February 4, 2012
Piped clean drinking water in Angola improves children's health
In the Matala municipality in Angola, a UNICEF supported project is providing ready access to clean drinking water to nearly 2,000 homes through taps installed at homes and in communities. Only 50% of Angolans have access to improved drinking water sources. With improved access to water the rates of diarrhea and cholera have fallen to next to nothing in Matala, compared to when the cleanest water source was a river 3 miles away. Because the safe water was so far away, people would take unsafe water from nearby streams resulting in illnesses.
February 3, 2012
UNICEF providing vaccines to children in Haiti's hardest-to-reach communities
UNICEF is implementing a program to ensure that every child in Haiti is immunized against diseases like polio, diphtheria, tetanus, and measles-rubella. The program, known as RED (Reach Every District), helps manage resources and link services with communities. RED also provides supportive supervision and monitoring for action. This approach will improve communication between communities and health workers, increasing vaccination coverage.
February 2, 2012
Community-based nutrition programs empowering families to prevent malnutrition in Rwanda
According to a recent Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey, 44% of all children in Rwanda are chronically malnourished or stunted due to a lack of food. With UNICEF support, the Rwandan Government has established community-based nutrition programs to combat malnutrition. UNICEF is also helping the country’s 30 districts develop plans to eliminate malnutrition. These efforts empower communities to ensure that their children get a healthy start.
January 31, 2012
Flood-affected students resume studies in the Philippines
UNICEF and partners are supporting the reconstruction of 23 severely damaged schools and 68 day-care centers in the Philippines following the devastating floods caused by Tropical Storm Washi last December. An estimated 1.1 million people were affected by the disaster and many schools were completely or partially destroyed. Schools offer a lifeline to children by helping restore a sense of normalcy immediately following a disaster and in the long term promote social cohesion and contribute to the social and economic stability in affected areas.
January 28, 2012
Protecting children's right to a legal identity in Benin
A legal identity is a critical right, one that many children in Benin are denied due to not having a birth registration. During a recent visit, UNICEF Ambassador Angélique Kidjo advocated for improvements in the birth registration system in order to guarantee this right for all children. Without birth registration, children are excluded from basic services, and are more vulnerable to exploitation. In Benin, 40 %of children are not registered. UNICEF is committed to helping increase birth registration to guarantee the rights of all children.
