

© UNICEF video
A displaced girl at a child-friendly space in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Here the children receive basic food support through on-sight snacks and desperately needed water and sanitation services. Education is a big part of the daily programme as well, and essential literacy and numeracy classes are available to all children. But more than that, these children get to play.

Falling through the cracks

“It’s psychosocial support, because children can come together,” explained Brown Kanyangi, an Identification, Tracing and Reunification (IDTR) consultant for UNICEF. “Just the act of being together with other children can relieve stress.”

Each Child Friendly Space has facilitators from UNICEF’s NGO partners who work with the children. Several of the partners also have social workers to help identify and refer children in need of care and protection to the appropriate services.

While most children arrive in the displaced camps with their families, some are tragically separated from their parents and are either left to fend for themselves or forced to rely on already overburdened community members.

© UNICEF video
A displaced girl at a child-friendly space in Mogadishu, Somalia.

“Many children separated from their parents have been taken into the community,” said Bindu Abraham, Child Protection specialist with UNICEF Somalia, “With the movement of people, fleeing their homes in this emergency, the usual community structure that would otherwise support them is also displaced – so some children fall through the cracks.”

Reuniting families

On a recent UNICEF training in Mogadishu, partners learned to identify and register separated and unaccompanied children, with the aim of reuniting them with their families, as well as provide psychosocial support.

Through a consultative process with approximately 20 individuals from 10 NGO partners, a culturally and contextually appropriate approach was developed for information collection, management, dissemination and ensuring security of data collected. The system set up during this training will now be used to document cases of separate and unaccompanied children, with an emphasis on protection of information and security – so that those children registered are not at risk.

“We learned a lot in this training,” said Mr. Ahmed who attended the UNCIEF training. “We learned how to register children who are lost from their parents, and also how to do outreach to find the parents to reunite the family.”

To date, nearly 32,000 children are enjoying the resources and activities in over 350 of UNICEF’s partner run Child Friendly Spaces throughout Somalia.

For these youngsters, access to a Child Friendly Space means they still get to be kids, even when surrounded by the ravages of hunger, conflict and chaos.

By Bismarck Swangin

RENK, South Sudan, 2 November 2011 – Three months after South Sudan separated from Sudan, becoming an independent nation, many South Sudanese are struggling to return home.

Since June, almost 20,000 returnees have streamed into Renk, a rural town near the Sudan-South Sudan border. Most say they could only afford transportation to Renk and don’t have the means to continue on to their final destinations. In addition, roads are non-existent in this part of South Sudan, where most of the land is submerged in flood waters during the rainy season. Traveling farther south by Nile River barge can take weeks.

A camp has sprouted up to accommodate the stranded, who live in shelters of plastic sheeting or simply out in the open, defenceless against the seasonal rains.

Under heavy clouds, camp residents were busy reinforcing their shelters, heaping soil around their tents and binding the structures with rope. One boy watched the sky, mumbling in his local dialect. Asked what he had said, the boy translated, “God, please take away the rains.”

Risk of disease and malnutrition

Residents in this makeshift camp, particularly the children, are vulnerable to disease and malnutrition.

“We have a lot of problems associated with sanitation and health, food and shelter,” said Deng Akuei Kak, the Renk County commissioner.

Health workers at a UNICEF-supported paediatric clinic estimate that two out of every five children brought to the clinic are severely malnourished. Medical workers also say they see an average of 200 children per day, most showing signs of malaria or respiratory infections.

© UNICEF video
Children attend class at a temporary learning centre in Renk.

Working toward a better future

UNICEF is working with NGO and government partners to support a range of interventions on child survival, education and protection, at multiple returnee camps and in returnees’ final destinations.

Here in Renk, UNICEF is supporting the treatment of malnourished children with therapeutic food and vitamin A supplements, and is assisting the camp with safe drinking water and latrines. A temporary learning centre and child-friendly space – where children can play or receive psycho-social support from social workers – are also supported by UNICEF.

The pace of returnees arriving in Renk has slowed in recent weeks, and despite the difficult living conditions, camp residents say they are happy to be in South Sudan. Still, additional efforts and resources will be required to help all returnees finally feel at home.

Video: DRR and Education – In Georgia, a UNICEF-supported Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) programme was officially incorporated into the national curriculum last month, providing learning materials for school children, along with educational games and child-friendly posters.

NEW YORK, 12 October 2011 – This year, the International Day for Disaster Reduction will be commemorated on Thursday, 13 October focusing on children and young people as partners in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).

It is estimated that as many as 175 million children a year will soon be affected by disasters. Building on the momentum of the Third Global Platform, UNICEF is working with Plan International, Save the Children, World Vision and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) to advocate for and mobilise support to the Children’s Charter for DRR. The Charter states, among others, that child protection must be a priority before, during and after a disaster; community infrastructure be safe, and relief and reconstruction help reduce future risk; and disaster risk reduction reach the most vulnerable.

UNICEF, Plan International, World Vision, Save the Children and The Institute of Development Studies (working together as ‘Children in a Changing Climate’), along with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, say it is essential to include the unique perspectives of children and young people in reducing disaster risk and adapting to climate change.

DRR and Education

There is increasing evidence that students at all ages and levels can actively study and participate in school safety measures. They can work with teachers and other adults in the community towards minimising risk before, during and after disaster events. Working in partnerships, UNICEF works to empower the most vulnerable by not only promoting safe schools but by teaching valuable life skills to children who in turn, are better able to help themselves, their families and communities.

For more information:

IDDR11 website

DRR and Education brochure

By Mervyn Fletcher

Vavuniya, Northern Sri Lanka, 10 October 2011- In a region which, until recently, had been mired in conflict, the joyful sound of high-pitched laughter danced in the air, as an audience of rapt children enthusiastically responded to the travelling company, ‘Clowns without Borders’. Charming the gathering of youth with their engaging brand of slapstick and puppetry, the troupe was there to help celebrate the opening of a new school.

The building’s construction – as well as the day’s entertainment- was facilitated by the Cathal Ryan Trust, from Ireland, whose remarkable generosity has already made so much possible in this part of the world. Investing millions of US dollars into education and health facilities in Sri Lanka, the trust team continues to assess future project possibilities in northern Sri Lanka.

Standing like a beacon in an otherwise barren landscape, the school includes 11 classrooms, which can accommodate 200 or more children, aged between 6 and 16. A child-friendly space, the building offers safe water and decent sanitation, as well as a computer unit and library.

Health and education

© UNICEF Video
The travelling company, ‘Clowns without Borders’. Charming the gathering of youth with their engaging brand of slapstick and puppetry, the troupe was there to help celebrate the opening of a new school.

Thirteen-year-old Robinsini, a pupil at the school, expressed his gratitude to the Ryan Trust, while highlighting the difficulties of the past. “We had to move many times because of the conflict,” he said. “Now though, we’re proud. We are happy and we thank you for this wonderful school.”

Cathal Ryan Trust Spokesperson, Danielle Ryan, discussed the country’s future, and the strength of its people. “I’m very impressed by the way the country is progressing and a lot of that comes down to the people themselves,” she said. “They have an amazing resilience. We are trying to facilitate. We are trying to listen to what they want. They seem pleased and so I’m happy that they’re pleased.”

In addition to the school, the five-member trust team attended the opening of the new Periyapandivirchcharan Maternity Ward, near Vavuniya, which they also financed. The maternity ward will benefit a population of 11,000 women and includes antenatal and postnatal units, a labour room, doctors’ room, midwives’ room, and an examination room.

Building a better future

UNICEF Sri Lanka Representative, Reza Hossaini, stressed the importance of investment when discussing the country’s long-term future. “If you want a prosperous and peaceful Sri Lanka you have to invest in its children,” she said. “That’s why by giving a good start and investing in health and quality education it helps with the future development, prosperity and a lasting peace in the country.”

Sri Lanka’s north may still display the scars of its violent past, but now communities are returning here to rebuild their lives. Through UNICEF and in partnership with the government, the Cathal Ryan Trust is investing in the country’s most essential resource – its children. Investing in children provides for its future, a foundation that is about more than simply bricks and mortar.

By Thomas Nybo

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 7 October 2011 – The Haitian government has taken a big step toward realizing its goal of providing a free education to all the country’s children. On Monday, President Michel Martelly announced that 772,000 children will receive free schooling this year, including 142,000 children who have never attended school before. His announcement came at Ecole Nationale de Tabarre on the first day of the new school year.

For its part, UNICEF has begun distributing school kits to 750,000 children and 15,000 teachers throughout the country. UNICEF’s contribution of nearly $10 million will reach some 2,500 schools, in the form of school kit distribution and other education programs.

“Education is fundamental for the development of children, families, communities, and for the future of Haiti’s reconstruction,” said UNICEF’s Representative in Haiti, Françoise Gruloos-Ackermans.

‘Giving hope to youth’

To advance education in Haiti, UNICEF is working with a variety of governmental and non-governmental partners to build an education system that is free and universal.

© UNICEF Video
Thomas Nybo, UNICEF correspondent reports on efforts to build an education system in Haiti that is free and universal.

At Monday’s event, President Martelly and Ms. Gruloos-Ackermans presented students with new UNICEF backpacks, as well as other school supplies, such as pencils and notebooks.

“The country has nothing to offer us,” said one student, a boy named Jonas. “There is no opportunity for young people. So, it’s easy to become mad. But today, President Martelly is giving hope to youth.”

Addressing food insecurity

Also on hand for the event was Ms. Myrta Kaulard, World Food Programme’s Representative in Haiti. WFP, which works closely with UNICEF to ensure the best conditions for children in school, is providing 1.1 million students free daily meals.

“For poor households, nowadays, the cost of food is very, very high,” Ms. Kaulard said. “So ensuring the children eat a fool nutritionally balanced meal when they come to school is making sure that they eat well, but is also alleviating household budgets.”

She added that a year and a half after the earthquake, a national survey revealed that nearly half the Haitian population is struggling with food insecurity.

A common goal

This year marks the first full year of school for Haitian children since the earthquake. UNICEF, WFP and the Haitian government are all working to make sure the promise of a free education is realized by as many of the country’s children as possible.

By Anja Baron

NEW YORK, USA, 6 October 2011 – Goodwill Ambassadors Yuna Kim, Serena Williams, Ishmael Beah and Angelique Kidjo are making an appeal for continued support in the Horn of Africa, utilizing social media to distribute a new series of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) which call on their fans to engage in the ongoing effort to end this devastating crisis.

Chief of UNICEF Celebrity Relations and Partnerships, Ms. Marissa Buckanoff, expressed her great enthusiam for the project, praising their support and highlighting the critical nature of the continuing situation. “The UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors have been extremely supportive by sending this passionate plea to their fans to provide urgent support to some 13 million people in need of food in the drought inflicted Horn of Africa through PSAs and their social media platforms,” she said.

© UNICEF Video
Since last month’s reopening of schools, UNICEF has helped facilitate the enrolment of 321,434 students in 1,379 schools throughout the entire central south zone.

Even with the current initiatives underway assisting the beleaguered people of the region, it is all too clear that more needs to be done. With an estimated 750,000 Somalis currently facing starvation, tens of thousands already dead, and a mortality rate among children under five averaging 15.43 deaths per 10,000 individuals, as the Goodwill Ambassadors stress in their UNICEF-produced PSAs, “An entire generation will be lost if we don’t so something –now.”

Nearly 600,000 refugees have fled to Kenya since the crisis began, over 400,000 of whom have taken up temporary shelter in Dadaab – the region’s the largest refugee camp. As a response to the ongoing crisis, UNICEF continues to scale up its operations. Since July alone, over 62,000 severely and moderately malnourished children in Somalia have been receiving life-saving support. Additionally, since last month’s reopening of schools, UNICEF has helped facilitate the enrolment of 321,434 students in 1,379 schools throughout the entire central south zone.

A sustainable approach

Despite these efforts, an estimated 4 million people in Somalia are still in dire need of aid. UN officials fear that food scarcity in the south may get worse as local militants have blocked the World Food Programme from delivering aid, and with no major harvests expected for the rest of the year, the crisis is sure to get worse.

This week in Nairobi, UNICEF and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) held a seminar on ending the crisis and averting similar catastrophes in the future. Bringing together 15 humanitarian aid practitioners and academics, along with an audience composed mainly of aid workers from the region, participants expressed their views. Though many held differing ideas on how to handle the desperate situation, they all agreed that a sustainable approach to the crisis must incorporate long-term development needs.

Seeking additional support

While average rains in drought-stricken areas of the Horn of Africa are expected for the upcoming short rain season, potential enhanced rainfall may in fact increase concerns over floods in vulnerable areas particularly prone to flooding. This in turn raises grave concerns over water-borne diseases such as cholera and acute watery diarrhea. The past week has seen the highest number of cases since the onset of the outbreak in August. In response, UNICEF is supporting the regional authorities with additional medical staff, mobile health teams and drug supply.

For the remainder of the year, UNICEF is looking for an additional 61 million dollars to support the response in Somalia alone. And despite a recent pledge of an additional $218 million for new humanitarian aid a lot work more remains to be done.

Watch UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors, make an appeal for continued support in the Horn of Africa:

Serena Williams
Ishmael Beah
Angelique Kidjo
Yuna Kim