Global annual results report 2019: Goal Area 4
UNICEF works to safeguard the right of all children to a safe and clean environment both in times of stability and crisis. Under Goal Area 4 of the UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2018–2021, programming is grouped under five output areas: water supply, sanitation, disaster risk reduction, children in urban settings and environmental sustainability. In each…, In times of crisis and stability, all children have the right to a safe and clean environment in their homes, communities, schools and health-care facilities. This right is enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other human rights instruments. In 2019, this right was increasingly placed under threat by extreme weather events,…, Results, Significant progress was made in each of the Goal Area 4 output areas in 2019. Millions of children and their families in vulnerable communities gained access to water and sanitation, an increasing number of countries had child rights-sensitive risk management plans, more countries had data on intra-urban disparities, and a total of 56 countries…, Water, sanitation and hygiene, Significant progress was made in 2019 in the area of WASH. The rate of progress needed for reaching the target of 60 million people with water and sanitation over the 4-year Strategic Plan period was exceeded for water, but not for sanitation. However, the pace is accelerating for sanitation, and UNICEF expects to meet the target by 2021. There…, Climate resilience WASH programming, UNICEF recognises the need to fully incorporate climate resilience into all WASH programming by the end of 2021. UNICEF continues to expand its use of solar technology in WASH programmes to improve the resilience and sustainability of water supply systems and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In 2019, it supported the construction of 1,286…, Safe water supply, In both 2018 and 2019, the Strategic Plan annual target of 15 million water beneficiaries was exceeded and UNICEF is well on track to meet the overall target of 60 million over four years. The largest number of people reached was in Nigeria, Iraq and Pakistan; the region with the most UNICEF water beneficiaries was the Middle East and North Africa…, Ending open defecation and increasing access to basic sanitation, The number of people practising open defecation was halved from 1.3 billion in 2000 to 673 million in 2017 (the latest year of available data) and rates declined in all SDG regions except Oceania and with the greatest progress in South Asia. UNICEF contributes to this progress both through direct support for improved sanitation, and by working the…, Emergency WASH Response, UNICEF responded to emergencies around the world in 2019, including major responses to cyclone Idai in Southern Africa and to the ongoing security and cholera crisis in Yemen. In total, UNICEF helped restore water services for over 39 million people in 2019, and sanitation services for over 9 million people. UNICEF’s Water Under Fire campaign –…, WASH and Gender, Menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) is one of the five priorities in the UNICEF Gender Action Plan 2018–2021, due to its transformative potential to empower adolescent girls. UNICEF support for MHH across country programmes continues to expand with activities in 72 countries. Two Indonesian girls holding up their mobile phones UNICEF EAPRO/NH…, WASH and disability, The human rights-based approach adopted by UNICEF means that WASH programmes work to ensure that that all children’s rights to water and sanitation are met, including those with disabilities. This imperative holds a prominent place in the UNICEF global WASH strategy, and in other policy and strategy instruments, which stress that it is the…, Disaster risk reduction, resilience strengthening and peacebuilding, UNICEF is increasingly focusing on the linkages between humanitarian response and longer-term sustainable development, strengthening resilience to climate change and disasters, and promoting peaceful and inclusive societies., Risk analysis and risk-informed programming, Risk-informed programming contributes to effective humanitarian programmes, which save children’s lives, alleviate suffering and lay the foundations for long-term recovery and sustainable development. A teacher sitting with young students in school uniforms under trees UNICEF/UNI265994/Jung In Sri Lanka UNICEF worked with government ministries to…, Peacebuilding and sustaining peace, UNICEF continued to address the social dimensions of conflict and social tensions through its programming. Across all seven regions in 2019, 59 country offices implemented Country Programmes with explicit objectives to promote peaceful and inclusive societies and address the underlying grievances that lead to violence, conflict and challenges to…, Urban programming and local governance, An estimated 1.4 million people move into urban areas each week. With many of them ending up in slums or informal settlements, the poor urban population continues to increase both in actual numbers and in proportion to the overall urban population. Currently, more than 1 billion people live in slums, including 350 million children. These…, Urban programming, UNICEF is increasingly focusing its programmes on children living in urban settings, in response to the explosive growth of the urban population in recent decades. UNICEF is working closely with UN-Habitat to integrate child-related indicators in the City Prosperity Index, which is used to measure a city’s overall achievements with respect to…, Local governance, UNICEF works with local governments to help ensure that plans, budgets and service delivery are child-responsive, and that services are consistent with the preferences, needs and perspectives of children. UNICEF programming strengthens local governments’ capacity to plan, organize services, prepare for emergencies, budget equitably and monitor and…, Climate, energy and environment, Children are the least responsible for climate change, yet will bear the greatest burden of its impact. They are the most vulnerable to vector-borne diseases that will increase as a result of climate change, and to air pollution, which is associated with climate change. Close to 90 per cent of the burden of disease attributable to climate change…, Advocacy and evidence generation, The climate crisis is a children’s rights crisis, but is often not recognized as such. At the 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Madrid (COP25), UNICEF hosted a high-level event, ‘We Dare: Children and Youth vs the Climate Crisis’ to reinforce the need for climate change negotiations and commitments to integrate the protection of…, Engagement and empowerment of children and young people on climate, energy and the environment, With the growing movement of young people demanding accelerated and more ambitious actions on climate change, UNICEF has a unique role to play to ensure that their voices are adequately heard and responded to by decision makers. UNICEF supports the meaningful engagement of children and young people in a range of formal and informal consultation…, Reducing emissions and pollution, The only long-term solution to address climate change is a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In addition to advocacy with governments and other partners, UNICEF is focusing on reducing emissions and pollution in its own programmes across all results areas. This includes increasing the use of solar and other forms of sustainable…, Going forward, Good progress has been made in 2019 with most results areas on track to meet the UNICEF Strategic Plan targets but no result areas are currently on track to meet the 2030 SDG targets. At the time of writing, UNICEF is in the process of realigning its programmes for children in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Future progress and results will…, Global Annual Results Report 2019 GOAL AREA 4 Every child lives in a safe and clean environment Cover image: UNICEF/UN0339415/Frank Dejongh Hasenat, a seven-year-old girl washing her hands at the playground of the Sayef High School in Faizabad, Afghanistan, says: I want to become a doctor to treat the children Expression of thanks: UNICEF/…
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