ISRAEL-OPT: Thousands of East Jerusalem children not in school
Thousands of Palestinian children in East Jerusalem do not attend school as there is no room for them in the state school system, parents and rights groups said, adding that the drop-out rate remained the highest in the Israeli school system.
PAKISTAN: Swat conflict takes toll on girls’ education
For the 300,000 children of Swat aged between three and nine, there are 842 boys’ and 490 girls’ government-run primary schools. But only 163,645 boys and 67,606 girls are enrolled at either private or public schools, according to official figures. Even before the destruction of schools began, about 50,000 were unable to get an education due to the scarcity of places.
MYANMAR: Health of cyclone-affected children improves
The health of children under five in cyclone-affected Myanmar is improving, say specialists, despite huge challenges. The nutritional status of children was poor even before Cyclone Nargis slammed into Myanmar, leaving almost 140,000 people dead or missing and affecting 2.4 million people more. Approximately one-third of children in Myanmar are malnourished, and about one-fifth of newborns are underweight, according to this year's State of the World's Children report.
AFGHANISTAN: 1.8 million children to be immunised against polio on Peace Day
The Ministry of Public Health, backed by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), is planning to immunise 1.8 million under-fives against polio between 21 and 23 September.
ETHIOPIA: More parents saying no to FGM
“The knowledge [that FGM is harmful] is increasing,” said Abate Gudunfa, head of the Ethiopian National Committee on Traditional Practices (commonly referred to as EGLDAM – its name in Amharic]. A network of 40 NGOs, including EGLDAM, the government and international organisations, are involved in anti-FGM campaigns in Ethiopia. Policies have also been reviewed to ensure participants are punished. A 2007 survey conducted by EGLDAM found that prevalence across the country had dropped from 61 percent in 1997 to 46 percent.
KENYA: Young girls the new bait for fishermen
Jaboya (a customer who is also a lover), the only way for fish traders to make a living, some say and now there is stiff competition for a catch that is often less than plentiful means offering their own bodies is no longer enough, so desperate traders have now resorted to making available their younger, more nubile relatives – many of them under 18 years of age – to ensure they have an edge. The updated version of the jaboya system puts a new generation in the crosshairs of the pandemic, local health workers say. Nyanza Province has an HIV prevalence of 15.3 percent, the country's highest. According to statistics from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, prevalence among Kenyan fisher folk reached 30.5 percent in 2006.
RWANDA: Vulnerable children living on the margins
“There are at least 2.8 million vulnerable children in the country,” said Gisele Rutayisire, the officer in charge of social protection and governance for child rights with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Kigali. An estimated 100,000 Rwandan households are headed by children. “There is a lot of vulnerability not only for children whose parents died in the genocide but also those whose parents are in prison as well as unaccompanied returnee children,” Rutayisire added.
NEPAL: Concern rising over illegal adoptions
A recent report, A study on inter-country adoption and its influence on child protection in Nepal by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Swiss NGO for child relief, Terre des hommes Foundation (TDH), revealed that the sale, abduction and trafficking of children was taking place in an under-regulated environment. The 62-page report was the result of six-month study conducted by researchers from a national NGO, the Centre for Research on Environment, Health and Population Activities and child rights advocates in Nepal.
VIETNAM: Dramatic rise in child abuse cases
A Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), surveys indicate that the number of reported cases is skyrocketing. Statistics released by MOLISA on 22 August in a preliminary report available only in Vietnamese show violence against children in the home tripled between 2005 and 2007. Violence committed by teachers against children increased 13 times.
