UNICEF in emergencies

Commitments

© UNICEF/ HQ03-0178/LeMoyne

Children and women carry home water which has been delivered by tanker trucks to a suburb of Baghdad.

More and more children and women are affected by natural disasters, conflict, or other forms of crisis. In 2003 UNICEF clarified what it would do to protect and assist such children and women, by revising its Core Commitments for Children in Emergencies (CCCs). In so doing, it distinguished between those vital, life-saving interventions that should be done straight away, in the first six to eight weeks of any crisis, and the broader spectrum of activities that may be added, once that initial response is in hand.

Guiding the response of UNICEF in humanitarian situations is the principle that children in the midst of armed conflict and natural disasters have the same needs and rights as children in stable situations.

In the first six to eight weeks following the outbreak of a crisis UNICEF, with its national, United Nations and NGO partner organisations, will therefore work to: 

1. Assess, monitor, report and communicate on the situation of children and women: conduct a rapid assessment, including on severe or systematic abuse, violence or exploitation, and report through the appropriate mechanisms.

2.    Provide measles vaccination, vitamin A, essential drugs and nutritional supplements: vaccinate children between 6 months and 14 years of age against measles, providing vitamin A supplementation as required. Provide essential drugs, basic and emergency health kits, oral rehydration, fortified nutritional products and micronutrient supplements. Provide post-rape-care kits, including post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV, where appropriate. Provide other emergency supplies such as blankets, tarpaulins, etc.

3.    Provide child and maternal feeding and nutritional monitoring: with the World Food Programme (WFP) and NGO partners, support infant and young child feeding, therapeutic and supplementary feeding. Introduce nutritional monitoring and surveillance.

4.    Provide safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: emergency water supply and purification, provision of basic family water kits, safe disposal of faeces and hygiene education.

5.    Assist in preventing the separation and facilitate the identification, registration and medical screening of children separated from their families; ensure family tracing systems are put in place and provide care and protection; and prevent sexual abuse and exploitation of children and women.

6.    Initiate the resumption of schooling and other child learning opportunities: set-up temporary learning spaces and re-open schools, start re-integrating teachers and children (with a focus on girls), and organize recreational activities.

Once this initial emergency response is well established, other activities may be introduced to address other elements of the CCCs, as the situation evolves: 

Monitoring and advocating on the situation of children:

• ensure that information on the situation of children adn violations of their rights is collected and updated;
• make available this information to relevant partners, child rights advocates, the public and media, as appropriate;
• use UNICEF's voice on behalf of children.

Survival:

• expand support to vaccination and preventive health services;
• support infant and young child feeding, including breastfeeding and complementary feeding and, when necessary, support therapeutic and supplementary feeding programmes;
• establish, improve and expand safe water and sanitation facilities and promote safe hygiene behaviour

Organizing Child Protection:

• continue to identify and register unaccompanied and orphaned children, and support communities to provide for their protection and care;
• establish child friendly spaces and provide psychosocial support;
• monitor, report on and advocate against abuse and exploitation of children including recruitment of child soldiers and other exploitative forms of child labour;
• initiate work on the release and reintegration of child combatants;
• promote activities that prevent and respond to sexual violence against children and women; f) lead in the organization of mine risk education.

Resuming primary education services:

• re-establish and/or sustain primary education as well as establishing community services within schools (such as water supply and sanitation).

Preventing HIV/AIDS:

• provide access to relevant information on HIV/AIDS using the three primary prevention methods (ABC);
• in collaboration with relevant partners facilitate young people’s access to comprehensive HIV prevention services including treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
  

CCC Booklet
This document, UNICEF’s Core Commitments for Children in Emergencies (CCCs), builds on our experience in recent crises and outlines our initial response in protecting and caring for children and women. It states our core response at all levels of the organization.
[PDF]