Early Childhood
Newsline
Trainee midwives bring expert care to rural women in Pakistan
NANKANA SAHIB, Punjab Province, Pakistan, 12 March 2008 – A high mortality rate for newborns plagues Punjab Province in Pakistan. But steps are being taken to prevent these deaths by training skilled midwives who can attend births and can give much needed advice to new parents.
Dr. T. Berry Brazelton discusses ‘Touchpoints’ in early childhood
NEW YORK, USA, 5 February 2008 – Changing the way early childhood and parenting are viewed could be instrumental in helping to reach vulnerable children and strengthen the communities that support their development.
UNICEF helps local government build pre-schools in Cambodia
SVAY RIENG PROVINCE, Cambodia, 11 May 2007 – Every weekday morning, Nita, 5, joins her friends at the Banteay Kraing Village community pre-school. Small sandals and shoes are neatly lined up in a row outside the wooden shelter that houses the school.
Overcoming obstacles to child survival and gender equality in Kosovo
PRISTINA, Kosovo, 1 May 2007 – Despite the progress made during the post-conflict period since 1999, the UN Administered Province of Kosovo remains one of the poorest territories with one of the most vulnerable economies in Europe.
In Mozambique, protecting children and mothers from malaria
XAI XAI, Mozambique, 24 April 2007 – Zaida Alvero tenderly strokes the forehead of her frail five-month-old baby, Julieta, who lies almost lifeless on a hospital bed in intensive care with a tube inserted in her nose to help her breathe.
Rebuilding a safety net for new mothers in Indonesia
TANJONG VILLAGE, Indonesia, 20 April 2007 – 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.
Giving an early boost to the next generation of Malaysia’s ‘original people’
GERIK, Malaysia, 28 March 2007 – Simah Asir holds a job that many of her neighbours feel is unnecessary. She is a preschool teacher in a small village two hours by jeep from the nearest sizeable town, at the end of a rugged road snaking through rubber and palm oil plantations.
UNICEF helps train midwives to improve maternal and newborn care in Indonesia
KUPANG, Indonesia, 26 March 2007 – Just an hour’s flight from the tourism hub of Bali lies a string of islands known as East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). White sandy beaches, picturesque sunsets and warm, friendly people have made the tiny archipelago look like an idyllic spot.
UNICEF and Sesame Street helping to promote education and tolerance in Kosovo
LUKAVC I THATE/SUVI LUKAVAC, UN Administered Province of Kosovo, 26 March 2007 – In the remote village of Lukavc i Thate/Suvi Lukavac in western Kosovo, 27 children in a community-based early childhood centre are opening gifts brought to them by visiting UNICEF staff members.
‘One-stop’ clinic helps new mothers keep their children healthy in Gambia
FAJIKUNDA, Gambia, 11 January 2007 – In September, Sarata Hydara gave birth to a healthy baby boy at the health clinic here in Fajikunda. In the first two weeks he grew nearly half a kilogram, which she learned when nurses weighed him.
Integrated centres provide healthy development for children in Iran
CHABAHAR, Iran, 10 January 2007 – Hessam, a nine-month-old baby, gurgles in appreciation of the soup that his mother is feeding him. So does Nazanin, 3, and other young children in the room.
Cartoon takes Kyrgyz children on a ‘Magic Journey’ and teaches life lessons
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, 3 January 2007 – For Kaniet, 4, and his mother, it is a very special day. At a children’s recreation centre in Bishkek, they are watching the first animated series to be produced in Kyrgyzstan in 20 years.
Pre-school classes boost girls’ enrolment in northern Nigeria
KAZAURE, Nigeria, 24 November 2006 – Enrolment of girls in early childhood development (ECD) classes is booming in areas of northern Nigeria, where local government authorities, assisted by UNICEF, are using multiple strategies to get more girls into pre-school.
Educating young children left behind in China’s poor and remote communities
ANSHAN, China, 9 November 2006 – Zheng Qing lives in a remote village in the Cangxi county of China’s Sichuan Province. Her mother left home and her father works as a migrant labourer, so she has been raised by her grandmother. Until she started kindergarten two years ago, she was introverted and unwilling to play with other children.
‘Global Monitoring Report’ links early childhood care with lifelong benefits
NEW YORK, USA, 26 October 2006 - Early childhood care and education make a real and lasting difference in children’s lives, says this year’s ‘Education for All Global Monitoring Report’, released by UNESCO and launched today at UNICEF headquarters in New York.
‘Roving Caregivers’ promote early childhood development at home in Jamaica
CLARENDON, Jamaica, 26 October 2006 – Marva Ricketts is a biological mother of three, but she is a familiar face to 30 young children across five communities in the parish of Clarendon. Twice a month, she visits the children's homes to play with them and speak with their parents.
Mothers’ music and lyrics help save children’s lives in Ghana
AKUKA, Ghana, 23 October 2006 – In Akuka, a small farming community in the Upper East Region of Ghana, music produced by a mothers’ club is making a tremendous difference in saving children’s lives from common childhood diseases.
‘Chile Grows with You’ policy promotes early childhood development
NEW YORK, USA, 19 October 2006 – The Government of Chile has launched a social policy initiative promoting full support for the country’s children from birth.
Early learning programme reaches Manila’s deprived children
MANILA, 3 October 2006 – With concentrated expressions, the young children follow their teacher’s lead, faithfully reciting the words to a poem about ‘basura,’ or garbage. The lesson is designed to teach them at the earliest possible age that the problem of sanitary waste disposal has become a scourge in their community.
In Dominica, a young ‘Roving Caregiver’ helps give children a strong start in life
ST. DAVID, Dominica, 24 May 2006 – Christian Darroux, 19, has chosen a profession unusual among men in Dominica and most other countries: He works with young children and their families as a caregiver.
Mothers in Philippines break Guinness World Record for breastfeeding
MANILA, Philippines, 16 May 2006 – Almost 4,000 mothers in the Philippines – along with their babies – have helped set a new world record for simultaneous breast-feeding. It easily beat the previous Guinness World Record set by 1,135 women in Berkeley, California.
Free birth services in Burundi to help cut maternal and child deaths
BUJUMBURA, Burundi, 11 May 2006 – In a recovery room at Burundi’s biggest hospital, the Prince Regent Charles, 18-year-old Jocelyne Ndayizeye’s face is a study in pain and triumph. Her son has been delivered by caesarian section and she has survived one of the country’s deadliest obstacle courses – giving birth to a child. In Burundi, mothers are congratulated for ‘crossing the abyss’.
Monthly immunization days save lives and build babies’ health
CHIENG KHOA, Viet Nam, 1 February 2006 – It’s the monthly immunization day in Chieng Khoa, a small village in the mountains of north-western Vietnam. Although it’s still early in the morning, numerous mothers clutching babies wait patiently in a queue in front of the health centre.
Saving lives in Nepal through vitamin A distribution
KATHMANDU, Nepal, 29 November 2005 – Moti Bhandari looks into the mirror and adds the finishing touches to her make-up: a big red mark with the logo of a vitamin A campaign on her forehead. She then slings her green cloth bag with the same logo across her shoulders, calls out to her 9-year-old daughter Sarita to mind the store, and heads for the vitamin A distribution centre with her 2-year-old son in tow.
For pregnant women in Niger, prenatal check-ups come with grain
TCHADOUA, Niger, 15 September 2005 – Nineteen-year-old Sara was one of a thousand pregnant women who gathered recently at the health centre at Tchadoua in Niger’s Maradi region, for free prenatal check-ups and also to collect a set of benefits: food and an insecticide-treated bednet, to help prevent malaria.
3rd International Conference on Early Childhood Development: Giving children in Africa the best start in life
ACCRA, Ghana, 1 June 2005 – Getting basic services to all African children should be a top priority for national development plans, according to delegates at the 3rd African International Conference on Early Childhood Development.
Myanmar’s auxiliary midwives: Helping children get the best start in life
YANGON, Myanmar, 14 April 2005 – The rural village of Kan Tha Phu, located on an island off Myanmar’s western Ayeyarwaddy coast, is many days travel and seemingly scores of years removed from the hustle and bustle of the capital city of Yangon. Most of Kan Tha Phu’s families are members of the Kayin ethnic group, as is auxiliary midwife Daw Khin San Myint.
