http://www.unicef.org/ News from UNICEF, Press releases, News notes, Media advisories, Statements en-us Copyright 2007, UNICEF Tue, 13 May 2008 13:59:43 GMT Mon, 12 May 2008 23:57:43 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rss/ http://www.unicef.org/images/unicef_aqua.gif http://www.unicef.org/ http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/indonesia_43892.rhtml BALI, Indonesia, 9 May 2008 – A three-day drill to test Indonesia's capacity to cope with a possible bird flu outbreak was held on the island of Bali last month. Mon, 12 May 2008 23:57:43 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/myanmar_43887.rhtml KYAUKTAN, Myanmar, 9 May 2008 – One week ago, Cyclone Nargis blasted the southern coastal area of Myanmar at 190 kph – one of the worst natural disasters the country has experienced. The township of Kyauktan was one of the hardest-hit areas. Mon, 12 May 2008 23:56:42 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/togo_43894.rhtml TSÉVIÉ, Togo, 9 May 2008 – Damienne, a 17-year-old high school student, has been a peer educator for five years, teaching her classmates about HIV prevention. Her goal, she says, is to get people to speak out and to bury the taboos. Mon, 12 May 2008 23:57:43 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/myanmar_43877.rhtml NEW YORK, 9 May 2008 – A Thai International airliner carrying 3 million water-purification tablets for the victims of Cyclone Nargis landed in Myanmar's former capital, Yangon, at 8:45 local time this morning. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:23:21 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/usa_43874.rhtml NEW YORK, USA, 8 May 2008 – Water and sanitation experts joined financing professionals at UNICEF House in New York yesterday to identify sustainable methods of providing clean water and safe sanitation to those who lack these basic rights. Mon, 12 May 2008 23:56:44 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/somalia_43873.rhtml NAIROBI, Kenya, 8 May 2008 – More than 7.5 million people from over 100 countries joined together to simultaneously express their feelings about the importance of education last month, as part of a unique event called the 'World's Biggest Lesson.' Mon, 12 May 2008 23:56:42 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/mozambique_43856.rhtml XAI-XAI, Mozambique, 7 May 2008 – Every Wednesday morning, 30-year-old Telzira, who is living with HIV, attends a support group at the health centre in Xai-Xai city. The group offers encouragement to pregnant women and mothers living with HIV. Mon, 12 May 2008 23:57:42 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/uganda_43785.rhtml LIRA, Uganda, 5 May 2008 – Janet is 16 years old and living with HIV. She holds a photograph of herself taken in 2002, in which she appears gaunt and exhausted, wearing a light-blue dress that hangs loosely on her slight, bony frame. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:23:21 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/burundi_43844.rhtml BUJUMBURA, Burundi, 06 May 2008 – Over 200 demobilized child soldiers were recently released to officials from UNICEF, The United Nations, the African Union and the government of Burundi. The children were being held by dissidents from the rebel group the Palipehutu-FNL and negotiations for the children's release became urgent after fighting intensified. Mon, 12 May 2008 23:57:41 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/burkinafaso_43855.rhtml OUGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso, 7 May 2008 – "When I was a child I studied in more difficult conditions than those I can see today. In my country, schools were seriously damaged as a result of the war. Therefore I schooled under the trees trying to be sheltered from the rain. The UN and UNICEF in particular greatly supported my country at that time." Mon, 12 May 2008 23:56:42 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/myanmar_43850.rhtml NEW YORK, USA, 8 May 2008 – To meet the urgent needs of children and women affected by the cyclone last weekend in Myanmar, UNICEF today issued an emergency appeal for $8.2 million. The initial funding request is part of an interagency appeal prepared with the organization's UN partners. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:23:16 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/pakistan_43797.rhtml TAKHTBAI, Pakistan, 5 May 2008 – In the remote town of Takhtbai in the North West Frontier Province, people took to the streets recently in a march to raise awareness during Pakistan's biannual Child Health and Sanitation Week. Mon, 12 May 2008 23:56:44 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/myanmar_43788.rhtml NEW YORK, 7 May 2008 – With 5,000 square km underwater and an estimated 1 million people homeless and in need of assistance, Myanmar continues to reel from the effects of Cyclone Nargis, which struck last weekend. In its response to the crisis, UNICEF is focusing on providing safe water and hygiene supplies to children and families at risk of life-threatening water-bourne diseases. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:23:20 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/nepal_43784.rhtml ACCHAM DISTRICT, Nepal, 2 May 2008 – Four women sitting cross-legged on the floor are singing the melancholic strains of a song. The women, all of whom are from families affected by HIV in this remote area of western Nepal, improvise the words and help each other complete the couplets. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:23:18 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/lesotho_43771.rhtml MASERU, Lesotho, 2 May 2008 – In a monumental effort to reinforce its commitments towards children and their protection, the Government of Lesotho launched the first-ever national Child Helpline last month. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:18 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/iraq_43769.rhtml NEW YORK, USA, 2 May 2008 – The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, has called for immediate action to improve the lives of Iraqi children. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:24 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/mozambique_43768.rhtml MAGANJA DA COSTA DISTRICT, Mozambique, 2 May 2008 – For almost a year, many families in Mozambique have been awakened at daybreak by the pleasant voice of the young announcers at Erive Community Radio, the Maganja da Costa District's new UNICEF-supported radio station. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:15:14 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/iran_43751.rhtml NEW YORK, 30 April 2008 – UNICEF Representative in Iran Christian Salazar has called for a deeper understanding of Islam to more effectively fight poverty in Islamic nations. He told an international conference in New York last week that while Iran has successfully tackled poverty in recent decades, disparities in income remain. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:23 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/malawi_43737.rhtml LILONGWE, Malawi, 30 April May 2008 – At just 13 years of age, Tiyamike was already a veteran caregiver responsible forlooking after four younger siblings. Tiyamike's father had died the year before, due to complications from AIDS, and soon after, when his HIV-infected mother took ill, Tiyamike left school and started working. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:22 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/angola_43734.rhtml LUANDA, Angola, 29 April 2008 – Superstar footballer and UNICEF Norway Goodwill Ambassador Ole Gunnar Solskjaer recently visited Angola to witness the educational reconstruction still required in a country devastated by a civil war that ended nearly six years ago. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:19 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/girlseducation/index_43730.rhtml NEW YORK, USA, 29 April 2008 – At the 52nd Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women last month, global leaders met to discuss some of the most pressing issues facing women and girls today. The theme this year was financing for gender equality and empowerment of women. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:15:14 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/policyanalysis/index_43639.rhtml NEW YORK, USA, 22 April 2008 – Participants in an international conference here have been told that global uncertainty and an increase in terrorism and violence will lead to an increase in the number of people – including children – living in poverty. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:20 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/niger_43685.rhtml MADAROUNFA, Niger, 28 April 2008 – Every night, Aliya Saadou, 26, makes sure that her three young children, including one-month-old Bassira, sleep under the safety of a bed net. Once treated with insecticides, a mosquito net is the best protection against malaria, which is endemic in Aliya's village of Safo Tchikadji, located just 15 km south of Maradi, Niger's second biggest city. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:23 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/oPt_43684.rhtml QALQILYA, West Bank, 28 April 2008 – Laughter fills the playground as more than 100 children with disabilities anxiously await their first visit to the only zoo in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:22 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/health/index_43679.rhtml NEW YORK, USA, 25 April 2008 – A bold initiative announced today by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon brings together the many forces fighting malaria to focus on one goal: providing universal coverage of malaria-control measures in Africa, where 90 per cent of malaria cases occur, by the end of 2010. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:20 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/italy_43675.rhtml FLORENCE, Italy, 25 April 2008 – Two related topics – combating child sex tourism, and corporate social responsibility – were key discussion points at the expert consultation on child sexual exploitation and trafficking hosted by the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre (IRC) here this week. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:19 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/rwanda_43670.rhtml NEW YORK, USA, 24 April 2008 – Each equipped with a camera and a unique perspective, dozens of children in Rwanda and Liberia recently spent a week with internationally renowned photographer and frequent UNICEF contributor Giacomo Pirozzi for a series of training workshops called 'Eye See III'. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:22 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/zambia_43654.rhtml ZAMBEZI RIVER, Zambia, 24 April 2008 – Patricia Mobuku's10 children are lucky to be alive. Living beside the Zambezi River, the children have always been plagued by malaria. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:23 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/health/index_43655.rhtml NEW YORK, USA, 24 April 2008 – Ten years after UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and their partners launched the Roll Back Malaria initiative, malaria is still the single largest child killer in Africa. The disease takes the lives of some 3,000 children per day. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:18 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/spain_43650.rhtml BARCELONA, Spain, 23 April 2008 – They are fierce competitors on the football pitch, playing in front of millions of fans and television viewers. But just before the match that took place at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, both Manchester United and Football Club Barcelona put aside their rivalries to join UNICEF and the Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS campaign. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:22 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/aids/index_43637.rhtml NEW YORK, USA,22 April2008 – 'Xpress', the fourth video documentary co-produced by MTV Latin America and UNICEF in Latin America and the Caribbean, has been announced as the recipent of a Silver Award in the education categoryat the World Media Festival. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:18 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/bangladesh_43634.rhtml DHAKA, Bangladesh, 21 April 2008 – Policy makers and experts from eight countries met in Dhaka last week for a symposium to address poverty. The symposium focused on how expanded social protection could serve as a strategy to transform social policy and reduce economic and social vulnerability, especially for children. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:20 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/iraq_43630.rhtml AMMAN, Jordan, 21 April 2008 – Over the last two weeks, families in Basra and Baghdad's Sadr City have been plunged into one of the most violent episodes in Iraq's recent history. As Iraq's security forces mobilized against militia groups, widespread clashes and curfews kept families trapped indoors and led to shortages of water, food and medical supplies. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:23 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/southafrica_43607.rhtml CAPE TOWN, South Africa, 18 April 2008 – Parliamentarians from all over the world showed their support this week as more than 200 Members of Parliament gathered in Cape Town for the 118th assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and a joint UNICEF-IPU panel on maternal, newborn and child health. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:22 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/costarica_43597.rhtml SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, 17 April 2008 – Under the theme 'A goal against adversity', 180 poor adolescents from all over the country met in the National Stadium of Costa Rica to participate in the Second Presidential Delegates Tournament. The event was held to promote child and adolescent rights, especially for children who are victims of abuse and exclusion. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:20 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/tanzania_43593.rhtml MOROGORO, Tanzania 17 April 2008 – Like all hospitals and health facilities in Tanzania, Morogoro Regional Hospital offers free routine immunization to all children under the age of five. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:19 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/armenia_43592.rhtml YEREVAN, Armenia, 17 April 2008 - School number 27 is unremarkable from the outside. It is large, brown and grey, typical of Soviet-era public buildings. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:21 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/namibia_43582.rhtml ENGELA and OSHIKANGO, Namibia, 16 April 2008 – Since February, floodwaters have inundated thousands of square kilometres of rural north-central Namibia. According to the Namibian Government, over 71,000 people have been affected by the floods. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:21 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/zambia_43579.rhtml LUAPULA PROVINCE, Zambia, 16 April 2008 – For the past eight months, 34-year-old Regina, a mother in Zambia's Luapula Province, has been waiting anxiously for the final test results that will decide her daughter's future. It is possible that her child may have HIV. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:19 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/madagascar_43565.rhtml ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar, 15 April 2008 – Malagasy rap star and UNICEF Junior Goodwill Ambassador for Eastern and Southern Africa 'Name Six' visited young victims of cyclone Ivan recently here in Madagascar's capital city. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:18 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/usa_43568.rhtml NEW ORLEANS, USA, 15 April 2008 – UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman joined thousands of supporters and activists to celebrate the 10th anniversary of V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women and girls. Over the past decade, V-Day has raised over $50 million and educated millions of people about violence against women and how to end it. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:20 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/botswana_43551.rhtml GABORONE, Botswana, 15 April 2008 – Around the world, 158 million children aged 5-14 are engaged in some form of child labour – one child in every six. In sub-Saharan Africa, the proportion is even higher. However, many countries are only just becoming aware of the extent of this problem. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:21 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/nepal_43552.rhtml ACHHAM, Nepal, 15 April 2008 – Mathura Shahi, 30, presses the timer button and counts the breath intake of Sajjana, a month-old baby snuggling in her grandfather's arms. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:21 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/cameroon_43548.rhtml DOUALA, Cameroon, 14 April 2008 – Pascal is just 14 years old, but he is already living behind bars, as one of 85 juvenile inmates doing time in Douala's Newbell prison. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:19 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/mozambique_43547.rhtml DJABULA, Mozambique, 14 April 2008 – There was already a long line of women waiting anxiously with their children when health worker Fátima Jonasse arrived in the rural community of Djabula with a UNICEF-supported mobile health unit – part of a health outreach programme to reach children with vital, life-saving services. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:17 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/russia_43537.rhtml MOSCOW, Russia, 11 April 2008 – On 9 April, the wife of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Mrs. Ban Soon-taek, visited School 142 – a Moscow school that is at the forefront of a UNICEF-supported programme to include children with special needs in the classroom. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:18 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/brazil_43538.rhtml SÃO PAULO Brazil, 11 April 2008 – The excitement was palpable at the recent launch of the new UNICEF and British Telecom youth participation programme focusing on education and communication in low-income communities in Brazil. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:24:21 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/japan_43532.rhtml TOKYO, Japan, 11 April 2008 – UNICEF had an unprecedented opportunity to address the G8 Development Ministers' Meeting on Millennium Development Goals and human security issues, which concluded earlier this week in Tokyo. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:25:19 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/adolescence/index_43530.rhtml NEW YORK, USA, 10 April 2008 – A talented group of computer programmers, designers, content developers and hardware experts recently gathered at UNICEF headquarters for 'Story Jam New York', a three-day event focused on developing new outlets for youth communication. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:25:20 GMT http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/indonesia_43515.rhtml SULAWESI, Indonesia, 9 April 2008 –Approximately 1 in 97women 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. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:25:23 GMT