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Tag: UNICEF

  • WHO/UNICEF highlights need to improve drinking water

    WHO/UNICEF highlights need to improve drinking water

    According to a new WHO/UNICEF report, entitled Progress on drinking water and sanitation: 2014 update, the number of people practising open defecation is declining steadily in most areas of the world, but is still increasing in 26 of 44 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

    Contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to the transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A and typhoid. In addition, inadequate or absent water and sanitation services in health care facilities put already vulnerable patients at additional risk of infection and disease according to the report.

    Those with no access to a sanitation facility continue to defecate in gutters, behind bushes or in open water bodies, with no dignity or privacy. Nine out of 10 people who practise open defecation live in rural areas.

    “The vast majority of those without improved sanitation are poorer people living in rural areas. Progress on rural sanitation – where it has occurred – has primarily benefitted richer people, increasing inequalities,” said Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director for Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health.

    “Too many people still lack a basic level of drinking water and sanitation. The challenge now is to take concrete steps to accelerate access to disadvantaged groups. An essential first step is to track better who, when and how people access improved sanitation and drinking water, so we can focus on those who don’t yet have access to these basic facilities,” she added.

    Overall, the world is not on track to meet the sanitation target in the Millennium Development Goals; 69 countries were not on track in 2012, 36 of them were located in sub-Saharan Africa.

    According to the call to action on sanitation issued by the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations in March 2013, “open defecation perpetuates the vicious cycle of disease and poverty. Those countries where open defecation is most widely practised have the highest numbers of deaths of children under the age of five, as well as high levels of undernutrition, high levels of poverty and large disparities between the rich and poor.

    “There are also strong gender impacts: lack of safe, private toilets makes women and girls vulnerable to violence and is an impediment to girls’ education”.

    In addition to the disparities between the rich and poor, and between urban and rural areas, there are often also striking differences within towns and cities. People living in low-income, informal or illegal settlements on the outskirts of cities or small towns are less likely to have access to an improved water supply or better sanitation.

    “When we fail to provide equal access to improved water sources and sanitation we are failing the poorest and the most vulnerable children and their families,” said Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. “If we hope to see children healthier and better educated, there must be more equitable and fairer access to improved water and sanitation.”

    As we approach the 2015 Millennium Development Goals deadline, the lessons, successes and remaining challenges are becoming increasingly clear. Although sub-Saharan Africa is not on track to meet the MDGs drinking water target, progress has still been made.

    “Since 2000, almost a quarter of the current population gained access to an improved drinking water source – that is, on average, over 50 000 people per day, every day, for 12 years in a row,” states the report.

    “In 1990, 95 per cent of people in urban areas could drink improved water, compared with 62 per cent people in rural ones. By 2012, 96 per cent people living in towns and 82 per cent of those in rural areas had access to improved water”.

    In 2012, over 50 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa’s population is now using improved drinking water sources. Despite progress, more progress is needed – much more.

     

    Dr Couillard is an international health columnist that works in collaboration with the World Health Organization’s goals of disease prevention and control. Views do not necessarily reflect endorsement.

     

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  • 70 million Nigerians lack safe water, says UNICEF

    70 million Nigerians lack safe water, says UNICEF

    EARLY 70 million Nigerians lack access to safe drinking water, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) said at the weekend.

    The Chief of Water and Sanitation sector, UNICEF Nigeria, Mr. Kannan Nadar who was represented by Dr. Boluwaji Onalede WASH specialist, stated thus in Abuja at the 2014 World Water Day.

    She said a staggering 768 million people do not have access to safe drinking water worldwide, according to a joint report from UNICEF and the World Health Organisation(WHO) published in 2013.

    The report, according to her, placed Nigeria as the third country with most people without access to safe water.

    Onalede said with support from EU and UKAid, over 1.9 million people gained access to safe water in rural Nigeria in 2013 through its Water and Sanitation Hygiene school programme.

    The Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe, called for collaborations with stakeholders and agencies to tackle the challenges of access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene.

    Ochekpe, who was represented by the Director, Dam Operations Department in the Ministry, Dr. Emmanuel Adanu, said no nation can develop without adequate supply of water and energy.

    “We have over thirty dams in this country. The ministry of power conducted an engineering design of these dams. It is hoped that a total of about 147.60 mega watt will be generated from these dams,” the minister said.

     

    Also WaterAid Nigeria, an international agency, said about 112 million Nigerians lack access to basic sanitation and hygiene.

    Its Country Representative, Dr. Michael Ojo, added that Nigeria loses N455 billion annually to poor water, sanitation and hygiene.

    He called on government to increase budgetary allocation to the water sector to improve water service delivery.

    “We want to see that money go to the people who need it the most; the most vulnerable in our society. To ensure that the investment that is made go to those who need the services the most,” Ojo said.

     

  • 6.3m Cambodians lack access to safe water – UNICEF

    No fewer than 6.3 million Cambodians have no access to safe water, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement to mark the World Water Day on Friday.

    “Some 3.9 million of those without access to safe drinking water in Cambodia are poor and live in rural areas,’’ the statement said.

    “Without safe water and adequate sanitation and hygiene, children, who represent 41 per cent of the population, are especially vulnerable to water-borne diseases.

    “This costs lives and money,’’ UNICEF said.

    According to the statement, in Cambodia, diarrhea is the second leading cause of death for children under the age of five, while vitamin and mineral deficiencies due to diarrhea results in an annual loss of 146 million dollars to Cambodia’s gross domestic product.

    UNICEF said that increased commitment and investment in enhancing the quality of rural water would not only ensure that every person has water and sanitation as a human right, but also help to accelerate Cambodia’s economic and social development.

    “Attention to rural water supply, sanitation and hygiene will unquestionably deliver results – less child deaths, better learning at school, less disease, more productive workers, less health costs for the people.

    “These services are central to Cambodia’s future as a middle income country,’’ UNICEF representative to Cambodia, Ms. Rana Flowers, said.

    To improve health outcomes in Cambodia, public institutions and households must have access to safe water and sanitation.

    “Over 40 per cent of primary schools and 35 per cent of health centres do not have safe drinking water facilities.

    “To celebrate World Water Day in Cambodia, the popular Cambodian comedy Perkmy team will host a one-hour TV show on Cambodian Television Network Saturday evening to highlight the importance of safe water and to feature ways to prevent diarrhea,’’ UNICEF said.

  • UNICEF condemns Yobe killings

    The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday condemned the killing of 45 children by unidentified gunmen at the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, Yobe.

    This is contained in a statement signed by the Head, Media and External Relations of UNICEF, Mr. Geoffrey Njoku, in Abuja.

    UNICEF said attacks on children and schools were unacceptable under any circumstances as such deprived them to their right to education and basic needs to life.

    “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this vicious attack on students.

    “Many young lives were lost, many more students and teachers were deprived of their right to education. Attacks on children and schools are unacceptable,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the agency as saying in the statement.

    It expressed UNICEF’s deep concern on the repeated attacks on schools in the North East.

    “Since June 2013, four attacks resulted in school closures affecting thousands of students, many of whom have had no access to formal learning for months.

    “When a school is under attack and students become targets, not only their lives are shattered, the future of the nation is stolen,” it said.

     

  • Iris firm partners UNICEF on child survival efforts in Nigeria

    Iris firm partners UNICEF on child survival efforts in Nigeria

    Nigeria has received support to fight vaccine preventable diseases, boost health care delivery and advance child survival efforts with donations from the Banana Importers of Ireland Limited (Fyffes).

    The donation is a first step in addressing other critical needs of UNICEF programme and came at a time the country continues to make strong progress in her ongoing efforts in child survival and other childhood preventable diseases.

    To understand Nigeria’s progress in child survival programme the donor toured the frontlines of government efforts in Kano State with UNICEF Ireland Ambassador, Donncha O’Callaghan.

    O’Callaghan has been a UNICEF Ambassador since 2009 and has seen UNICEF’s work for children in action all over the world including in Haiti, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Jordan and now Nigeria. The outcome of the tour will form the basis of a new campaign for support from the Irish population schedule for between April and May 2014.

    UNICEF representative in Nigeria Ms Jean Gough welcomed the support from the Irish team adding that “we need the support of everyone in Nigeria and efforts from the wider global community and those who have passion for the survival of children all over the world to address critical needs of our vulnerable group. The time to advance child survival is here and it is only with supports like this that we can do it.”

    The team toured three local government areas (LGAs) of Kano State comprising Bichi, Dambatta and Nassarawa local governments. They were received by districts heads in Bichi and Dambatta LGAs as well as key officials at the state ministry of health.

  • Advocating rights of children

    Advocating rights of children

    As 25th anniversary of children’s rights convention approaches, vast progress made but reaching unreached children will require sharper focus on disparities, new report says

    Declaring that ‘every child counts’, UNICEF today urged greater effort and innovation to identify and address the gaps that prevent the most disadvantaged of the world’s 2.2 billion children from enjoying their rights.

    The children’s agency, in a report released today, highlights the importance of data in making progress for children and exposing the unequal access to services and protections that mars the lives of so many.

    “Data have made it possible to save and improve the lives of millions of children, especially the most deprived,” said Tessa Wardlaw, Chief of UNICEF’s Data and Analytics Section. “Further progress can only be made if we know which children are the most neglected, where girls and boys are out of school, where disease is rampant or where basic sanitation is lacking.”

    Tremendous progress has been made since the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was signed in 1989 and in the run up to the culmination of the Millennium Development Goals in 2015. UNICEF’s flagship report, The State of the World’s Children 2014 in Numbers shows that:

    – Some 90 million children who would have died before reaching the age of 5 if child mortality rates had stuck at their 1990 level have, instead, lived. In large measure, this is because of progress in delivering immunizations, health, and water and sanitation services.

    – Improvements in nutrition have led to a 37 per cent drop in stunting since 1990.

    – Primary school enrolment has increased, even in the least developed countries: Whereas in 1990 only 53 in 100 children in those countries gained school admission, by 2011 the number had improved to 81 in 100.

    Even so, the statistics in the report, titled “Every Child Counts: Revealing disparities, advancing children’s rights,” also bear witness to ongoing violations of children’s rights:

    – Some 6.6 million children under 5 years of age died in 2012, mostly from preventable causes, in violation of their fundamental right to survive and develop.

    – Fifteen per cent of the world’s children are put to work that compromises their right to protection from economic exploitation and infringes on their right to learn and play.

    – Eleven per cent of girls are married before they turn 15, jeopardizing their rights to health, education and protection.

    Data also reveal gaps and inequities, showing the gains of development are unevenly distributed:

    – The world’s poorest children are nearly three (2.7) times less likely than the richest ones to have a skilled attendant at their birth, leaving them and their mothers at increased risk of birth-related complications.

    – In the Niger, all urban households but only 39 per cent of rural households have access to safe drinking water.

    – In Chad, for every 100 boys who enter secondary school, only 44 girls do – leaving them without an education and without protections and services that schools can provide.
    – In Nigeria, only 47% of people who live in rural areas have access to improved drinking water against 75% of people in the urban areas. The disparity continues even in HIV prevalence. Prevalence among young girls is 1.3% while only 0.7% among boys. Access to education shows some disparity too in favour of boys. Net enrolment rate for boys into primary school is 60% while for girls it is 55% while net attendance is 72% of boys and 68% for girls.

    The report notes that “being counted makes children visible, and this act of recognition makes it possible to address their needs and advance their rights.” It adds that innovations in data collection, analysis and dissemination are making it possible to disaggregate data by such factors as location, wealth, sex, and ethnic or disability status, to include children who have been excluded or overlooked by broad averages.

    The report urges increased investment in innovations that right the wrong of exclusion.

    “Overcoming exclusion begins with inclusive data. To improve the reach, availability and reliability of data on the deprivations with which children and their families contend, the tools of collection and analysis are constantly being modified – and new ones are being developed. This will require sustained investment and commitment,” the report says.

    Much of what is known about the situations of children comes from household surveys, and in particular the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS). Designed and supported by UNICEF, MICS are conducted by national statistical authorities and provide disaggregated data on a range of topics affecting children’s survival, development, rights and experience of life. To date, MICS surveys have been conducted in more than 100 countries. In the last round of MICS, interviews were completed in more than 650,000 households in 50 countries.

    Thirty years have passed since The State of the World’s Children began to publish tables of standardized global and national statistics aimed at providing a detailed picture of children’s circumstances. With the release of an edition of the report dedicated to data, UNICEF is inviting decision-makers and the general public to access and use its statistics – at www.data.unicef.org – to drive positive change for children.

    “Data do not, of themselves, change the world. They make change possible – by identifying needs, supporting advocacy, and gauging progress. What matters most is that decision-makers use the data to make positive change, and that the data are available for children and communities to use in holding duty-bearers to account,” the report said.

    Report by UNICEF

  • UNICEF to collaborate with North to bring one million girls back to school

    UNICEF to collaborate with North to bring one million girls back to school

    The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative to Nigeria, Ms. Jean Gough, says the organisation will collaborate with State Governments in the North to bring one million girls back to school in seven years.

    Jean spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos.

    She listed states that would benefit from the seven-year girl-child education initiative as Sokoto, Zamfara, Niger, Kastina and Bauchi.

    “We have observed a widening gap between the education of boys in the South and girls in the North. Therefore, in 2014, we are to ensure that in the next seven years, one million girls in the northern part of Nigeria come back to school.

    “We will be working through the various education systems of our partners to ensure that all girls in these states return to school,” she said.

    Jean said the project was aimed at ensuring that boys and girls had equal access to education.

     

    According to her, the organisation plans to create new offices in Borno, Kastina and Sokoto states to facilitate the execution of the programme.

     

  • 100m Nigerians lack access to toilets, says UNICEF

    •37 million people still practice open defecation

    The country’s worsening sanitary situation was yesterday brought to the fore in Abuja.

    United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) said about 100 million Nigerians lacked access to sanitary toilets.

    Corroborating this, the Federal Government noted that as many as 2771 cases of cholera epidemics were reported this year with 124 deaths, a situation which was blamed on bad sanitary conditions.

    Speaking at the celebration of World Toilets Day, UNICEF Chief Sanitary, Water and Hygiene Officer, Kannan Nadar described the situation as very critical.

    He said: “Nigeria has about 100 million people without access to toilets, this is worrisome, as it is possible for everyone to own toilet, it doesn’t cost much. “Sanitation and toilets are fundamental human rights. since it is possible for everyone to own toilet, it is not justified for people to die of diseases related to open defecation.”

    Minister of Health Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, the recent occurrence of cholera epidemics could be stopped if there is a mechanism to stop open defecation.

    He said: “As many as an estimated 2771 cases and 124 deaths with case fatality rate of 4.5 per cent were reported, this yearly occurrence of cholera epidemics could be stopped if there is a mechanism to stop open defecation which will prevent contamination of water sources and foods that are major causes of cholera in the country.”

    The minister who was represented by his Permanent Secretary, Amb. Sani Bala however, assured the gathering that government was working on a policy that will encourage communities and urban centres to embrace good sanitary and hygiene system.

    Head of Governance, WaterAid Nigeria, Tolani Busari expressed concern that barely two years to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Nigeria is yet to address the problem of poor sanitation.

    According to her, staggering 37 million people still practice open defecation, nearly 100,000 children under the age of five dying of diarrhea in Nigeria every year as a result of poor sanitation and water.”

    She was equally worried with government handling of sanitation, arguing that the nation’s poor handling of sanitation issues is not just restricted to hygiene, but that, “without a private toilet, women and girls are vulnerable to violence, intimidation and indignity. Women and girls living in Nigeria without toilet facilities spend about 3.1. billion hours each year finding a place to go to toilet in the open.

    “Sanitation has always been the most neglected and off-track of the MDGs, with little funding, resources or political will to address the crisis. There has been little or no progress towards the agreed target of allocating 0.5 per cent of GDP to sanitation.”

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  • 100m Nigerians lack access to toilets – UNICEF

    The country’s worsening sanitary situation was brought to fore on Monday in Abuja.

    A situation that had been blamed for the spread of diseases in Nigeria.

    UNICEF said about 100 million Nigerians lacked access to sanitary toilets.

    Collaborating this, the Federal Government noted that as many as 2,771 cases of cholera epidemics was reported this year with 124 deaths, a situation also blamed on bad sanitary conditions in the country.

    Speaking first at the celebration of World Toilets Day, UNICEF Chief Sanitary, Water and Hygiene Officer, Kannan Nadar, described the situation as very critical.

    He said, “Nigeria has about 100 million people without access to toilets, this is worrisome, as it is possible for everyone to own toilet. It doesn’t cost much.

    “Sanitation and toilets are fundamental human rights. Since it is possible for everyone to own toilet, it is not justified for people to die of diseases related infections due to open defecation.”

     

     

     

  • Combating pneumonia

    Combating pneumonia

     

    Today is the Annual World Pneumonia Day. Tagged “Innovating to Fight Child Pneumonia” the day is set aside to raise awareness, promote interventions, to protect, prevent and treat pneumonia to generate actions to combat pneumonia.

    Pneumonia is a form if acute respiratory infection that affects the lungs, making breathing painful and limiting oxygen intake. This is a preventable and treatable illness via vaccines, antibiotic treatment, and improved sanitation.

    To combat pneumonia, the Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia announced that advocates will call upon governments to invest more in the developments of new diagnostics and treatments.

    This year’s activists are focusing on the clear link between Pneumonia and Diarrhoea. More than 99 per cent of deaths from Pneumonia occur in developing countries, where access to health care is out of reach for many children.

    According to the UNICEF progress reports with updates on the trends and levels in under-five mortality over the past two decades, the good news is that, the world is making progress, having saved nearly 90 million lives over the past two decades.

    “The Bad News: The progress isn’t fast enough. Right now, we are 13 years behind schedule. That means we won’t meet MDG 4 until 2028. And 35 million more children will die – children whose lives could have been saved had we kept our promise in 2015.

    “In 2000, the global community made a promise to children — to reduce by two thirds the risk that a child will not live to see his or her fifth birthday. The deadline for this promise is 2015.

    “A new UNICEF report shows that, despite impressive progress, we are way behind schedule. The global effort to keep this promise needs a kick in the pants. This is the reason for “A Promise Renewed,” the report stated.

    According to the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, (CME), 2013, “The Global burden of under-five deaths has fallen steadily since 1990- 12.6 per cent, 1995- 10.9 per cent, 2000- 9.2 per cent, 2005-8.2 per cent, 2010-7.0 per cent, 2015-6.6 per cent deaths.
    The Global Action Plan for the prevention and control of Pneumonia (GAPP) released by World Health Organisation (WHO), and UNICEF on (WPD), 2009, finds that 1million children’s lives could be saved every year if prevention and treatment interventions for pneumonia were widely introduced in the World’s poorest countries.

    Dr. F.A Onaolapo, Onaolapo of Victory Clinics, Lagos, said pneumonia is a bacterial infection of the lungs, “Bacteria and viruses are the primary causes of pneumonia. When a person breathes pneumonia-causing germs into his lungs and his body’s immune system cannot otherwise prevent entry, the organisms settle in small air sacs called alveoli and continue multiplying. As the body sends white blood cells to attack the infection, the sacs become filed with fluid and pus – causing pneumonia,” he added.

    Dr Onaolapo advised that when coughing, the mouth should be covered so as not to contaminate others. “The same goes for an infected wife not to kiss her husband and vice-versa.”

    He said” Pneumonia is a communicable disease which is transferred through air. It is usually more serious in children. “Symptoms of Pneumonia are cough, chest pain which brings out “sprotum” not too white or yellowish saliva,” Dr. Onaolapo said.

    Some people are more likely than others to develop pneumonia. Individuals at higher risk include those who: Smoke, Abuse alcohol, Have other medical conditions: such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, asthma, or HIV/AIDS. Those younger than a year or older than 65 are also at risk.

    Dr. Alabi, De-Nikky Hospital and Maternity Care, Lagos, said majority of  people are so unhygienic that they are not conscious of their contaminated environment, “The immunity of a child can be reduced if he is not immunised from birth. Most of our women don’t come for immunisation. They prefer the Trado-Medical treatment, which has nothing to do with Orthodox Medicine.”