Unrest in the Middle East

For the past couple weeks, demonstrations have spread across countries in the Middle East and North Africa. UNICEF has been monitoring the situation closely, supplying aid across the border to countries like Libya, were protests have escalated into violence. In most cases children die as collateral damage. It's important to understand the causes on unrest in these countries, which varies from country to country. What's also new about most of these protests is that they are organic protests fueled by adolescents in the country against the country's own government, not a Western backed ruler. Egypt stands apart from the rest of the countries because of the success of its revolution, not only the ousting of 30-year dictator (or president), but also its aftermath. The country did not fall into lawlessness, which is the expected outcome for the other middle eastern countries that manage--again unlikely for many countries--to oust the current leadership.

This CNN article has a pretty good break down of the protests in the different countries.

Sources:

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-02/world/mideast.africa.unrest_1_moammar-gadhafi-tehran-streets-libya?_s=PM:WORLD

http://www.unicef.org/media/media_58036.html

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article1573764.ece

Crisis In Libya

Libya is one of the latest countries swept by a wave of democratic revolutions in the Middle East, first started in Tunisia and Egypt. The protests have triggered a brutal crackdown from Libya's dictator, Muammar el-Qaddafi--the longest serving dictator in Africa. His strategy more or less is to wipe out the opposition and Qaddafi has even resorted to such extremes as firebombing entire cities. As a response to Qaddafi's inhumane and cruel response to the democratic protests, the UN Security Council voted to create a no fly zone in Libyan Airspace, a vote supported by the Arab league.

As a response to Qaddafi's lack of cooperation, the Allies have unleashed warplanes and missiles in a military intervention on a scale not seen since the Iraq War. Yesterday, American B-2 stealth bombers were reported to have struck a major Libyan airfield. Though the US attacked first, Britain and France are taking the lead is this multilateral attack.

Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan

Japan experienced a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, followed by a tsunami on March 11, 2011. In addition to completely wiping out several coastal towns in Northern Japan, the tsunami and earthquake have triggered a nuclear crisis. Explosions in three major nuclear reactors spewed plumes of radioactive steam, raising alerts for radiation. Almost 10,000 people living near these reactors have been urged to leave.

The official death toll released by the Japanese government is 5,692 people with an estimated 9,506 missing. However, local police officials in coastal towns claim the death toll is much higher--reach 10,000 in certain towns--as bodies continue to was up on shore.

UNICEF is continuing to monitor the situation in Japan. Since Japan is a contributing member to UNICEF and not a recipient member of UNICEF aid, UNICEF does not usually operate within Japan. However, because of the scale of the crisis US Fund for UNICEF is working with the Japanese Committee in UNICEF to raise money.

Source and More Information:

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/japan/index.html?scp=1-spot&sq=japan&st=cse

Water & Sanitation Presentation

Diseases from water and sanitation cause more deaths world wide than guns do from war.

-Every 20 seconds a child dies from a water related disease

-Children in poor countries on average carry 1000 parasitic worms in their bodies

-An American taking a five minute shower uses more water than a person in a developing country uses all day

- A child born in the US or Europe is 520 times less likely to die from a diarrheal diseases, which kill about 1.5 million children every year.

-Women, called the water haulers of the world, walk on average 6km a day and carry 20L of water. This affects girls the most, because they are less likely to be able to have free time to spend in order to go to school.

For more facts about water visit:

http://water.org/learn-about-the-water-crisis/facts/

http://www.unicef.org/wash/index_31600.html

Climate Change Presentation

The effects of climate change impact children in almost every aspect, from such mundane yet vital aspects such as the water they drink and food they eat. Pollution tends to end up ground water, reducing the clean and safe water supply to which children have access. Temperature fluctuations can drastically affect agriculture, which in many country is dependent on certain seasonal patterns, and in developing countries, it is usually the poorest who are the most dependent on agriculture. In Africa alone, 70% of the people are dependent on agriculture. Even in India, which is developing extraordinarily fast, the child malnutrition rate is 42%. Climate change also increases the probability of natural disasters, such as floods from worsening monsoon season. Pakistan recently face one of its worst floods in decades. Such disasters and lack of clean water increase the rate of disease among children, ranging from diarrheal diseases to malaria.

Some quick facts:

- unsafe drinking water relates to 88% of child deaths

- diarrheal deseases kill between 17-18% children worldwide

- Malnutrition is implicated in 53% of child deaths

Presentation 2/7/11: Immunizations

Immunizing children is one of the most important goals of UNICEF. As we know, 22,000 children a day die from preventable causes, which include diseases such as measles, tuberculosis, polio. These are diseases that most of us don't even worry about because we get vaccinated at an early age. Distribution of immunizations and basic medicine such as antivirals or antibacterials is very difficult in developing countries because of the meager infrastructure in most of these countries. Hospitals may not efficient, and in several countries there is little to no government assistance in combating disease. Pneumonia is the leading cause of death worldwide for children under five, and strains of pneumonia can be treated with either vaccines or antibiotics quite simply. More than half the children in developing countries are not immunized, and that number can reach 70% in hard to reach areas.

Some quick facts:

- there has been recent polio outbreak in several countries in Africa.

- UNICEF is working with African governments to immunize 72 million children.

- In Haiti there have about 194,000 cases and 3889 deaths related to cholera

- In 2004 pneumonia accounted for 19% of child deaths under 5

- Also in 2004, diarrheal diseases (such as cholera) accounted for 17% of child deaths under 5

Here are some links to read more about vaccinations and immunizations:

http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Progress_for_Children-No.9_EN_081710.pdf

http://www.unicef.org/emerg/pakistan_55580.html

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/10/28/130884642/why-the-cholera-vaccine-isn-t-the-answer-for-haiti

Child Driven Education

Sugata Mitra is Professor at Newcastle University and the instigator of the Hole in the Wall (HIW) experiment. In this HIW experiment, Dr. Mitra placed a computer in a kiosk created within a wall in an Indian slum at Kalkaji, Delhi. He then studied how children react to the computer and teach themselves how to use it. He relates his study to problem of providing education to children all around the world. Check out the link below in which Dr. Mitra explains his experiment and discusses its repercussions on a episode of Ted Talks. Enjoy!

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education.html

P.S. Dr. Mitra explained his experiment to Vikas Swarup, which helped inspire Swarup to write Q&A, the story behind Slumdog Millionaire.