UNICEF News

News from UNICEF, Press releases, News notes, Media advisories, Statements

July 29th, 2010
Support for Malaysian children affected by HIV and AIDS
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, 29 July 2010 – Thirteen-year-old Aina (name changed) is determined to be a filmmaker when she grows up. She knows she's talented and isn't too shy to talk about it.

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July 29th, 2010
Life in war-torn Yemen slowly returns to normal
SA'ADA, Yemen, 29 July 2010 – When you walk down the Al-Shara'a Al-A'am main road to the old town of Sa'ada, through the main gate of Bab Al-Yaman and pass by the ancient mosque of Emam Al-Hadi, you are immediately drawn into the past. The town, deeply rooted in history, used to be a beacon of Islamic teaching and a symbol of tolerance. From there you idle through the small but bustling 'souq,' or traditional market, and into the maze of the ancient mud houses where you can literally smell the scent of history.

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July 29th, 2010
In Somalia, a Public-Private partnership provides safe water to thousands
BOROMA, Somalia, 29 July 2010 – Residents of Boroma town in north-west Somalia don't take access to safe water for granted.

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July 29th, 2010
Cases of children accused of 'witchcraft' rising in parts of West and Central Africa
AKWA IBOM STATE, Nigeria, 28 July 2010 – One child is given a slice of mango and is asked to commit murder in return. Another admits to killing 800 people while flying with other witches on a piece of tree bark.

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July 29th, 2010
Free, universal health care rolls out for mothers and children in Sierra Leone
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, 28 July 2010 – Early each morning, queues start to form outside the Princess Christian Memorial Hospital in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. Pregnant women, mothers and young children wait patiently. Health-care workers trawl the lines for priority cases that need immediate attention.

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July 29th, 2010
Delegation from Nepal sees child-rights initiatives supported by UNICEF in Brazil
BRASILIA, Brazil, 28 July 2010 – Senior representatives of the Government of Nepal visited Brazil recently to learn about initiatives developed by UNICEF and its partners here. The visit was an example of cooperation between developing countries, in which they share knowledge, experiences and best practices on various aspects of development.

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July 29th, 2010
IKEA Social Initiative helps children from nomadic communities in Pakistan
FAISALABAD, Pakistan, 27 July 2010 – Only a year ago, Nazdana, 8, spent her days picking paper, bottles and metal pieces from the heaps of garbage littered around the city. Today, her world has changed completely. She sits reading from a textbook, dressed in a tidy school uniform, at the Education and Counselling Centre in Ghaziabad –enjoying her newfound freedom from hazardous work.

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July 29th, 2010
In the wake of conflict, polio immunization campaign protects children in Krygyzstan
TOICHEBEK-CHEK, Kyrgyzstan, 27 July 2010 – An outbreak of poliomyelitis in Tajikistan earlier this year is potentially threatening the health of children across the border in southern Kyrgyzstan. In the wake of the ethnic violence that tore through the region in June, communities here are coming together in support of a national immunization campaign to protect children from the deadly disease.

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July 29th, 2010
UNICEF and partners open child-friendly spaces in Qinghai earthquake zone
BEIJING, China, 26 July 2010 – In the aftermath of the April 2010 earthquake that struck Qinghai Province's Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, UNICEF and the National Working Committee on Children and Women (NWCCW) have combined to establish four child-friendly spaces to support the long-term recovery and well-being of earthquake-affected children and women.

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July 29th, 2010
Vaccination campaign conducted in response to resurgence of measles in Zambia
LUSAKA, Zambia, 26 July 2010 – In the Matero neighbourhood here in the Zambian capital last week, three-year-old Kaseko led her Aunt Sarah by the hand to the health clinic. Once there, they joined the long queue of mothers and crying babies.

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July 29th, 2010
UNICEF Spain Ambassador and NBA star Pau Gassol visits children in Ethiopia
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, 26 July 2010 – Los Angeles Lakers basketball star and UNICEF Spain Ambassador Pau Gasol has just spent a week visiting UNICEF-supported education, nutrition and child protection programmes in Ethiopia – and sharing his time with children who live under very difficult conditions here.

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July 29th, 2010
In the wake of violence, home visits ensure social assistance for families in Kyrgyzstan
OSH, Kyrgyzstan, 23 July 2010 – From the outside, the walled compound of the Kozybaeva household looks relatively undamaged, raising hopes that unlike most of the neighbouring houses, this one might be intact. But just beyond the gate is the burnt-out shell of what used to be the family car. And beyond that are the ruins of what was once the family home.

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July 29th, 2010
African Youth Forum delegates set to deliver their call to action to AU Summit leaders in Uganda
MUNYONYO, Uganda, 23 July 2010 – Bonolo Cebe, 18,of South Africa is one of the three young delegates selected by their peers to present a call to action to leaders at the 15th session of the Assembly of African Union Summit this Sunday, 25 July. Over 100 young people from 40 countries drafted the message earlier this week in Uganda, at the first-ever African Youth Forum, or AYF.

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July 29th, 2010
UNICEF statistics expert honoured for research on the needs of children affected by AIDS
VIENNA, Austria, 22 July 2010 – When UNICEF statistics expert Dr. Priscilla Akwara looked at the usual ways of assessing a child's vulnerability in the face of HIV and AIDS, what she saw wasn't true to her own experience. And so, collaborating with nine co-authors, she became a detective, combing through data to find out which factors can reliably be seen to make a child vulnerable.

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July 29th, 2010
'Letter to a friend' campaign promotes healthy pregnancies in Indonesia

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July 29th, 2010
Afghanistan reaffirms commitment to protecting child rights amidst conflict
KABUL, Afghanistan, 21 July 2010 – The Government of Afghanistan has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting children affected by the ongoing conflict here through the establishment of a Steering Committee that will address and respond to grave violations against children.

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July 29th, 2010
UNICEF supports efforts to end sexual harassment of girls and women in Bangladesh
NARSINGDI, Bangladesh, 21 July 2010 – Hundreds of people, many of them adolescents, rallied in the streets of Narsingdi district recently to call for an end to 'Eve teasing' – a term used to describe the public bullying of girls and women by boys and men.

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July 29th, 2010
African Youth Forum issues call to action for leaders at Uganda summit
ENTEBBE, UGANDA, 20 July 2010 – A group of more than 100 young people from across Africa are ready to deliver a clear message to leaders of the countries in the African Union, who will be attending the 2010 AU Summit in Kampala, the Ugandan capital.

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July 29th, 2010
FIFA World Cup 2010 champion Sergio Ramos of Spain inspires children in Senegal
DAKAR, Senegal, 20 July 2010 – Just days after becoming a champion as a member of the victorious Spanish national football team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Sergio Ramos chose to spend his time off the field visiting UNICEF projects in Senegal.

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July 29th, 2010
UNICEF releases report on children affected by HIV in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
NEW YORK, USA, 19 July 2010 – As thousands of experts from around the world gather at the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria, UNICEF is drawing attention to one the most pressing concerns in the struggle against HIV – the marginalization of those affected by the disease, especially children.

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July 29th, 2010
'Mother-Baby Pack' helps prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in Lesotho
LESOTHO, 19 July 2010 – Malekena George lives in arural area in the southern African kingdom of Lesotho. Four months ago, she set out on a trip to a distant clinic, determined to protect the health of her unborn child.

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July 29th, 2010
Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow visits Ugandan children affected by conflict
GULU and KOTIDO, Uganda, 16 July 2010 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow has made a round of visits to Uganda communities this week, in advance of her participation in the first-ever African Youth Forum, which begins tomorrow in Entebbe.

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July 29th, 2010
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Lionel 'Leo' Messi visits earthquake-ravaged Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 16 July 2010 – For the people of Port-au-Prince, the last six months have been fraught with difficulties in the wake of the catastrophic earthquake that left their lives in shambles. But while the images out of Haiti still show displacement and poverty, they were replaced yesterday – at least for a few hours – by a sense of uncontainable excitement, as Haitians poured into the streets to greet UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Lionel 'Leo' Messi.

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July 29th, 2010
New child-friendly schools bring new hope to communities in Sri Lanka
AMPARA DISTRICT, Sri Lanka, 15 July 2010 – Thousands of schoolchildren in Ampara district, eastern Sri Lanka, recently cheered in a new era in education, with marching bands playing and UNICEF flags waving during official ceremonies in their villages.

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July 29th, 2010
'Hermano' film director partners with UNICEF on violence prevention in Venezuela
NEW YORK, USA, 15 July 2010 – The UNICEF-supported film, 'Hermano' – which last month won the Grand Prix for Best Film at the International Film Festival in Moscow, as well as the audience and critics' prizes – will now be used to help spur conversations about violence prevention in Venezuela's poor urban communities.

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July 29th, 2010
Free primary education: A steeping stone towards a better future for children in Liberia
GANTA, Liberia, 15 July 2010 – At 6 a.m., Atleta Suomie is already hard at work sweeping the floor and arranging the merchandise in her family's small store. Atleta is a top mathematics student and this comes in handy through the morning's roaring trade. But come lunchtime, she hands the shop over to her stepmother, changes into her school uniform, collects her books and leaves the shop.

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July 29th, 2010
'Second-chance' examination for schoolchildren affected by conflict in South Darfur
SOUTH DARFUR, Sudan, 14 July 2010 – UNICEF and the Ministry of Education in the South Darfur region of Sudan have witnessed the successful completion of a key goal: providing a 'second-chance examination' for eighth-grade students affected by conflict in the locality of East Jabel Marra.

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July 29th, 2010
Panama launches national handwashing campaign to improve child health and hygiene
PANAMA CITY, Panama, 14 July 2010 – "Wash our hands, it´s time to wash our hands," sang a group of second graders at Los Andes II school in Panama City's San Miguelito district. While they chanted the popular tune, hundreds more children waved handmade banners for health officials who were present at their school to inaugurate a national handwashing campaign.

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July 29th, 2010
Ugandan delegates prepare to speak out on development at first African Youth Forum
KAMPALA,Uganda, 13 July 2010 – At first glance, it seems an ordinary day in the UNICEF country office here – until the cameras zoom in and reporters begin interviewing young people selected as the Ugandan delegates to the first-ever African Youth Forum, or AYF. The Forum will be held in Entebbe from 17 to 19 July.

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July 29th, 2010
Child-friendly spaces for learning and playing without fear in Osh, Kyrgyzstan
OSH, Kyrgyzstan, 13 July 2010 – After weeks of violence in southern Kyrgyzstan, Osh is beginning to witness tiny signs of a return to normal life: The streets are filling up with people and cars. Some rush to the market to buy food, others go to visit their relatives and share their blankets and clothes with those who lost everything.

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July 29th, 2010
Educating Haiti's children, six months on
NEW YORK, USA, 12 July 2010 – Today marks the six-month anniversary of the earthquake that devastated Haiti, killing more than 220,000, displacing many more and severely affecting the education system.

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July 29th, 2010
Bamyan maternity waiting home: A safe place to give birth in Afghanistan
BAMYAN, Afghanistan, 12 July 2010 – "This place is needed in Bamyan like water in the desert," said Dr. Hamed Nazim, head of Bamyan Provincial Hospital. "In the past, not enough care was taken of mothers. This will change now."

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July 29th, 2010
Universal blood tests hunt down the malaria parasite in Sabang district, Indonesia
SABANG, Indonesia, 13 July 2010 – Mohamed Safrina, 22, has never suffered from malaria, but he knows it's a dangerous illness. However, the labourer from Sabang, an island district off the north-west coast of Indonesia, is terrified of needles and a little apprehensive of the gloved nurse kneeling beside him.

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July 29th, 2010
Life skills-based education builds young Somalis' self-confidence
NAIROBI, Kenya, 12 July 2010 – Muna Ali Hirsi, 24, is a vibrant and motivated life-skills mentor who works with young people aged 12 to 21 in north-west Somalia (Somaliland).

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July 29th, 2010
Six months on, UNICEF reviews Haiti quake-relief milestones, and looks forward
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 12 July 2010 – Six months after the earthquake that ravaged Haiti on 12 January, UNICEF has released a detailed report chronicling relief efforts to date. Titled 'Children of Haiti: Milestones and looking forward at six months,' the report begins by implicitly asking the question: What did not happen following the earthquake?

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July 29th, 2010
Olympic Gold Medallist Yuna Kim, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, thanks Haiti donors
NEW YORK, USA, 9 July 2010– UNICEF is delighted to announce the appointment of international figure-skating star Yuna Kim as its newest Goodwill Ambassador. In a special video messagemarking her appointment. Ms. Kim thanks donors who have supported a cause she herself holds dear: UNICEF's earthquake-relief efforts in Haiti.

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July 29th, 2010
On the ground in Haiti, after the quake: Q&A with Kent Page
NEW YORK, USA, 9 July 2010 – Kent Page left New York for Port-au-Prince on 20 January, just over a week after the earthquake that shattered Haiti's most densely populated areas – and the lives of its most vulnerable children. He had been asked to leave his UNICEF headquarters post for a month-long assignment as the agency's chief media spokesperson in the Haitian capital.

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July 29th, 2010
UNICEF photojournalist Marta Ramoneda documents recovery efforts in Haiti
NEW YORK, USA, 9 July 2010 – It has been six months since a devastating earthquake killed over 220,000 people and disrupted the lives of millions more in Haiti. UNICEF freelance photographer Marta Ramoneda recently returned from a two-week trip to the Caribbean nation, where she documented the recovery efforts now under way there.

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July 29th, 2010
UN Secretary-General visits a child protection centre in Gabon
LIBREVILLE, Gabon, 7 July 2010 – On a recent trip to Gabon, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with children living in a child-protection centre supported by UNICEF in Angondgé, a neighbourhood of Libreville, the capital.

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July 29th, 2010
UNICEF helps to raise HIV awareness along the Ethiopia-Djibouti transport corridor
DJIBOUTI VILLE, Djibouti, 6 July 2010 – In the scorching heat of a June morning, boys and young men from the PK 12 neighbourhood, on the outskirts of Djibouti Ville, are gathered in front of a large container competing in a game of babyfoot, a.k.a. table football.

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July 29th, 2010
Breaking the cycle: Iraqi refugee students in Syria need help to go back to school
DAMASCUS, Syrian Arab Republic,6 July 2010 – Lulls in conversation with 16-year-old Iraqi refugee Gailan are soon filled with the gentle inhale-exhale of sleep. Outside, the Damascus streets are silent, except for the shuffling of those woken early by the intense morning heat.

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July 29th, 2010
Young fans see FIFA World Cup 2010 on the big screen in remote Zambian villages
NAMUSHAKA, Zambia, 2 July 2010 – More than 600 km from Zambia's capital, Lusaka, the local school's sandy football pitch is being converted to a soccer fan park. Football fever is hitting even the most remote villages in Africa as the FIFA World Cup is played for the first time on the continent.

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July 29th, 2010
Brittle calm after violent ethnic riots tears apart lives in Kyrgyzstan
OSH, Kyrgyzstan, 1 July 2010 – All along the Alisher Navoi Street, the scene is similar from house to house. Some of the buildings are just charred walls. Some have collapsed completely. Others bear bullet holes from intense gunfire.

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July 29th, 2010
Prince Harry's UNICEF visit reflects commitment to humanitarian aid
NEW YORK, USA, 29 June 2010 – As part of his official visit to New York this past weekend, Prince Harry of the United Kingdom visited the Emergency Operations Centre at UNICEF headquarters to see how the organization operates strategically during global crises.

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July 29th, 2010
In Istanbul, UNICEF and UNESCO Institute for Statistics launch joint education project
ISTANBUL, Turkey, 30 June 2010 – While Turkey has made significant progress in reducing the number of out-of-school girls in recent decades, the number of girls in school continues to decline sharply by the fifth and sixth grades.

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July 29th, 2010
In Rwanda, free mosquito nets save lives
MAYANGE, Rwanda, 29 June 2010 – Seraphine Kabasinga, mother of four, has always been scared of malaria. She lives in an endemic zone, just an hour east of Rwanda's capital, Kigali.

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July 29th, 2010
Vulnerable children get behind the lens in South African photo workshop
ESTCOURT, South Africa, 29 June 2010 – Slightly built Nokwanda Mchunu, 12, buried her head in her hands every time someone asked her a question. Her participation in a recent UNICEF-supported photography workshop here looked like it would be limited.

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July 29th, 2010
Protecting mothers and newborns from HIV and AIDS in post-quake Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 30 June 2010 – Jeanne (not her real name) looks lovingly at her baby daughter Marie and carefully covers her cot with a mosquito net. She is sitting in the living room of a relative's home in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, in the heat of the afternoon. For Jeanne, the birth of Marie in May was an extraordinary event.

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July 29th, 2010
A child labourer leaves the streets behind and returns to school in the Philippines
NEW YORK, USA, 30 June 2010 – Arcy Nino Ortonio, now 19, is in his second year of college in the Philippines, taking courses in maritime studies so that he can work on a ship as a deck officer and move up the ranks. But less than 15 years ago, when Arcy was just a young child, he worked two jobs to help pay his grade-school fees and his future was uncertain.

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July 29th, 2010
Goodwill Ambassador Leo Messi, star footballer, in new video spot on child rights
NEW YORK, USA, 29 June 2010 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Lionel 'Leo' Messi, one of the biggest stars in football, has recorded a new public service announcement to raise awareness about children's rights and promote equity.

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