Afghan children get a chance to be immunized

NANGAHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, 22 September 2008 – Afghan and international forces, including the Taliban, have been asked to lay down their weapons in support of the biggest Peace Day that Afghanistan has ever experienced.

Yesterday’s UN International Day of Peace was marked by marches, gatherings and ceremonies. Kites flew all over the country.

UNICEF, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the World Health Organization in Afghanistan urged all sides to take Peace Day as an opportunity to renew their commitment to children’s health and well-being. They asked that schools, literacy centres, students and teachers be protected from attacks.

From January through 20 September 2008, more than 200 school attacks have taken place in Afghanistan, resulting in 37 deaths.

Polio immunization drive

About 14,000 vaccinators are using the hoped-for pause in violence to immunize children against polio in insecure districts in the southern and eastern and western regions of the country – all as part of the National Immunization Days organized by UNICEF, WHO and the Ministry of Public Health.

The three-day campaign, from 21-23 September, will cover districts in Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan, Nangahar and Lagman, as well as the western region of Farah.

“We will give access to the polio vaccination teams to carry out their activities,” said a statement issued by the Taliban.

Eighteen cases of polio have been reported in Afghanistan so far this year, compared with nine cases during the same period last year. Most of these cases are in the country’s southern and eastern provinces, where access is difficult due to ongoing conflict.

“It is possible to eradicate polio in Afghanistan. However, a commitment is required from all parties to the conflict and [from] communities,” said UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan Catherine Mbengue.

“Our goal is to reach every child in Afghanistan,” she added.

‘A window for peace’

“Today’s events show the huge demand that exists for peace in Afghanistan,” said the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, Kai Eide, in his Peace Day message. “A window for peace has been opened, through which the people of Afghanistan are making themselves heard.

“Peace for a day is a start,” he continued. “Peace that is enduring must be our common goal.”

Peace Day was established by a UN resolution in 1981 to coincide with the opening of the General Assembly. In 2002, the General Assembly officially declared 21 September as the permanent date for the International Day of Peace.

These are some news from UNICEF. I'll bring some more. Yes, I think together we can change the world if we put our minds into it. I'm so happy to see that beautiful things are going on around the world and that some people still care.

Fund 4 Darfur!

http://www.fund4darfur.org/latest_news.html
Support Darfur by donating online and helping the people that have survived and are in despretly need of our help!!!!Organise events and raise money for Darfur!

Alive, With Cancer

Alive, With Cancer

Cancer is not a death sentence. The nearly 10 million survivors throughout the United States are living proof. Unfortunately, this stereotypical characterization of the disease is alive and well.

In the early 1970s when little was understood about the disease and treatments were limited, survival was considered a coin toss—at best a 50/50 chance. As if that was not bad enough, patients were sick from toxic anticancer drugs and radiation, and their bodies were often mutilated from radical surgical procedures. These images sadly still cast shadows over the amazing discoveries and triumphs of the last decade.

Today, scientists and clinicians understand that cancer is a disease of genetic mistakes, both inherited and acquired. We can screen for some of them with the goal of preventing the disease from occurring, and if it does occur, we now have treatments that specifically target these errors, eliminating many of the side effects. Breast-sparing, nerve-sparing, and speech-preserving, are just a few of the adjectives used to describe the cancer surgeries performed today. They are surgical techniques that remove tumors while preserving dignity and quality of life.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, survivorship is on the rise, with steady increases noted over the last three years. Adjuvant therapies, combined therapies, clinical trials, and prevention trials are all examples of advances that have helped tip the scales so that now there are more people alive with cancer than dying from the disease.

The UN refugee agency in South Ossetia

At this moment, tens of thousands of civilians are living in precarious conditions, having been driven from their homes by the crisis in the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia.
Yesterday, the first UNHCR plane carrying emergency aid arrived in the Georgian capital T'bilisi – the first international assistance to arrive in the country since fighting broke out last week. This included tents, blankets, jerry cans and kitchens sets from our central emergency stockpile.
Over the weekend, I made an appeal to the Georgian and Russian authorities to establish humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee the conflict zones.
The UN refugee agency has a long-established presence in the region and, since 1993, has been caring for some 275,000 people displaced previously.
Working with local partners, we are now providing assistance to the most vulnerable and needy. These include many young children and family members separated from one another. The situation is evolving rapidly and we are monitoring the needs of the newly displaced population, which now numbers some 100,000.
We urgently need more supplies. We are working actively to get aid to South Ossetia, which has been cut off by the security situation. We also hope to reach at least 30,000 people who have fled across the border into North Ossetia in the Russian Federation.
Please help by donating to our emergency appeal.

We expect the cost of the operation to reach into the millions, so I’m sure you’ll understand why I’m hoping that we can count on you to help.

Whatever you can give will be greatly appreciated and make all the difference.

www.unhcr.org

UNICEF Executive Director concludes visit to Madagascar

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar, 30 July 2008 – UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman concluded her visit to
Madagascar by
launching a tetanus campaign in the rural town of Andilamena with the Minister of Health, Dr. Ralainirina Paul Richard, and local officials.

Despite impressive progress in decreasing child mortality rates, Madagascar is one of the only countries in the world – and one of nine in the East and Southern African region – that has not eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus.

“Death due to tetanus is painful,” said Veneman. “But one visit to the local health centre, for a simple immunization, can help save a baby’s life.”

Tetanus, which accounts for an estimated 5 to 7 per cent of all neonatal deaths, is preventable through a vaccination. It is the first immunization that a child will ever receive as it is given by vaccinating the mother before she gives birth.

Benefits of birth registration

Veneman also launched an appeal for all families to register their children at birth. An estimated 25 per cent of Madagascar’s children are not registered.

Many of those children will be left behind without access to basic health services and education. A child without a birth certificate is more vulnerable to sexual exploitation, early marriage and child labour.
To better understand the situation of vulnerable children in Madagascar, Veneman met with young victims of abuse and exploitation.

“We want our parents to protect us so that we can go to school and we want the perpetrators to be arrested,” a young girl survivor of sexual exploitation told Veneman.

The UNICEF Executive Director also visited a community in the outskirts of the capital, Antananarivo, where the Madagascar Rotary Club had installed a pump, which provides clean water for a community of 300 families.

“Water is essential to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals,” she said. “Water is critical for life, for health and for food production.”

The President of Madagascar, H.E. Marc Ravalomanana, emphasized to Veneman that improving access to safe water and sanitation is a key objective of the government.

About UNICEF:

UNICEF works on the ground in more than 150 developing and transitional countries to help children survive and thrive. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for poor countries, UNICEF works to advance the Millennium Development Goals by supporting child health and nutrition, quality basic education for all boys and girls, access to clean water and sanitation, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation and AIDS.

About the UNICEF Executive Director:

Ann M. Veneman assumed the leadership of UNICEF on 1 May 2005, becoming the fifth Executive Director to lead UNICEF in its 60-year history. Prior to joining UNICEF, Veneman served as Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture.
At UNICEF, Veneman directs a global agency of over 10,000 staff and annual total resources of more than $3 billion, funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of governments, businesses, foundations and individuals. Since assuming the position of Executive Director, she has traveled to more than 40 countries, witnessing firsthand the work of UNICEF, speaking at meetings and conferences, and visiting heads of state or government and other partners.

For nine million refugee youth, a chance to learn and play

UN Refugee Agency Launches Innovative Global Campaign with Corporate Partners to Help World's Refugee Youth

LONDON (20 June 2006 – World Refugee Day) – Nine million faces. Nine million names.
Nine million stories. They are the world's forgotten refugee youth. Today, an innovative global campaign is being launched to bring them attention and a better future, a chance to change their future through the power of education and sport. Called ninemillion.org, the campaign aims to create a global community dedicated to giving the world's refugee youth the chance to learn and play.

Ninemillion.org
is being launched as part of World Refugee Day by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) with the support of founding campaign partners Nike, Inc. and Microsoft,
both founding members of UNHCR's Council of Business Leaders, and Right To Play,
the Toronto-based international humanitarian organization dedicated to using sport and play to foster the healthy physical, social and emotional development of children in refugee camps worldwide.

"Ninemillion.org is about giving the world's refugee youth a chance to see beyond their current situation and begin to rebuild their lives," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. "Our greatest priority is to help refugees in crisis and to find lasting solutions for them. Once out of harm's way, the needs of refugees continue despite having moved off the front pages, and those needs far exceed existing sources of funding. All too often, the world's nine million refugee youth become the most forgotten. They are denied their basic rights to childhood and are left with uncertain futures. Ninemillion.org can help refugee youth by giving them a chance to learn and play, a chance to change their future through education and sport."

Kicking off the ninemillion.org campaign is a 30-second public service announcement featuring Brazilian football star Ronaldo, a UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) Goodwill Ambassador. The public service announcement is available for viewing at ninemillion.org, which features individual portraits and biographies of refugee youth from camps in Azerbaijan, Uganda and Thailand. These are youth who have seen their parents killed, have fled their homes because of war, or who have been born in a refugee camp and known nothing else. Yet despite the trauma and conflict of their lives, and the harsh conditions of a refugee camp, they are connected by a universal love of sport and the desire to learn and create a better future for themselves, their families and their communities. Ninemillion.org is committed to giving them that chance.

In addition to raising awareness about refugee youth, ninemillion.org is the primary way individuals can donate money to the campaign. To kick off the fund-raising effort, the Nike Foundation announced a matching grant for the first US$1 million donated to ninemillion.org.

Nike, Inc. supported UNHCR by developing the overall concept and content for ninemillion.org and enlisted key support from other council members such as Microsoft. Nike developed the public service announcement with Ronaldo and other video of refugee youth in Azerbaijan, Uganda and Thailand. T-shirts featuring the ninemillion.org logo will be available for purchase at select Nike retail outlets worldwide, with net proceeds supporting the campaign. Additionally, Nike has donated 40,000 balls, designed specifically for durability in harsh refugee camp conditions, to UNHCR for refugee kids. Nike also will broaden awareness of ninemillion.org by creating a digital presence on nike.com and nikefootball.com, and by launching a ninemillion.org community on joga.com.

Microsoft is supporting ninemillion.org through MSN, its online media network, by hosting and localizing the Web site content in nine languages and providing 2.8 billion impressions of primary advertising media worth an estimated US$1 million, plus editorial placement and promotional support for the campaign. MSN is featuring ninemillion.org on local portal, Hotmail and Messenger sites in the top ten markets in Europe and on MSN.com in the United States. In the European markets, MSN is also featuring ninemillion.org on MSN's popular "Road to the World Cup" channel. In addition, Microsoft will support education projects through donations of software to non-governmental organization partners, as well as the provision of curriculum and basic training content.

Two-thirds of money raised through ninemillion.org will be distributed by UNHCR to support education in refugee communities, including fundamental education and life skills training; HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention; gender sensitivity; and peace education programs for war-torn communities. The remaining one-third will fund access to customized sport and play programs by Right To Play for refugee youth, with an emphasis on getting girls and young women onto the playing field.

Other companies supporting ninemillion.org



Earth Water International, the Canada-based bottled water company that contributes 100 percent of its net profits to UNHCR, will feature the ninemillion.org campaign logo on its newly designed labels. Currently sold throughout Canada, Earth Water will expand its distribution to the United States later this summer and to Western Europe and Asia in the coming year.

Manpower Inc. will support ninemillion.org through broad internal and external outreach. The company's CEO will invite the more than 27,000 Manpower employees across 4,400 offices in 72 countries to get involved and spread the word in their local communities. Information on ninemillion.org also will be available on the company's Web site, and campaign information will be distributed to Manpower's vast client and temporary employee/contractor networks.

Merck & Co, Inc., in collaboration with UNHCR and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) is delivering nursing knowledge and related training for health workers in refugee camps located in Tanzania and Zambia through a program of mobile nursing libraries. The libraries will increase access to the latest nursing and health information to meet refugee health priorities.
Merck is also supporting ninemillion.org through its Partnership for Giving Program, which will match employee contributions to the campaign.

The National Basketball Association and Women's National Basketball Association will support ninemillion.org, through NBA Cares, the League's global outreach initiative. The NBA will be broadcasting the ninemillion.org public service announcement on NBA TV, and information on ninemillion.org will also be available on NBA.com.

Procter & Gamble also joined ninemillion.org via its Children's Safe Drinking Water program. Procter & Gamble will provide more than 1 million sachets of PUR Purifier of Water for safe drinking water in refugee camps. The company also will link to ninemillion.org from its Web site and encourage employees to join the campaign.

MEDIA INFORMATION

Additional media information, including the ninemillion.org video, is available at media.ninemillon.org.

                                                     Run for a noble cause!!!!!

Jackie Chan in Timor-Leste

On a recent visit with the young people of Timor-Leste, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Jackie Chan encouraged them to use martial arts as a peaceful, unifying force.

Timor-Leste, which received its independence six years ago, is one of the poorest nations in East Asia and the Pacific. In recent years, the country has descended into violence.
With it, martial arts, once a popular activity for Timorese youths interested in sports and fitness, have also suffered a setback,
with more and more young people applying their skills to acts of crime and violence.

Mr. Chan reminded some 3,500 young people gathered at the national stadium that “it does not matter what school of martial arts we are from as long as we are united. Training for martial arts helps you to strengthen your eyes, your mind and your body. When you have a good body and mind, let's help people. Don't harm them.”

The Government of Timor-Leste recognizes that strong youth-focused policies, as well as better education and employment opportunities, are critical to the country’s future. UNICEF is working with the government to protect and promote the rights of young people.