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Humanitarian Action Report: North Caucasus

A boy makes his way to school through the rubble of Grozny, Russian Federation

Critical Issues for Children

Slight improvements in the security environment and living conditions have been observed in Chechnya in 2005.

However, general instability continues. Access to basic social services remains problematic for most civilians in Chechnya, especially women and children. IDPs continue to comprise a large portion of the vulnerable population. In the education sector, the situation in Chechnya remains precarious. In the North Caucasus, basic health indicators – such as infant, child and maternal mortality – remain significantly higher than in the country at large. Meanwhile, the presence of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) continues to pose a serious threat to civilians, including children, in Chechnya.

Planned Humanitarian Action for 2006

UNICEF will act as focal point for education and mine action and will remain an active member of the IASC Field Team, the Humanitarian and Development Forum for the NC as well as the NC SMT. Cooperation will also be sought with an increasing number of governmental actors.

Health and Nutrition: UNICEF will support the rehabilitation of the cold-chain infrastructure in Chechnya, and provide training to health care workers. UNICEF will also organize awareness-raising campaigns on child immunization, and provide counselling on reproductive health care, family planning, HIV/STI and substance abuse prevention. Finally, UNICEF will continue to provide psychosocial rehabilitation to crisis-affected children and NGO staff. Some 265,000 children and mothers will benefit from these interventions.

Water and Environmental Sanitation: UNICEF will purify and distribute potable water, and distribute water tanks for 117,000 persons in Grozny. UNICEF will also promote hygiene education and the appropriate use of water, and distribute hygiene education materials.

Education: UNICEF will support professional training of teachers, and expand the existing network of community-based ECE centres to provide basic pre-school education and care to 1,500 children in Chechnya. UNICEF will also rehabilitate kindergartens, provide school materials, continue to manage IDP schools, and promote vocational training for vulnerable adolescents in Chechnya.

Protection: UNICEF will support 22 leisure centres providing a safe environment to 700 children in Chechnya, and support the Chechen Ministry of Labour and Social Development in improving the quality of social services for vulnerable children and their families. UNICEF will also support the creation of Child Rights Ombudspersons in Chechnya and Ingushetia.

Mine action: More than 250,000 children in Chechnya will benefit from the following key activities:

UNICEF will establish 8 additional MRE working groups in the most mine/ERW-affected villages in Chechnya; collect, analyze and share mine/ERW-related information; conduct training; and design and disseminate new MRE materials.

Summary of UNICEF Emergency Needs for 2006

-- Health (including Psychosocial Rehabilitation): $2,670,000
-- Water and Environmental Sanitation: $840,000
-- Education: $2,800,000
-- Child Protection: $180,000
-- Mine Action: $980,000
-- Total: $7,470,000

The total includes a maximum recovery rate of 12%.

For more information:

John Brittain, Communication Officer, Russian Federation: (+ 7 495) 937 48 12. email: jbrittain@unicef.org

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