Say Yes, Autumn 2003: In This Issue

ADVOCACY FOR GIRLS’ EDUCATION

Since he took office in April, Deputy Under-Secretary for Education, Salih Çelik has been an enthusiastic and energetic force in the campaign for girls’ education.

Mr Çelik took time out at his office in the Ministry of National Education (MONE) to speak about the campaign to improve school enrolment rates for girls in Turkey. A firm supporter of equal rights for girls and boys, Mr Çelik spoke about his strong personal feeling for the campaign’s objectives and his hopes for it’s success.

Read Education First.

OFF TO SCHOOL!

The campaign for girls’ education is in full flow now that schools all over Turkey have opened their gates for the new academic year. During the course of the Summer break, UNICEF, MONE and all of the Government Ministries were working to ensure that every family in the first ten target provinces would hear the call Haydi Kızlar Okula! and respond by enrolling their girls.

In the weeks preceding enrolment days, an intensive promotional campaign ran on television and radio channels and in local and national newspapers. İmams spoke to congregations attending Friday prayers at all mosques on the issue of educating girl children. Both the Prime Minster and the Minister of National Education added weight to the campaign by speaking on television in September about the importance of girls’ education.

The campaign received support from private sector companies in the form of financial and technical support and UNICEF was delighted to have the opportunity to promote the Haydi Kızlar Okula! during the two-day Rock ‘n’ Coke telethon on national television at the beginning of September.

Read Haydi Kızlar Okula!

ÇELTIKSUYU SCHOOL DISASTER UPDATE

The new school year has a unique significance for the people of Bingöl province where eighty-five students and one teacher lost their lives just before the end of term in May when an earthquake of 6.4 on the Richter Scale (RS) tragically demolished the Çeltiksuyu Regional Boarding School.

UNICEF continues to provide psychosocial support to children and families in the area and during the course of the new school year, the ‘Psychosocial Training’ programme will be expanded to reach 100,000 people in Bingöl and surrounding provinces.

Read Picking Up The Pieces.

MEASLES VACCINATION

Measles is probably the best known and certainly one of the most infectious childhood diseases. Because of the potential for complications such as pneumonia and diarrhœa arising from infection, the disease is the most deadly vaccine-preventable childnhood disease in the world. Following the successful campaign to rid Europe of polio, WHO and UNICEF have developed a Global Measles Strategic Plan.

In October, UNICEF will be supporting the Ministry of Health (MOH) programme to raise immunisation coverage rates to 95% and eliminate measles in Turkey once and for all.

Read Eliminating Measles.

EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING

In spite of evidence favouring the superior nutritional and developmental benefits of breastmilk, rates of exclusive breastfeeding are dropping the world over. In Turkey this is the case also, owing to factors such as lack of education about the advantages of exclusive breastfeeding and advertising pressure to use formula substitutes.

During ‘World Breastfeeding Week’ in October the campaign to support exclusive breastfeeding will be relaunched with a media campaign highlighting the nutritional and developmental benefits of breastfeeding.

Read Breastfeeding Support.