Conflicts across the globe continue to put babies and children in grave danger
TORONTO,
Dec. 17, 2015
/CNW/ - More than 16 million babies were born in conflict zones in 2015
– one in eight of all births worldwide this year – UNICEF said today, a
figure that underscores the vulnerability faced by an increasing number
of children.
On November 28, Nour Majati cradles her one-month-old son, Youssef, in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, on the Serbian border. Mrs. Majati, her husband and their four children fled Aleppo, Syria, following bombing attacks on their home.
"Every two seconds, a newborn takes its first breath in the midst of
conflict, often in terrifying circumstances and without access to
medical care," said UNICEF Executive Director
Anthony Lake.
"Too many children are now starting their lives in extreme
circumstances – from conflict to natural disasters, poverty, disease or
malnutrition. Can there be a worse start in life?"
"In conflict-affected countries such as
Afghanistan, the
Central African Republic,
Iraq,
South Sudan,
Syria and
Yemen, or on perilous journeys to escape fighting, newborn children and their mothers face enormous risks," said
David Morley, UNICEF Canada President and CEO. "
Canada
has been a global champion for maternal, newborn and child health and
for the education and protection of children in emergencies. Investments
in 2016 will be critical to efforts to save the lives of the most
vulnerable caught in these devastating conflicts."
Pregnant mothers are in danger of giving birth without medical help
and in unsanitary conditions. Their children are more likely to die
before they reach their fifth birthdays and to experience extreme – or
"toxic" – stress, which can inhibit their long-term emotional and
cognitive development.
In addition to those born into conflict, more than a quarter of a
billion children – or one in nine – live in countries and areas in
conflict and face enormous obstacles to their health, education and
well-being.
- More than 200,000 children applied for asylum in European Union
countries in the first nine months of 2015, adding to the 30 million
children across the globe forced from their homes by 2014 due to war,
violence and persecution. More people are displaced now than at any time
since World War II.
- In South Sudan, up to 16,000
children are being used by armed groups and armed forces and 1,500
children have been killed in nearly two years of conflict.
- The escalation of the conflict in Yemen
has placed 9.9 million children in need of humanitarian assistance. Two
million children cannot go to school and the threat of preventable
diseases like diarrhea, measles and Polio are acute. Also, the number of
children at risk for the deadliest form of malnutrition has tripled to
more than half a million.
- In the Central African Republic,
more than one million children are in urgent need of assistance after
three years of fighting. Around one third of the population has no
access to safe drinking water and 41 per cent of children under five are
chronically malnourished. But there is hope and UNICEF is making a
difference. So far in 2015, more than 300 children, including several
under 12 years old, have been released from armed groups in the country
following a UNICEF-facilitated agreement by the groups' leaders to free
all children in their ranks - the start of a process that we hope will
result in the release of thousands of children associated with armed
groups.
- The violence in north-eastern Nigeria, caused by insurgent groups, has led to a humanitarian crisis stretching from Nigeria to Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
A sharp increase in attacks by the armed group commonly known as Boko
Haram has uprooted over 500,000 children over the past months, bringing
the total number of children on the run in northeast Nigeria
and neighbouring countries to 1.4 million. Scores of girls and boys
have been recruited by armed groups or subjected to violence,
exploitation and abuse, and countless have been killed.
UNICEF's new video
Born Into Danger is available here:
http://bit.ly/1JaqmUg
Photos and videos are available here:
http://uni.cf/1YeVCOj
#fightunfair
About UNICEF
UNICEF has saved more children's lives than any other humanitarian
organization. We work tirelessly to help children and their families,
doing whatever it takes to ensure children survive. We provide children
with healthcare and immunization, clean water, nutrition and food
security, education, emergency relief and more.
UNICEF is supported entirely by voluntary donations and helps
children regardless of race, religion or politics. As part of the UN, we
are active in over 190 countries - more than any other organization.
Our determination and our reach are unparalleled. Because nowhere is too
far to go to help a child survive. For more information about UNICEF,
please visit
www.unicef.ca. For updates, follow us on
Twitter and
Facebook or visit
unicef.ca.
SOURCE UNICEF Canada
Image with caption: "On November 28, Nour Majati cradles her
one-month-old son, Youssef, in the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, on the Serbian border. Mrs. Majati, her husband and their
four children fled Aleppo, Syria, following bombing attacks on their
home. She was pregnant with Youssef at the time and gave birth via
Caesarean section just before they fled Syria. Her surgical wound opened
during the long, arduous journey—overland in Turkey, by sea to Greece,
and overland again, walking for days, towards Central Europe. Photo
credit: © UNICEF/UN02839/Gilbertson VII (CNW Group/UNICEF Canada)".
Image available at:
http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151217_C8861_PHOTO_EN_566383.jpg
CONTACT: To arrange interviews or for more information please
contact: Tiffany Baggetta, UNICEF Canada, 416-482-6552 ext. 8892,
647-308-4806 (mobile), tbaggetta@unicef.ca
RELATED LINKS
http://www.unicef.ca
Tweet
