Internacional

‘Día Universal del Niño’: UNICEF denuncia que 385 millones de niños viven en la pobreza extrema

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A woman cooks a meal outside in the open air with her three children where she is camping with her family the night before being able to register for a ration card in Thanyang, South Sudan on March 20, 2016. Nearly 15,000 people from surrounding areas made their way to Thanyang to register for support with Unicef and the WFP who are running a Rapid Response Mission to support the most in accessible regions affected by the ongoing civil war.  There are no health clinics, bore holes, schools or roads in the area and some people walked for two days to get there. The only water people have access to comes from the swamp. During the Rapid Response Mission (RRM) in Thanyang, Unity State that took place on 18-24 March, WFP and UNICEF teams has provided assistance to nearly 15,000 people. This included providing 1,243 children with OPV vaccine, screening 2,820 children for malnutrition and registering 27 severely malnourished and 357 moderately malnourished children; setting up two new classrooms and registering 900 children for school, setting up a child friendly space for some 730 children and registering 27 separated and 5 missing children. Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) provides life-saving assistance to children and families affected by conflict, targeting hard-to-reach locations where partners are unable to adequately respond to the immense levels of need. In addition to providing immediate services, the RRM establishes a framework of humanitarian access, which enables partners to establish longer – term presence in disaster – affected locations. Through the RRM, UNICEF provides critical multi-sector emergency response including: health, child protection, education, nutrition and WASH.

En el ‘Día Universal del Niño’ que se conmemora este domingo, UNICEF quiere poner la atención en los niños y niñas que sufren el impacto de las emergencias y que ven cómo sus derechos son violados casi sistemáticamente.

A pesar de los enormes avances alcanzados para la infancia desde la adopción de la Convención sobre los Derechos del Niño (CDN) en 1989, los derechos de millones de niños son violados cada día, según informa hoy UNICEF.

On 1 January, two boys carry chopped firewood in Kafar Batna village in Rural Damascus Suburbs. Following almost five years of the Syria crisis, 4.5 Million people continue to live in areas- like this one- that are hard to reach for the humanitarian community. Almost 400,000 of those are besieged. A very harsh weather conditions are amongst many difficulties that civilians have to endure to survive. UNICEF is targeting one million children throughout the country with winter supplies during the 2015/2016 winter season. So far, winter clothing kits and blankets have reached 95,000 children while delivery and distribution is ongoing for 545,000 children. In addition, 2,000 heaters are currently being installed in classrooms benefiting 80,000 children.

Cerca de 50 millones de niños viven desarraigados, 28 millones de ellos se ven obligados a huir de sus hogares a causa de la violencia. Unos 250 millones de niños en todo el mundo viven en países afectados por conflictos. Los niños atrapados en las zonas sitiadas del mundo, lo que incluye Siria, Iraq y el norte de Nigeria, tienen un riesgo mayor de ver como sus derechos son violados, ya que sus colegios, hospitales y casas sufren continuos ataques.

Photo was taken in Almukalla city in Southern Yemen. It shows a child looking at his destroyed house, carrying his toy which it was the only thing that he was able to rescue.

“Para UNICEF todos los días son el día del niño. Trabajamos sin descanso para proteger y garantizar los derechos de la infancia, especialmente la más vulnerable. Pero son los propios niños, los que con su fuerza, su valentía y su deseo de superación nos guían en nuestro trabajo. Por eso, en el Día Universal del Niño, es imprescindible recordar que es responsabilidad de todos nosotros garantizar que esa fuerza y esa energía de los niños sirva para ofrecerles nuevas oportunidades en la vida, y sobre todo, para devolverles la paz,” explicó Carmelo Angulo, presidente de UNICEF Comité Español.

On 15 July, two girls wait in line at a temporary medical centre in Bzebiz Displacement Camp in Baghdad Governorate. With support from UNICEF, WHO, and the Ministry of Health, the medical convoy provided vaccinations and health and nutrition support to vulnerable displaced children in this and other camps in the area. With support from the Ministry of Health, WHO and UNICEF, a mobile medical convoy visits camps for internally displaced families in Baghdad Governorate in order to provide vaccination and health and nutrition support to vulnerable children living in the camps. As part of an ongoing emergency response to the humanitarian crisis in Iraq, from January 2015 through May 2016, UNICEF and partners supported the following health initiatives: Nationwide communication and social mobilization efforts for the oral cholera vaccination and polio campaigns; support to the Ministry of Health and the Directorates of Health to enhance routine immunisations for Syrian refugees and IDPs, along with strengthening health systems in under-served communities; procurement and distribution of cold chain equipment, as well as polio and measles vaccines; a 'baby-hut' initiative that provides breastfeeding counselling to pregnant and lactating women. By July 2016 in Iraq, an estimated 10 million people - including 4.7 million children, or one third of all children in Iraq - were in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, including 3.3 million internally displaced people, returnees, host communities in need, and people in areas under control by or newly liberated from armed groups, as well as 245,000 refugees from the Syrian Arab Republic.

Desde 1989, se celebra en todo el mundo este día universal que recuerda la aprobación de la CDN en la Asamblea General de Naciones Unidas. La Convención dice que todos los niños y niñas tienen los mismos derechos, independientemente del país donde hayan nacido, o de si su país se tambalea o se rompe en pedazos. Sin embargo, la lista de violaciones a sus derechos es interminable y constante. Hay emergencias abiertas en todo el mundo, y en cada una de ellas, miles de niños que están sufriendo sus consecuencias.

 

On 13 October 2016 in Jérémie, Haiti, Mylove Théogène, 8, sits with other girls near her home. Mylove’s family stayed in their home on a hilltop until their home collapsed around 5:00am on the night Hurricane Matthew struck Haiti. Then, the family then moved to a school house for shelter. "I thought I was going to die. I thought my family would all die" said Mylove. The family of five lost their father in February 2016, when he fell from a tree while collecting fruit for the family to eat. "When I grow up I want to go to school" Mylove remarks as a second-grader who has not been to school at all in 2016. More than one week after Hurricane Matthew, as schools re-open across the country, more than 100,000 children will be missing out on learning after their schools were either damaged or converted into shelters. Hurricane Matthew passed over Haiti on Tuesday October 4, 2016, with heavy rains and winds. While the capital Port au Prince was mostly spared from the full strength of the class 4 hurricane, the western area of Grand Anse, however was in the direct path. The cities of Les Cayes and Jeremie received the full force sustaining wind and water damage across wide areas. Coastal towns were severely damaged as were many homes in remote mountainous regions. International relief efforts are underway to provide food water and shelter to the people affected by the storm. An estimated 500,000 children live in the Grande Anse Department and Grand South Department in southern Haiti, the areas worst hit by Hurricane Matthew. UNICEF had prepositioned emergency supplies with national authorities to reach up to 10,000 people. On 8 October, six water trucks arrived in Jeremie and Les Cayes, the respective capital cities within the Departments. Additional water and sanitation supplies, such as water purification tablets, water bladders and plastic sheeting, have been dispatched to the most affected departments in the westernmost tip of Haiti. As of 10 October, UN

Además, casi 385 millones de niños viven en la pobreza extrema y más de 250 millones de niños en edad escolar están fuera de los colegios. Cerca de 300 millones de niños viven en áreas con los mayores niveles de contaminación del aire, 6 veces o más elevados que las directrices internacionales.

Por lo que se refiere a España, la brecha de la desigualdad sigue creciendo y la pobreza infantil se ha agravado en los últimos años, tanto en la cantidad de niños, como en la intensidad de la pobreza que están sufriendo. A esto se une una tendencia demográfica decreciente así como datos preocupantes en fracaso y abandono escolar.

Los niños son un bien social. En una emergencia, los niños son las víctimas más indefensas y los que más sufren las consecuencias. En un instante pueden perderlo todo, pero no deben perder nunca sus derechos.

 “No podemos comparar la situación de un niño sirio que para ir a la escuela tiene que arriesgar su vida a la de un niño en España que no puede contar con el material escolar necesario, porque sus padres están en paro. Sin embargo, ambas situaciones están vulnerando los derechos de esos niños. En España seguiremos trabajando con el gobierno para conseguir un Pacto de Estado por la Infancia, porque creemos que es necesario luchar contra la pobreza infantil y por la igualdad de oportunidades de todos los niños”, explica Maite Pacheco, directora de sensibilización y políticas de infancia de UNICEF comité Español.

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