Features
Breastfeeding is always best, particularly in emergencies
In a crisis environment, continued breastfeeding for infants remains the best practice. While well-intentioned, the provision of milk substitutes can have a number of serious effects – most notably the increased risk of diarrhoeal disease if formula...
Survivors of violence benefit from Kundiawa’s Family Support Center in PNG
The FSC is a safe haven for women and children who experience family violence. It is a ‘one-stop shop’ coordination and support service, providing women and children survivors of violence with psychosocial, paralegal and case management support and...
Emergency vaccination targets 90,000 children in West Sumatra quake zones
During the first weeks since the earthquake that struck West Sumatra, UNICEF Indonesia has supported a measles vaccination campaign targeting 90,000 children throughout the region.
UNICEF mission to southern Lao PDR finds communities struggling after devastation caused by recent flooding
The trail of destruction left by typhoon Ketsana when it struck southern Laos on the night of September 30th is only now becoming fully apparent. Damage to road and telecommunication links caused by the floods that the storm triggered has hampered the eff
Students in Papua New Guinea become teachers on Global Handwashing Day
In PNG this year, over 25,000 students were involved in Global Handwashing Day activities in the Western Highlands, Eastern Highlands, Central and Morobe provinces. UNICEF donated buckets, soaps and handtowels not only to use during Global Handwashing Day
Peanuts for protein
These people do not keep a variety livestock, so they are not eating enough protein rich meat or fish, and a poor variety of fruit trees means that they are not getting enough Vitamin C...
The third-best investment the world can make
The Filipinos adore their pan de sal, the Mongolians are fond of their bantam, the Thais love bread sugar sweetened, and the Chinese need their steamed mantou buns and dumplings. Baguettes have become a common sight on the roadside in Cambodia, Lao PDR...
Overlooking young children in emergency preparedness
The world is getting more hazardous for children. In the next decade, more than a hundred million children will be affected every year by natural disasters brought about by climate change, estimate scientists at Geoscience Australia.
Economic crisis hits Asia's children hard
At the end of the day, Bangkok preschool teacher Nongkraan Mamoon sends a container of milk home with each child. She fears it may be the only thing a few of them will consume that evening. Lately, some students have not been showing up...
My learning is hooked up to good water and sanitation facilities – a typical cry from children in the highlands of Papua New Guinea
Fifteen-year old Peggy Maisa and 13-year old Rachael Watove from Massy village in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea both have dreams of one day becoming medical doctors. These high-spirited teenagers know without a doubt that they will...
A new school electrifies a village in Myanmar
Su Pyi Phyo Lwin, then a 7-year-old second grade student, couldn’t keep her eyes off an architect’s rendering of how life – school life at least – would change when a new year began this June. As the previous school year was coming to an end, she and...
What a difference a jar makes in Myanmar
In a crisis environment, continued breastfeeding for infants remains the best practice. While well-intentioned, the provision of milk substitutes can have a number of serious effects – most notably the increased risk of diarrhoeal disease if formula...
Education opportunities expand in northern Lao PDR
11-year-old Sengthiene wants to be a teacher when she gets older. The ethnic Khmu girl from the remote village of Phonesavang in northern Lao PDR says she’s suddenly excited about school and studying.
Measuring impacts of economic crisis on Indonesian children effectively, timely
Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia, is showing signs of further economic decline this year and the government wants to quickly detect how badly children and poor families are affected.
Children create giant mural for World Water Day in Laos
Some 60 Lao school children joined forces to create a huge pictorial representation of life along the banks of the Mekong River system as part of international celebrations for World Water Day 2009.
Lao PDR’s child health days take life-saving interventions into remote regions
From its lofty mountain perch, the little village of Hin Pan (population 306) commands a majestic view of jagged peaks and thickly wooded valleys. But this spectacular setting, about three hours’ drive north of the historic town of Luang Prabang...
‘Child-Safe Home’ model helps reduce child drowning in Viet Nam
Ten children die every day from drowning in Viet Nam, where it is the number one cause of injury-related death among children over the age of one. In the province of Dong Thap alone, 202 children died from drowning during 2005 and 2006.
Combating child sexual exploitation in the Philippines pornography trade
“Well it looks like she’s four years old, and this looks like an eight-year-old child and the four-year-old child having sex,” Ms. Madrigal says, looking at the DVDs. “It is happening that children are being used as sex toys – those children are being...
Keeping children and their rights alive
A child is not the property of his or her school, community or state. A child is not even the property of his or her parents. A child is a human being and subject of his or her own rights.
When breast is best!
Donut has been breastfeeding since the day she was born. For the first six months of life, it was the only form of nourishment she had. Today, in addition to eating a variety of other foods, she still regularly breastfeeds along with her younger sister.
Education in the hills
As the heavy morning mist begins to lift from the emerald green hills, small groups of children can be seen descending the steep and muddy footpaths that lead to this tiny hamlet in the rugged highlands of Mae Hong Son’s Khunyuam district.
Six months on, Myanmar marks progress in recovery from Cyclone Nargis
In early May of this year, hundreds of thousands of people in south-western Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta were forced from their homes by Cyclone Nargis. Today, six months on, emergency relief efforts are on track, but more support is needed to ensure...
Cyclone Nargis, 180 day special issue
The special issue of this newsletter presents relief efforts after Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar in May 2008.
Research on migrants’ children left behind: No extra burdens
Conventional perceptions see children left behind by migrating parents as benefiting from the economic pay-off but suffering a social and psychological trade-off. Not so – at least in East and South-East Asia – according to recent research findings that..
Puppets and peers teach Indonesian children the importance of handwashing
Students at a small rural elementary school here are learning a lesson that could save their lives. It’s a simple habit that many people around the world take for granted: being able to wash their hands with soap.
Water is now money
Esperança Maria da Silva is 34 years old with 5 children. She lives in the remote village of Lauana in Timor-Leste. When water and sanitation facilities came to her village, her life was changed
Impact of the Economic Crisis on Children
UNICEF is convening the best minds in the region from academia and public service to examine cutting-edge research and best policy practices regarding the impact of the crises on child health and nutrition, education, labor, and family income maintenance.
UNICEF works to protect the most vulnerable from malaria in Indonesia
By Suzanna DayneYAMLI VILLAGE, Indonesia, 12 September 2008 – For centuries, the people of the South Halmahera islands have been dealing with a major health threat that those living in other parts of Indonesia have since forgotten.
UNICEF and nutrition security in a crisis of food
For the past year and especially since the beginning of 2008, rising food and energy prices have planted seeds of apprehension and sometimes trouble around the world. The prices of rice and wheat, among other staples, have doubled while the costs of meat
Child-friendly spaces allow cyclone-affected children in Myanmar to enjoy life again
About a 30-minute boat ride from Bogalay lies Myanmar’s Kyet Taung Chaung village. To access the village, you have to walk through deep mud, climb over wobbly wooden bridges and balance on tree trunks. From afar, you can hear children singing,
After floods in Laos, safe water is a priority for families
In the nine years that he’s been director of the Sendin Village primary school, Sengtun Vongsay has had more than one opportunity to reflect on the destructive force of the nearby Nam Ngum River. Now he stands beside the outside wall of the school’s main
UNICEF emergency response: 120 Days after Cyclone Nargis
The cyclone which hit south-west Myanmar on 2-3 May hashad a devastating short- and long-term impact on the livesof the people in the affected areas. The cyclone destroyedor severely damaged 50 percent of schools and 75 percentof rural health....
UNICEF strives to help Papua New Guinea break cycle of violence
UNICEF is at the forefront of a nationwide effort to end domestic and gender-based violence in Papua New Guinea.
Sharing perspectives on arsenic in drinking water from around the Greater Mekong
Dozens of experts from development agencies and government ministries gathered in Phnom Penh in August 2008 to discuss recent regional efforts related to arsenic in drinking water.
East Asia and the Pacific prepare for the third World Congress Against Sexual Exploitation of Children
At age 14, “Joy” emphatically thinks of herself as an activist. She also doesn’t wince about being a victim. Although the details are not necessary, she says. She talks instead of what she’s doing to help protect other young people.
Villagers tap the rain to improve health and hygiene near quake-affected Yogyakarta
On the eastern slopes of Mount Merapi, a sacred, active volcano on the island of Java, change is about to come with the next rainfall.Men from all across the village of Tlogawatu are pouring concrete into a blue cylindrical mould behind the house of...
Children in China affected by AIDS join Olympic celebration
The Olympic motto, faster, higher, stronger, invites people to excel in the spirit of friendship, unity, and fair play. This year, the 5th Annual UNICEF/China National Committee for the Care of Children (CNCCC) Summer Camp for Children Affected by AIDS..
Cyclone Nargis: Special issue of UNICEF Myanmar Newsletter
In early May, Myanmar was hit by the worst evernatural disaster experienced in the country’s history,the Cyclone Nargis. The cyclone caused death, devastation,damage and loss of an unprecedented scale.Myanmar will need to continue investing....
Educating Indonesian mothers and midwives during World Breastfeeding Week
It’s early morning as Dwinta Dyah Larasanti, a midwife, sets off to the local health clinic prepared to fight poor infant feeding. Dwinta’s weapon in this battle is simple: accurate information.Dwinta is one of many new midwives trained with support...
New borehole well provides safe water to Aceh schoolchildren and villagers
The scorching sun overhead does not deter cheerful students at SDN 1 Lampaseh elementary school from washing their hands at the public water taps nearby. These schoolchildren are the first in a generation to benefit from a supply of fresh, safe water...
Cyclone-affected children in Myanmar return to the classroom
The school year here in the southern Irrawaddy Delta region was supposed to resume last month. The destruction and damage affecting nearly 60 per cent of the area’s public schools in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, however, prevented classes from...
Aid for cyclone-affected schools, still struggling in remote areas of Myanmar
In the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, up to 1 million people were displaced from their homes and villages in Myanmar. Over the past two months, a massive effort has sought to repair the damage caused by the storm – especially in the Irrawaddy Delta...
UNICEF-supported programme cares for Cambodian children living with HIV
By Shantha BloemenSVAY RIENG PROVINCE, Cambodia, 14 July 2008 – On the veranda of their rural home, 12-year-old Vanna, his twin brother and an older sister race against the natural light to finish their homework.
Reconstructing lives for earthquake-affected children
Bending over a tiny desk, seven-year-old Zhang Ziwen does his homework in a tent by the Bailongjiang River. “I used to live in the town with my family. But now we can’t live in our house anymore....
Using folklore to promote and enrich education for Malaysia’s indigenous children
Assembled around a village elder, members of the younger generation listen to tales of their ancestors. Clad in a traditional headpiece made of dried leaves, Awang Bin Alok, 67, shares his stories with young students sitting on the porch of ...
UNICEF begins rebuilding schools in cyclone-stricken Myanmar
The weather has become an added challenge to delivering aid in cyclone-ravaged Myanmar.On Sunday, a UNICEF mission delivering school tents was hampered by strong wind gusts, rain and pools of mud, making the unloading of some 900 kg of supplies...
Child-friendly spaces provide refuge for cyclone-affected children in Myanmar
At the offices of the Yangon Kayin Baptist Women’s Association, a room once used for storing office equipment and documents is now filled with laughing and playing children, all of whom were displaced by the devastation of Cyclone Nargis.
Through a UNICEF-supported project, Aceh villagers finally get safe water
For decades past, the residents of Merie Satu village could only dream of one day having access to safe water. There was no water source in their community, located in the rural, conflict-affected district of Bener Meriah in the heart of Aceh province.
One month on: Classes in Myanmar resume
Exactly a month after cyclone Nargis damaged and destroyed over 4,000 basic education schools in Myanmar, children are back to school today as the new school year began.
Children of Myanmar determined to go back to school
Children in some of the areas affected by cyclone Nargis in Myanmar are gearing up to head back to school next week, as UNICEF and its partners use everything from trucks and boats to distribute essential school supplies and teaching materials around the
Child friendly spaces help young survivors of cyclone heal in Myanmar
As putting the pieces onto jigsaw puzzle board, it seemed that 7-year-old boy, Min Thu*(not his real name) has locked himself out of the outside world and put his particular interest on the game, which is putting the pieces together to have a complete...
Early Childhood Policy: Getting it right - Lessons learned in Asia
To Bachrudin Musthafa the opportunitywas golden. A lecturer at the School ofPostgraduate Studies of the IndonesiaUniversity of Education, Bachrudin wouldjoin other researchers and policy makers in ateam conducting a review of ....
Providing health care to children, women and families is first priority
Her house has been devastated and her life turned upside down ever since a ferocious cyclone pummeled Maynamar’s Ayeyarwady delta.
“If Mummy is here”
"If you’re here May May (Mummy in Myanmar), I will not die will I?" These were the very first words spoken by 3-year-old Thè Su Wai from Kungyangone Township, when she saw her mother in the immediate aftermath of Cyclone Nargis.
Scars of Nargis
Last Saturday, I was among the 50 plus UN country team members and diplomats flown by the Government of Myanmar in three groups to see the cyclone affected areas and the relief efforts of the government. Our team visited four locations including Labutta..
Child-friendly centres for Cyclone-affected children
Pa Pa, 3 years-old, in red dress joins child-friendly centre held in the Pagoda compound of Twante Township of Yangon Division. Pa Pa, a bright young girl, has never played with this kind of toys before.
Myanmar photo essay
Photos of children in Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis
An unprecedented mission
Field officer Khin Khin Pyone, an engineer with UNICEF Myanmar office for the past seven years, is stunned as she walks through Laputta town three days after Cyclone Nargis storms through the Irrawaddy Delta
Racing to protect the most vulnerable in Myanmar
“It was frightening. I was worried that my family members would be separated. Our faces went blue from cold, and I thought we were going to die,” said Ma Khine, recalling her fears in the face of the tormenting Cyclone Nargis that destroyed her home.
Bringing safe water to the thirsty in China
In a crisis environment, continued breastfeeding for infants remains the best practice. While well-intentioned, the provision of milk substitutes can have a number of serious effects – most notably the increased risk of diarrhoeal disease if formula...
China's migrant children increase in number, visibility
Nobody knows exactly how many migrant children there are in Beijing, but about 400,000 are eligible to attend school, according to Ma Chentong, deputy director of the Beijing Women and Children Working Committee.
AIDS and an unfinished agenda for children
It takes a bit of courage to tell a room full of strangers about your innermost hopes and dreams. But for 12-year-old ‘Honda’ and the other young members of We Understand, courage is an everyday accessory.
Timor-Leste: Now and the future
The series of articles that we have lined up in this year’s magazine attempts to share some insight on these questions. Several researches on the young, including how they perceive the work opportunities and how they perceive their sexuality ......
Rebuilding a safety net for new mothers in Indonesia
On the outskirts of Banda Aceh, midwife Radliana is making a house call. She climbs the steps to a white house with a bright green door and knocks. “Salaam Alaikum,” she calls.
Traditional Birth Attendants and midwives partner for women’s health in Indonesia
Approximately 1 in 97 women in Indonesia will die during childbirth or because of complications related to pregnancy. Thankfully, Noni, a 27-year-old mother of four, is alive and well due to proper medical treatment from her local health centre.
Local health centre in Lamcot provides 24-hour service for the community
It was 10 p.m. on a Friday when Rosmalida realized her baby was about to be born. Thankfully, professional help was only a few metres away at the new community-based integrated health centre in Lamcot.
100 schools complete, 191 more under construction in Aceh and Nias of Indonesia
With UNICEF’s construction program moving ahead at full speed, SDN 44 in Banda Aceh became the 100th school to be completed. Students, teachers and the community celebrated this important milestone together.
Pilot effort provides an early warning system for autistic children in Malaysia
Three-year-old Mohamad kneels on the floor, winding and unwinding an electrical cord around his arms. Every few cycles, he turns slightly clockwise, but always with his back to his mother and father, who try futilely to catch his attention.
Religious leaders from East Asia and Pacific meet to seek greater compassion in response to HIV and AIDS
In a crisis environment, continued breastfeeding for infants remains the best practice. While well-intentioned, the provision of milk substitutes can have a number of serious effects – most notably the increased risk of diarrhoeal disease if formula...
Social and emotional learning in schools: Essentials for holistic development
How can you create the conditions so that every young person thrives? This was the first question put to around 30 education experts at the start of a 3-day intensive brainstorming session led by UNICEF in mid January.
Treating children with care in Solomon Islands
Children feared the sea and refused to play on the beach for weeks afterwards. To support the children’s recovery UNICEF teamed up with the Social Welfare Division and launched the Community Welfare Volunteer scheme.
Three years after the Tsunami in Indonesia
The opening of SDN 45 in Banda Aceh marked another milestone of UNICEF’s school construction program: Aside from 70 completed schools, 130 are under construction, bringing the number to 200.
Timor-Leste turns attention on its youth and approves its National Youth Policy
In a landmark move, Timor-Leste's new government has approved the nation's first National Youth Policy and seven optional strategies for its implementation in November. This officially recognises the role of young people in nation building ....
Q&A with Shelley Casey, UNICEF Child Protection Specialist: New Tactics for Juvenile Offenders
The number of children committing criminal offences has sharply raised public concern. Though most children commit only minor, petty crimes, the tendency is to lock them up – as a punishment and as an education or rehabilitation measure.
Stark disparities revealed by Thailand's largest-ever household survey
Gongsak’s household was one of 43,000 covered by a nationwide survey carried out last year by the National Statistics Office. The survey was the largest assessment ever of the situation of children and women in Thailand.
Young people dialogue on natural disasters: A meeting in Bangkok brings together dozens of youth from Thailand, Indonesia and Pakistan
Some 60 young people from Indonesia, Pakistan and Southern Thailand gathered in Bangkok between April 30-4 May for some soul-searching on the issue of disasters - natural and man-made.
Caring Dads build strong families: A photo competition encourages Lao dads to get involved - and protect their kids from HIV
Under the slogan “Caring Dads Build Strong Families”, the campaign advocates for father’s involvement in caring for wives and children right from pregnancy through to child rearing, with a focus on adoption of safe sex practices.
Children’s rights and culture in the Pacific
More than many other parts of the world, the Pacific Islands remain a rich mosaic of different cultural identities, languages and traditions. For the people of these island nation states, the value of community structures in shaping identities and....
Diverse experiences on education shared at regional meeting
Some 50 participants from 16 countries visited UNICEF supported activities in Cambodia, focusing on Educational Management Information System (EMIS) and local planning, Inclusive Education, Child Friendly Schools and Early Childhood Development.
We know about the power of breastfeeding ... Why do fewer and fewer mothers choose differently?
According to the 2007 report, only 43 per cent of women in the region breastfeed exclusively for the first six months of their babies’ lives. This reflects a progressive downward trend from 56 per cent in 1999. A year ago, it was 52 per cent.
Puppets tour for bird flu prevention in Lao PDR
The troupe has traveled hundreds of kilometers from Vientiane, as part of a joint campaign led by the Lao Government and UNICEF to combat the spread of avian and human influenza. The campaign is funded by a grant from the people of Japan.
Cambodia’s religious leaders mobilized in the fight against avian flu
UNICEF’s close collaboration with monks, nuns and local elders who have special ties with temples for the prevention and care of HIV/AIDS during the last six years is being harnessed in the fight against a new equally lethal disease – avian influenza.
Despite ongoing violence: A new way of learning greets many young Timorese students in a valiant back-to-school campaign
It is a show of will power by most of the targeted 200,000 students and 5,000 teachers in Timor Leste who have braved the scattered violence to heed the call of the two-month campaign, which heralded in a new curriculum along with the new school year.
A famous actor, six children and many paper birds send a compelling message around the world
A public service announcement featuring Chan with six children, aged 6–9, began airing on major networks in August, including CNN International and Star TV, as well as local television stations throughout the region.
We are the world – So let’s start talking
4 teenagers from Thailand and two from the Philippines talked to 16 other youth a continent away to have their recommendations for change put on the agenda of the G8 summit in July. It was the first in 30 years to formally include an interaction between children and attending world leaders.
Focusing on everyday violence against children
the newsletter centres the six themes of the UN Secretary-General’s Global Study on Violence Against Children: work situations, streets and communities, juvenile justice, homes, schools and institutions and violence in cyberspace and other communications
