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5 results
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Page
02 July 2020
‘RM Child-Health’: safeguarding the health of refugee and migrant children in Europe
https://www.unicef.org/eca/rm-child-health-safeguarding-health-refugee-and-migrant-children-europe
More than 1.3 million children have made their way to Europe since 2014, fleeing conflict, persecution and poverty in their own countries. They include at least 225,000 children travelling alone – most of them teenage boys – as well as 500,000 children under the age of five. In 2019 alone, almost 32,000 children (8,000 of them unaccompanied or separated) reached Europe via the Mediterranean after perilous journeys from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and many parts of Africa – journeys that have threatened their lives and their health. Many have come from countries with broken health systems, travelling for months (even years) with no access to health care and facing the constant risks of violence and exploitation along the way. Many girls and boys arriving in Europe have missed out on life-saving immunization and have experienced serious distress or even mental health problems. They may be carrying the physical and emotional scars of violence, including sexual abuse. The health of infants and mothers who are pregnant or breastfeeding has been put at risk by a lack of pre- and post-natal health services and of support for child nutrition. Two girls wash a pot in the common washing area of the Reception and Identification Centre in Moria, on the island of Lesvos, in Greece. Two girls wash a pot in the common washing area of the Reception and Identification Centre in Moria, on the island of Lesvos, in Greece. Child refugees and migrants also face an increased health risk as a result of crowded and unhygienic living conditions during their journeys and at their destinations. Even upon their arrival in Europe, refugee and migrant children and families often face continued barriers to their health care, such as cultural issues, bureaucracy, and a lack of information in their own language. Southern and South East European countries are at the heart of this challenge, struggling to meet the immediate needs of vulnerable refugee and migrant children. And now, an already serious problem is being exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Refugee checks on his son
Press release
04 May 2020
With financial support from the European Union UNICEF launches the ‘RM Child-Health’ project to strengthen vulnerable refugee and migrant children’s health
https://www.unicef.org/eca/press-releases/financial-support-european-union-unicef-launches-rm-child-health-project-strengthen
Logo Logo   BRUSSELS, GENEVA, 5 May 2020 – Under the Health Programme of the European Union, the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety has committed a project grant to  UNICEF to support work ensuring refugee and migrant children and their families have access to quality health care and accurate health information in Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Spain, Bosnia Herzegovina and Serbia. Refugee and migrant children and their families often have more health-related risks and face a number of barriers accessing quality health care. Many children and families also live with severe emotional distress due to the trauma of fleeing home, undertaking dangerous journeys and experiencing abuse and exploitation, including sexual and gender-based violence. The global COVID19 pandemic further exacerbates these health challenges.  “With the ongoing pandemic, protecting every child and adult’s right to health care and accurate heath information is paramount. This collaboration with the EU Health Programme will help ensure the most vulnerable refugee and migrant children will have better access to primary healthcare services, psychosocial support as well as violence prevention and response services,” said UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia and Special Coordinator for the Refuge and Migrant Response in Europe, Ms. Afshan Khan. The project ‘RM Child-Health’ will help improve the health of refugee and migrant children by improving their access to life-saving immunizations, mental health and psychosocial support, gender-based violence prevention and response activities as well as maternal and newborn health care and nutrition support. Information materials on health-related risks and services available for refugee and migrant populations will be created and shared. Medical interpreters and cultural mediators will be deployed to support communication between children and families and health care providers. The project ‘RM Child-Health’ will also support training programmes so frontline health care workers can better respond to the specific needs of refugee and migrant children and their families. In parallel, national health authorities will benefit from technical support to develop, update and improve the implementation of health policies and address bottlenecks in national health systems that currently prevent refugee and migrant children from accessing services. Refugee mother feeding her baby at ADRA community centre in Belgrade. UNICEF/UNI220342/Pancic
Page
02 October 2017
What we do
https://www.unicef.org/eca/what-we-do
Students, some with disabilities, participate in a UNICEF photography workshop in Azerbaijan Adolescents A mother and her three children in Georgia. The family live in extreme poverty but with UNICEF's support they have managed to stay together. Child poverty A conflict-affected girl takes part in a celebration of the International Children's Day in Svyatohirsk, eastern Ukraine. The event was organized by the Community Protection Centre supported by UNICEF. Child protection Stanislava, 15, lives in a family type placement centre for children with disabilities and attends mainstream school. Children with disabilities A baby and her sister play together in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Early childhood development Children at a refugee centre in Turkey draw on paper at a school Education Kindergarden children practice an emergency response drill at a school in Kyrgyzstan. Emergencies 11-year-old Ajsa is photographed in front of a laptop, with her head in her hands. Ending violence against children A female student attends a networking meeting at a school in Tajikistan. Gender A newborn baby in a hospital in Kyrgyzstan that was entirely rehabilitated by UNICEF. Health A woman loads vaccine into a syringe Immunization Headshot of a Roma girl looking directly at the camera Roma and ethnic minority children
Press release
08 December 2016
UNICEF commemorates 70 years of tireless work for the world’s most vulnerable children
https://www.unicef.org/eca/press-releases/unicef-commemorates-70-years
NEW YORK, 11 December 2016 – On the 70th anniversary of its founding, UNICEF celebrates the immense progress made for the world’s children – and renews the urgent call to reach millions of children whose lives and futures are endangered by conflict, crisis, poverty, inequality and discrimination. “UNICEF was founded after World War II to bring help and hope to all children at risk or in need – no matter which country they lived in or what role that country played in the war.  Our mission is no less urgent and universal today,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “With so many children around the world in so much need, we are recommitting ourselves to delivering results for every child.” The organization was established by the United Nations General Assembly to help children in post-war Europe, China and the Middle East. Funded entirely through voluntary contributions from governments, civil society, the private sector and concerned citizens, it rapidly expanded its reach and by 1955 was working for children in more than 90 countries. Today, UNICEF is the world’s largest children’s organization, working with partners in 190 countries and territories and through the efforts of 13,000 national and international staff to reach every child. UNICEF’s relentless engagement in the world’s toughest places has helped create remarkable progress for children in recent decades. The number of children dying before their fifth birthdays has been more than halved in the past 25 years. Hundreds of millions of children have been lifted out of poverty. Out-of-school rates among primary-school-aged children have been reduced by more than 40 per cent since 1990. In the 1940s, UNICEF provided emergency nutrition aid, mainly in the form of milk, to children in post-war Europe. In 2015, the organization and its partners treated 2.9 million children for severe acute malnutrition worldwide. In the 1950s, UNICEF led its first immunization campaigns against diseases such as tuberculosis and yaws. In 2015, the organization procured 2.8 billion doses of vaccines, and with its partners helping to protect 45 per cent of children under 5 years old worldwide from a range of deadly diseases. In 1953, UNICEF launched its first water, sanitation and hygiene programmes. Between 1990 and 2015, 2.6 billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources and 2.1 billion gained access to improved sanitation facilities. In 1961, UNICEF expanded its programmatic focus to include children’s education. In 2015, UNICEF and its partners provided 7.5 million children aged 3 to 18 with access to formal or non-formal basic education. In 1989, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which specifies that all children should be registered at birth to establish their identity under the law and thus to safeguard  their rights. In 2015, UNICEF supported the registration of more than 9.7 million children’s births in 54 countries. In 1998, UNICEF became a founding member of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership to support malaria treatment and research, and expand prevention measures such as long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets. In 2015, UNICEF procured 22.3 million bed nets to protect children and families in 30 countries.   Since its founding, UNICEF has responded to thousands of humanitarian emergencies affecting children. In 2015, UNICEF and partners vaccinated 11.3 million children against measles in countries affected by crisis; provided 4 million children in emergency situations with access to formal or non-formal basic education; and provided psychosocial support for 2 million children caught in conflicts and natural disasters. Despite this impressive progress, millions of children are still being left behind because they live in poverty or in hard-to-reach communities, because of their gender, race, religion, ethnic group, or because they have a disability.  Nearly 250 million children are growing up in countries affected by conflict and nearly 50 million children have been uprooted from their homes. “UNICEF’s vision for the next 70 years is a world in which our work is no longer necessary -- a world in which every child is healthy, safe, educated, cared for and protected … and all children can make the most of their potential,” said Lake. “It’s the right thing to do, and the surest path to a better future for us all.”   Notes to Editors:​​​​​​​ UNICEF’s commemoration of its 70th anniversary includes: • The publication of a new book, For Every Child, Hope: UNICEF@70 1946-2016, which captures 70 years of the organization’s work for the most vulnerable children; • The launch of a new global institutional identity under the umbrella concept, UNICEF for every child, that underscores the universality of UNICEF’s mandate and the urgent need to reach the most vulnerable and excluded children; and • The relaunch of UNICEF’s global website, www.unicef.org , In 1946 in Yugoslavia, three boys, who are wearing clothes donated by the Dutch Red Cross, share a desk in a school in the city of Karlovac in the north-western region of Croatia. UNICEF/UNI43103/Unknown
Photo Essay
10 May 2018
Breastfeeding: the best gift a mother can give her child
https://www.unicef.org/eca/stories/breastfeeding-best-gift-mother-can-give-her-child
Breastmilk saves lives, protects babies and mothers against deadly diseases, and leads to better IQ and educational outcomes, yet rates of breastfeeding in Europe and Central Asia are low, with only 23 percent of the wealthiest families and 31 percent of the poorest breastfeeding up to the recommended age of two. Empowering and enabling women to breastfeed  needs to be at the heart of countries’ efforts to keep every child alive and to build healthy, smart and productive societies. “Breastfeeding is the best gift a mother, rich or poor, can give her child, as well as herself,” said Shahida Azfar, UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director. “We must give the world’s mothers the support they need to breastfeed.” A mother breasfeeds her baby at a maternity centre in Tashkent region, Uzbekistan. A mother breasfeeds her baby at a maternity centre in Tashkent region, Uzbekistan.  The early initiation of breastfeeding – putting newborns to the breast within the first hour of life – safeguards infants from dying during the most vulnerable time in their lives.  Immediate skin-to skin contact and starting breastfeeding early keeps a baby warm, builds his or her immune system, promotes bonding, boosts a mother’s milk supply and increases the chances that she will be able to continue exclusive breastfeeding.   A mother learns to breastfeed her baby at a maternity hospital in Fergana, Uzbekistan. A mother learns to breastfeed her baby at a maternity hospital in Fergana, Uzbekistan. Breastmilk is safe as it is the right temperature, requires no preparation, and is available even in environments with poor sanitation and unsafe drinking water. It’s also more than just food for babies – breastmilk is a potent medicine for disease prevention that is tailored to the needs of each child. The ‘first milk’ – or colostrum – is rich in antibodies to protect babies from disease and death.   A patronage nurse teachers a mother how to breastfeed in Kyzylorda city, Kazakhstan. A patronage nurse teachers a mother how to breastfeed in Kyzylorda city, Kazakhstan.  In Kazakhstan, UNICEF has been working with patronage nurses to support mothers to breastfeed their children. The project has been running for several years and includes two visits during pregnancy and nine visits until the child reaches the age of three. As a result, there was a 14 percent increase in the number of children who were exclusively breastfed in the pilot region. A patronage nurse visits a family in Kyzylorda city, Kazakhstan. A patronage nurse visits a family in Kyzylorda city, Kazakhstan.  There are several reasons why a mother may not be able to breastfeed, or does not wish to do so. Reasons include low awareness of the importance of breastfeeding and long-term impacts, as well as not knowing how to breastfeed properly which can subsequently cause the mother a lot of pain. Patronage nurses work with mothers to try to overcome these obstacles.    A mother breastfeeds her baby, while the father and the older son support them. Mother Jovana breastfeeds her son Aleksa (two-months-old) while older son Ognjen (18-months-old) and husband Nikola support her at a clinic in Serbia.  Breastfeeding is not a one-woman job. Women who choose to breastfeed need support from their governments, health systems, workplaces, communities and families to make it work.  UNICEF urges governments, the private sector and civil society to create more enabling environments for breastfeeding mothers including arming mothers with the knowledge to make informed decisions, and providing them with the support they need from their families, communities, workplaces and healthcare systems to make exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months happen. Smiling parents watch as their baby breastfeeds at a maternity unit in Armenia. Smiling parents watch as their baby breastfeeds at a maternity unit in Armenia. In Armenia, UNICEF, together with the ministry of health and local health authorities, have created a sustainable parental education system at maternity and primary health-care facilities across the country to encourage breastfeeding and provide support to parents. In a UNICEF-supported space for refugee and migrant families, two mothers breastfeed their babies. In a UNICEF-supported space for refugee and migrant families in Serbia, two mothers breastfeed their babies.  During the refugee and migrant crisis in Europe, UNICEF stepped in to provide support for children and mothers. Support included providing private spaces for breastfeeding mothers, nutritional guidance and breastfeeding support. UNICEF supports action to improve infant and young child nutrition across Europe and Central Asia, aiming to ensure that every child has the best possible nutritional start in life. Through its global campaign, Every Child ALIVE , which demands solutions on behalf of the world’s newborns, UNICEF urges governments, the private sector and civil society to:   Increase funding and awareness to raise breastfeeding rates from birth through the age of two.  Put in place strong legal measures to regulate the marketing of infant formula and other breastmilk substitutes as well as bottles and teats.   Enact paid family leave and put in place workplace breastfeeding policies, including paid breastfeeding breaks.  Implement the ten steps to successful breastfeeding in maternity facilities, and provide breastmilk for sick newborns.  Ensure that mothers receive skilled breastfeeding counselling at health facilities and in the first week after delivery.  Strengthen links between health facilities and communities, so that mothers are ensured of continued support for breastfeeding.  Improve monitoring systems to track improvements in breastfeeding policies, programmes and practices.     

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