UNICEF

Tiny hopes for Syria amid the violence By Alma Hassoun DAMASCUS,...

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:08:00 -0400

Tiny hopes for Syria amid the violence
By Alma Hassoun

DAMASCUS, 20 May 2013 – Five-day old Yaman took a long stretch inside an incubator at a charity hospital in Damascus, while his mother and sister were admiring him happily through the glass door of the unit.

Yaman has in many ways become one of Syria’s smallest hopes amid vicious fighting that has damaged hospitals and taken thousands of lives. His mother remained nearby, ready to breastfeed her youngest child to ensure the best nutritional start to life.

Next to him was a tiny girl sleeping quietly. Both babies are expected to be fine, but were placed delicately in an incubator because of a small infection for Yaman and a respiratory problem for the girl.

But until last month, there were only four incubators in the hospital — far short of what was needed.

UNICEF has been providing NGOs throughout the country with incubators that can help save the lives of many infants like Yaman, with three machines for this hospital in Damascus, another two in Aleppo and one in Homs. A remaining 44, out of 50 purchased, will be distributed to private and public hospitals throughout Syria.

“The incubators came just on time,” said Dr. Wisam Baraki, a neonatology specialist.

Before that, infants were sometimes placed on beds and oxygen was administered manually by parents because incubators were not available, a doctor explained.

“The incubator is life-saving medical equipment for babies born with difficulties especially in breathing,” said Dr. Iman Bahnasi, UNICEF health specialist. “It is crucial especially at this time as there is a shortage in incubators resulting from damaging and looting many hospitals.”

The protracted violence has continued to devastate health facilities in Syria. Out of 88 public hospitals, less than half are fully functioning, with some 27 destroyed and 21 only partially working. In addition, 10 per cent of the health centres in Syria are damaged according to the World Health Organization in December 2012.

UNICEF and partners are providing humanitarian assistance throughout the country including medical support for children and families. This year alone, 50 UNICEF supported mobile medical teams in 12 governorates and a fixed centre in Damascus, have reached over 60,700 children with medical check-ups.

Photo credit: © UNICEF/Syria-2013/Alma Hassoun

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: 20 May 2013Recovery efforts continue one...

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:38:40 -0400

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: 20 May 2013
Recovery efforts continue one month after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan Province of china on 20 April 2013. The disaster killed 196 people and injured more than 12,000 while dismantling homes and major infrastructure.

Pictured: A displaced woman and her daughter seek temporary shelter in Boaxing County. Home to 60,000 people, the county suffered damage to over 60 per cent of its buildings.

©UNICEF/Zhao Heting

To see more: www.unicef.org/photography

VIDEO REPORT: UNICEF launches groundbreaking cholera toolkitThe...

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:27:03 -0400

VIDEO REPORT: UNICEF launches groundbreaking cholera toolkit
The UNICEF cholera toolkit will help prepare for and respond to the disease which kills as many as 120,000 people each year.

Check it out.

UNICEF reaches some of the heaviest conflict areas in Syria

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:19:47 -0400

unicefmena:

DAMASCUS/AMMAN/GENEVA, 17 May 2013 – Despite heavy fighting, UNICEF and partners have provided life-saving supplies over the last week to some of the hardest to reach areas in Syria, including Aleppo and Al Houla, as well as children and women who fled recent violence in Al Bayda and Baniyas.

Read More

Congratulations to David Beckham on a long and illustrious...

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:33:00 -0400

Congratulations to David Beckham on a long and illustrious football career!

Thank you again for your amazing commitment to UNICEF - we look forward to continuing our work together for children.

Here is a video from 2008 and his trip with UNICEF to Sierra Leone we hope you enjoy as much as the folks on the “pitch” did.

Yuna Kim appeals for the children of SyriaUNICEF Goodwill...

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:58:48 -0400

Yuna Kim appeals for the children of Syria
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Olympic gold medalist and world champion figure skater Yuna Kim makes a heartfelt appeal for support for the children of conflict-torn Syria.

The crisis in Syria, now in its third year, has affected 3.1 million children in Syria, while the number of children who have fled to neighbouring countries as refugees is nearing 730,000.

UNICEF is delivering food, water, medical supplies and education to Syrians in need.

Syrian Crisis - Leran more: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/syriancrisis_68134.html

Back to school after Typhoon BophaSix months after Typhoon Bopha...

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:46:42 -0400

Back to school after Typhoon Bopha
Six months after Typhoon Bopha took more than 1,000 lives and displaced more than a million people, teaching and learning are starting up again in elementary schools across affected parts of the Philippines.

UNICEF Spotlight: Mothers overcoming adversity This week, a...

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:57:00 -0400

UNICEF Spotlight: Mothers overcoming adversity
This week, a Syrian mother struggles to raise her children in a refugee camp; mothers in Somalia get their children vaccinated with a newly introduced pentavalent vaccine; and in Serbia mothers get help from UNICEF in caring for their disabled children.

For more information, visit: http://www.unicef.org/

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: 14 May 2013Poverty reductions in Nepal have...

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:29:48 -0400

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: 14 May 2013
Poverty reductions in Nepal have accompanied significant gains in child nutrition. But the poorest children, who have the least access to vital services, remain most vulnerable to nutritional deficiencies. Jamuna Saud, her family’s sole provider since the death of her husband, works all day in the fields to feed and support her children in Biraltoli Village. A joint UNICEF/EU programme is providing nutrition screenings for children in the impoverished village.

©UNICEF/Shehzad Noorani

To see more: www.unicef.org/photography

Lenny Kravitz: “Are you with me?” 4-year-old...

Tue, 14 May 2013 09:47:00 -0400

Lenny Kravitz: “Are you with me?”
4-year-old Shahadad was infected with polio when he was only 2. The brutal fact is that it could have been prevented.

Lenny Kravitz wants you to know that we can end polio in our lifetime if we work together and immunize every child.

http://polioinfo.org/

Children from the poorest communities frequently miss out on the...

Mon, 13 May 2013 14:48:24 -0400

Children from the poorest communities frequently miss out on the nutrition and care they need to grow up healthy.

SHARE this image if you want to change this.

GIRLS CAN CODEKristen Titus, director of ‘Girls Who...

Mon, 13 May 2013 11:34:00 -0400

GIRLS CAN CODE
Kristen Titus, director of ‘Girls Who Code’, shares a shocking statistic with us about what girls in the USA DON’T want to do when they grow up.

Watch the video and tell us what it’s like where you live.

http://www.unicef.org/

No matter the language, one simple word means the same thing...

Sun, 12 May 2013 11:41:00 -0400

No matter the language, one simple word means the same thing around the world. It means happiness, protection and love.

Happy Mother’s Day!

VIDEO REPORTAs a child Kausar Parveen wanted to be a...

Fri, 10 May 2013 11:09:06 -0400

VIDEO REPORT
As a child Kausar Parveen wanted to be a doctor…now she spends her day trying to vaccinate every child in and around her village from preventable childhood diseases.

Take a momement and see what a day in the life of a UNICEF health worker is like.

To learn more, please visit: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/pakistan_68963.html

CAN YOU SEE ME? Annie Sumo (age 13) laughs while walking home...

Thu, 09 May 2013 11:11:01 -0400

CAN YOU SEE ME?
Annie Sumo (age 13) laughs while walking home with a friend. Annie contracted a leg infection as a small child, during Liberia’s civil war, when medical facilities were inaccessible. Untreated, the infection caused a leg deformity that makes walking difficult. Annie and her friend live in Nyeamah Village, where UNICEF supports a range of services for children. The rebuilding of basic infrastructure has continued since the end of the country’s 14-year war in 2003.

To see more: www.unicef.org/photography

That’s 165 million children whose bodies and minds are...

Wed, 08 May 2013 15:29:03 -0400

That’s 165 million children whose bodies and minds are stunted by chronic nutritional deficiencies.

Learn more about stunting, and how we’re helping communities prevent it by clicking here.

UNICEF SPOTLIGHTThis week, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and...

Wed, 08 May 2013 10:47:00 -0400

UNICEF SPOTLIGHT
This week, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and Olympic gold medalist Yuna Kim draws attention to Syrian children, UNICEF supporter and GRAMMY award-winning singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz talks immunization, and solar refrigerators harness the Haitian sun to keep vaccines cool.

For more information, visit: http://www.unicef.org/.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: 7 May 2013A boy refugee near his family’s...

Tue, 07 May 2013 13:48:47 -0400

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: 7 May 2013
A boy refugee near his family’s temporary home in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Amid extreme volatility in Syria, over 1.2 million people have fled to nearby countries. Among them, Lebanon is currently hosting over 343,800 registered refugees. Ongoing UNICEF support includes psychosocial assistance and safe spaces for children to play. But the violence – persistent now for over two years – threatens to scar an entire generation of young Syrians.

To see more: www.unicef.org/photography

Syrian children in East Amman inch their way back to a normal life

Tue, 07 May 2013 10:04:19 -0400

unicefmena:

By Lisa Marie Ullrich

AMMAN, 2 May 2013 - In the vibrant heart of East Amman, 80 kilometers away from the Syrian border and the fighting and violence beyond it, everyday life seems to continue as normal. Yet in an old building at the end of a small alley, hundreds of children from Syria are trying to cope with their painful memories, which despite the distance in time and space seem still fresh in their minds.

Read More

Lenny Kravitz: Immunization - we can reach every last...

Mon, 06 May 2013 11:39:21 -0400

Lenny Kravitz: Immunization - we can reach every last child

GRAMMY award-winning singer-songwriter, record producer and actor and UNICEF supporter Lenny Kravitz talks about the importance of reaching every child with life-saving immunizations.

For more information, visit: http://www.unicef.org/immunization/