October 2016 - The Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF

Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake on deadly attacks on schools in Idlib, northwest Syria

NEW YORK/AMMAN/HONG KONG, 26 October 2016 – “Twenty-two children and six teachers were reportedly murdered today when their school compound was repeatedly attacked in Idlib, Syria. “This is a tragedy. It is an outrage. And if deliberate, it is a war crime. “This latest atrocity may be the deadliest attack on a school since the war began […]

In Cambodia, bringing essential care to children and mothers in remote communities

Global News, Latest News, Vaccines 14:46

© UNICEF Cambodia/2016/Kieng By Navy Kieng For women in the remote Cambodian village of Tmat Peoy, getting pre- and postnatal care is neither common nor easy. The journey to the nearest health centre can take over an hour, and many women cannot afford the cost of transportation. Learn how mobile health teams are reaching these […]

UNICEF HK Make A Video Contest Award Ceremony

HK News, Latest News, Make A Video, Press Release 13:26

© UNICEF/2016 Winning youth call for more family time and reflection on labeling parents as “monster” Director Adam Wong Sau-ping announces to team up with HK youth on his new documentary Hong Kong, 23 October 2016 ── Eight local secondary students received awards from the Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF HK) today for their […]

Women and children sit in the hallways of a school building being used as a shelter for displaced families in the village of Haji Ali in Ninewa governorate.

One in five schools in Iraq are currently out of use, putting additional strain on an already overburdened education system. UNICEF estimates that 3.5 million school-aged children do not have access to education, increasing their vulnerability to abuse and exploitation.

As of 21 September, 108 families were living Tinah Camp, a transitional displacement camp in Tinah village near the town of Qayyarah in Ninewa Governorate. The camp is located in a newly-retaken area with no basic services. In early September UNICEF began providing safe water to the camp to help children cope with the harsh environment.

A military operation to retake Mosul and surrounding areas from the so-called Islamic State/Daesh is underway, with military forces within 60 kilometres of the city.

Since March 2016, more than 160,000 people have been displaced from Mosul, Shirqat, Qayyarah, and surrounding areas. The UN estimates that by of end of the year, up to one million people from Mosul may flee their homes.

In the coming months, UNICEF aims to assist up to 784,000 people displaced by conflict in and around Mosul, nearly half of them children.

More than 3.3 million people have been displaced by conflict in Iraq since early 2014.

Keep children safe in Mosul operation

Emergency Relief, Global News, Iraq Crisis, Latest News 12:39

© UNICEF/UN034965/Anmar BAGHDAD/HONG KONG, 17 October 2016 – More than half a million children and their families in Mosul will be at extreme risk in the coming weeks, UNICEF warned today as a military operation to retake the northern Iraqi city gets under way. “Mosul’s children have already suffered immensely over the past two years. Many […]

On 14 October 2016, a boy cooks at a school in Les Cayes, Department du Sud, Haiti. Ecole Pierre Guerrieris currently in use as a living space or shelter for several hundred people who have lost their homes to hurricane Matthew. Although the school year should have begun, all public schools in the area hit by the hurricane remain closed or turned over to the displaced.

Hurricane Matthew passed over Haiti on Tuesday October 4, 2016, with heavy rains and winds. While the capital Port au Prince was mostly spared from the full strength of the class 4 hurricane, the western area of Grand Anse, however was in the direct path.

The cities of Les Cayes and Jeremie received the full force sustaining wind and water damage across wide areas. Coastal towns were severely damaged as were many homes in remote mountainous regions. International relief efforts are underway to provide food water and shelter to the people affected by the storm.

An estimated 500,000 children live in the Grande Anse Department and Grand South Department in southern Haiti, the areas worst hit by Hurricane Matthew. UNICEF had prepositioned emergency supplies with national authorities to reach up to 10,000 people. On 8 October, six water trucks arrived in Jeremie and Les Cayes, the respective capital cities within the Departments. Additional water and sanitation supplies, such as water purification tablets, water bladders and plastic sheeting, have been dispatched to the most affected departments in the westernmost tip of Haiti. As of 10 October, UNICEF delivered blankets, buckets, water purifying equipment and cholera diagnostic kits. UNICEF is working to reinforce good hygiene practices, especially in temporary shelters, in order to minimize the outbreak of disease. An investigation is underway to confirm the areas affected by cholera, and to determine the cross-over with hurricane-affected areas.

Over 300,000 children under five died from diarrhoeal diseases linked to limited access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene in 2015

Global News, Latest News, Water Sanitation & Hygiene 13:04

© UNICEF/UN035926/LeMoyne Simple act of handwashing with soap could save thousands of lives NEW YORK/HONG KONG, 14 October 2016 – With cholera spreading fast in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, and with a new outbreak in war-ravaged Yemen, UNICEF urges children, families and communities to make washing hands with soap a habit to help […]

28 September 2010, a mother holds her child while eating a slice of watermelon in Niamey the capital of Niger. In Niger many common childhood killer diseases such as diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections and malaria can be prevented with increased knowledge and adoption of key family practices such as exclusive breastfeeding up to six months, birth spacing, proper use of oral rehydration therapy and complementary food and regular hand washing among others. UNICEF and its partners work at the institutional, community, household and health facilities levels to promote the adoption of key family practices through community-driven initiatives and via the combination of traditional and modern communication channels to raise awareness on the links between poor hygiene, water and sanitation and the spread of diseases in populations.

Five in six children under two not getting enough nutrition for growth and brain development

Global News, Latest News 12:01

© UNICEF/UNI116106/Pirozzi NEW YORK/HONG KONG, 14 October 2016 –Five in six children under two years old are not fed enough nutritious food for their age, depriving them of the energy and nutrients they need at the most critical time in their physical and cognitive development, according to a new UNICEF report. “Infants and young children […]

On 21 September 2016 in eastern Aleppo in the Syrian Arab Republic, Judy (white head scarf), 9, and her schoolmates return from the first day of school passing the rubble of nearby houses. I go to school every day, except for the times when I hear the planes, Judy explains. I want the road to reopen so I can go see my brother who lives in another city and just got married. I havent even met his wife yet, says Judy. Instead, the road remained closed due to heavy bombardment and shelling. In Judys neighborhood, electricity is largely unavailable as there is a fuel shortage.

One in four schools are not functioning in the Syrian Arab Republic because they have been damaged, destroyed, or serve as shelters for displaced families or are in use for military purposes. Over two million children across the country are not able to go back to learning, while another 400,000 children are at risk of dropping out, due to heavy violence, lack of safe learning environments and displacement. More than 52,000 teachers have left their jobs. Two decades of investment in learning has been wiped out, as some children have lost up five years of their education, while others have never been to school.

UNICEF is supporting more than 1,200 dedicated young volunteers to conduct a door-to-door campaign to map the numbers and situations of out-of-school children, while reaching out to parents with information about the simplified school enrollment processes and the right to have an education. Also recently launched is a back-to-learning campaign that aims to reach 2.5 million children in the country, including 154,000 living in besieged and hard-to-reach areas. UNICEF will be providing educational materials, school bags and stationery. A social mobilization campaign encourages parents to send their children to school or benefit from alternative learning opportunities where schools are no longer functioning. As part of that campaign, social media, radio and televi

In eastern Aleppo, going to school is a challenge

Emergency Relief, Global News, Latest News, Syria Crisis 11:47

© UNICEF/UN034445/Zayat by UNICEF Syrian Arab Republic Nine-year-old Judy is excited to return to school, but going to class is not always easy. Learn about the challenges she and other children in eastern Aleppo face, simply to get an education. ALEPPO, Syrian Arab Republic/HONG KONG, 14 October 2016 – In late September, the new school […]

Statement attributable to Hanaa Singer, UNICEF Representative in Syria, on attack on a school in Daraa

Global News, Latest News, Syria Crisis 12:59

DAMASCUS/HONG KONG, 12 October 2016 – “UNICEF deplores yesterday’s attack on the “That al-Netaqeen” primary school in the city of Daraa which killed five school children, aged between four and 16, and left 15 other children injured. The conflict in Syria has plummeted to such lows that children are now risking their lives just to attend […]

On 15 August 2016 in Muna Garage IDP Camp, Borno state, Nigeria, a UNICEF health worker uses a pen to mark the thumb of Ajeda Mallam, 6 months, who has just been vaccinated against polio at a camp for internally displaced persons outside Maiduguri northeast Nigeria. It is her first vaccination, having been born under Boko Haram captivity. UNICEF and partners have started an emergency polio immunization campaign in Borno State, as a result of two wild poliovirus cases recently found among children in the conflict-affected area. Nigeria and the continent had its last confirmed polio case two years ago and was within a year of being certified polio-free.

Massive immunization campaign to reach 41 million children in Nigeria and region to contain polio outbreak

Emergency Relief, Global News, Latest News, Nigeria Crisis, Vaccines 13:07

© UNICEF/UN028224/Esiebo DAKAR, Senegal/HONG KONG, 11 October 2016 – A major health campaign is underway in the Lake Chad Basin area to vaccinate over 41 million children against polio to contain the recent outbreak of the disease in north-east Nigeria. Populations fleeing conflict are on the move within the sub-region, raising concerns that the virus […]

On 4 October 2016, at their doorstep, a mother with her two children look at the flooded neighbourhood of los Guandules, in Santo Domingo. Hurricane Matthew passed over Dominican Republic today with heavy rains, killing four people, including three children. It is estimated that many children and families have been displaced from their homes, in Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba, including 18,000 people in the Dominican Republic.

One week after Hurricane Matthew, at least 300 schools damaged in Haiti, over 100,000 children miss out on learning – UNICEF

Emergency Relief, Global News, Haiti Hurricane, Latest News 16:00

© UNICEF/UN034592/Afonso PORT-AU-PRINCE/NEW YORK/HONG KONG, 10 October 2016 – One week after Hurricane Matthew slammed into Haiti, and as schools re-open across the country, more than 100,000 children will be missing out on learning after their schools were either damaged or converted into shelters. “At least 100,000 children today will not experience the joy, safety […]