Threat of malnutrition dire in Africa's Sahel region due to increasing food shortages
DAKAR, Senegal, 12 December 2011 – It’s not a tsunami or an earthquake – it is a predictable emergency. UNICEF estimates more than a million children under five will need to be treated in feeding centres for severe malnutrition in the Sahel region of Africa. It is a staggeringly high number, and there is little time to prepare.
Religious leaders reinforce their commitment to ending violence against children in Mauritania
NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania 29 November 2011 - In Mauritania, corporal punishment has long been the norm not only in Madrassas (Qur’anic schools) and non-religiously affiliated primary schools, but also in the home. It is considered an effective way to enforce discipline.
UNICEF and Government of Japan boost 'cold chain' for immunization in Mauritania
NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania, 18 July 2011 – Thousands of children in this West African nation lose out on crucial vaccinations because there isn’t enough equipment to store the vaccines and drugs. In an effort to improve immunization coverage, UNICEF last week delivered ‘cold-chain’ equipment comprising 118 units of refrigerators and freezers.
Changing policy to implement critical change in Mauritania
NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania, 15 April 2011 - Hadjia, 15, grew up in Bakaw, a remote Mauritanian village in the Brakna region where childhood poverty was the norm and the lack of access to proper sanitation led to bouts with disease, pain and acute diarrhea.
Mauritania tackles maternal and neonatal tetanus with UNICEF's help
BOUMBRY, Mauritania, 3 March 2010 – With their immunization cards in hand, Aichatou, 16, and her mother, Fatimatou, recently visited a vaccination site in their village to receive an injection to protect them from tetanus.
Religious leader champions children’s rights in Mauritania
NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania, 14 December 2009 - In mosques around Mauritania, the 20 November prayers were dedicated to children’s rights. The seed that grew into this nationwide action was planted more than 30 years ago by Hademine Ould Saleck.
Faces of progress: UNICEF and partners tackle child malnutrition in Mauritania
KAEDI, Mauritania, 27 July 2009 – One-year-old Saar was clearly ill when a woman from her village told the baby girl’s mother to get her to the nutrition centre at Kaedi Hospital.
Immunization campaign works to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus in Mauritania
OUALATA, Mauritania, 24 June 2009 – When the school’s headmaster announced the arrival of the tetanus vaccination team, Lalla Vatma, 14, and several of her schoolmates, were excused from class.
An immunization week for tetanus elimination in Mauritania
NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania, 18 May 2009 – It was 14-year-old Aichetou’s first time in the health centre in her small village. Her community received an invitation call via radio to attend the tetanus vaccination campaign being held at Lejouad, 200 km from Nouakchott.
Religious leaders call for ending corporal punishment in Mauritania
ATAR, Mauritania, 6 May 2009 – In the first hour after his arrival at a mahadra (Koranic school) in Atar, Ahmed was beaten several times. Over the next four months, he suffered daily.
New programme in Mauritania increases school enrolment, especially for girls
NEW YORK, USA, 1 October 2008 – Mariem Saidou Sall, 11, is in sixth grade at the Sarandougou School in the remote and poor Brakna Region of Mauritania. Like most of her friends and neighbours in the village, she rides the bus to school every morning.
Mauritania's observes Day of Zero Tolerance on Female Genital Mutilation
NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania, 14 February 2008 – Hadia was a happy and healthy six-year-old girl living in a suburb of Nouakchott when her aunt Fatima came to visit. Fatima, who preached chastity and respect for traditions, did not need to fight hard to convince Hadia’s mother to engage in female genital cutting of her daughter.
An aggressive push to eradicate measles in Mauritania
NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania, 5 February 2008 – Last month, 18-month-old Mariem received an inoculation that will provide her with lifetime immunity against a disease which has already killed many children in Mauritania – measles.
Supporting the repatriation of child camel jockeys in Mauritania
NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania, 25 June 2007 – Like many 11-year-olds, Yacoub struggles with his studies. Unlike other children his age, however, he only started school two years ago. He has recently been repatriated from the United Arab Emirates, where he spent his early years as a child camel jockey.
Funds needed urgently to fight malnutrition in Mauritania
BRAKNA, Mauritania, 4 May 2006 – BRAKNA, Mauritania, 4 May 2006 – Emmenmnin Mini Ahmed Mamhoud is a young mother of three children, ages six, four and two. Just before she gave birth to her first child, Ms. Mamhoud and her husband decided to leave their traditional nomadic life. They fixed their tent in Bouhdida, a small town in Mauritania’s Brakna region, about 250 km east of the capital, Nouakchott.
'Hidden crisis' in Mauritania
GORGOL REGION, Mauritania, 30 September 2005 – Locust infestations and radical climate changes are but two contributing factors to the hidden food crisis in Mauritania, a vast country located at the western edge of the Sahara Desert.
Locust invasion in West Africa will get worse
NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania/New York, 21 September 2004 – The desert locust problem in northwest Africa is likely to become more severe in October, with fresh swarms predicted to invade the region in the next month.
