中、南索马里暴现教育危机　教育专责小组警告：失学儿童剧增 | 最新消息 | 讯息中心

中、南索马里暴现教育危机　教育专责小组警告：失学儿童剧增

2011-08-09

奈落比／日内瓦／香港，2011年8月9日——据由各救援组织组成的教育专责小组上周进行的即时评估显示，索马里南部及中部10个地区合共已有约180万名5至17岁儿童失学。专责小组警告，若不即时采取援助行动，至9月新学年开始时，失学人数势将再度飙升。

Girls attend a class in Horyal Primary School in the Ifo refugee camp in North Eastern Province, near the Kenya-Somalia border. The class is being held outdoors due to a lack of indoor space. The camp is among three that comprise the Dadaab camps, located near the town of Dadaab in Garissa District. On 10 July 2011 in eastern Kenya, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa Elhadj As Sy visited the Dadaab camp for Somali refugees to focus increased attention on the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa. Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia are the three Horn of Africa countries most affected by a deepening drought, rising food prices and the persistent conflict in Somalia. More than 10 million people, including in neighbouring Djibouti and Uganda, are now threatened by the worst drought in the region in 60 years. Somalia faces one of the most-severe food security crises in the world as it continues to endure an extended humanitarian emergency, with tens of thousands fleeing into Kenya and Ethiopia. More than 10,000 Somalis a week are arriving in the Dadaab camps, where aid partners struggle to meet the needs of some 360,000 people, in facilities meant for 90,000. In northern Kenya, more than 25 per cent of children suffer from global acute malnutrition in the Turkana district the rate is at 37.4 per cent, its highest ever. An estimated 480,000 severely malnourished children are at risk of dying in drought-affected areas of Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti; while a further 1.6 million moderately malnourished children and the wider-affected population are at high risk of disease. UNICEF, together with Governments, UN, NGO and community partners, is supporting a range of interventions and essential services, especially for the displaced and for refugees, including feeding programmes, immunization campaigns, health outreach, and access to safe water and to improve sanitation. UNICEF is seeking US $31.8 million for the next three months to provide humanitarian assistance for children and women in the four most-affected countries.

当地的学童小学入学率仅得30%，该评估指出，随着数以千计的家庭为了逃出饥荒，纷纷逃到市区或邻国，带动20万名学龄儿童居无定所，此举预料会进一步导致小学入学率下降。而在摩加迪沙等地，由于大批难民涌至，教育需求急增，但当地教师供应却严重短缺。幸而教育专责小组推出奖金补贴措施，成功吸引到逾万名教师到索马里南部及中部授课，却意味着下朱巴、中朱巴及拜州等周边地区至开学时，将流失近半教师。

评估又指，要确保儿童继续有机会学习或吸引他们入学，在校园内供应食物、提供教材、开设吸引教师奖金补贴，以及扩大学习空间，绝对是取得成功的关键。「教育是紧急救援行动中犹为重要的一环。」联合国儿童基金会（UNICEF）驻索马里代表Rozanne Chorlton女士表示，「学校能为儿童提供教育、健康支援及其他重要服务。无论对儿童的生存与发展，或对国家长远稳定及成长而言，关键都在能否为儿童提供一个安全的学习环境。」

教育团体正扩大紧急教育活动规模，以应付评估中反映的需求。预料要实行升级计划，资金需求将达到逾港币$1.56亿元（$2,000万美元），但目前经费严重短缺，资金差额更创出4年新高。

升级教育计划内容包括：尽快在难民营内设置临时学习空间；在难民人口急升的邻近社区加建课室；为435,000名儿童提供食水、衞生设施、教育用品如「教育百宝盒」及「康乐百宝盒」；提供奖金补贴吸引5,750名教师，同时加强「社区教育委员会」的参与。而按照计划，专责小组更期望透过学校派发食物券，帮助学生及其家庭之余，吸引儿童继续就学，及促使从未接受过教育的儿童，得以开展他们人生的第一堂课。

On 15 July, children attend a hygiene education class that is part of a UNICEF-supported WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) programme, in a primary school in Naros Village, near the town of Lodwar, capital of Turkana District, in Rift Valley Province. In this predominantly pastoralist region, many families are selling their livestock to buy increasingly expensive food. In mid-July 2011, the crisis in the Horn of Africa affecting Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Uganda continues, with a worsening drought, rising food prices and the persistent conflict in Somalia. More than 10 million people are threatened by the worst drought in the region in 60 years. Somalia faces one of the worlds most severe food security crises as it continues to endure an extended humanitarian emergency, with tens of thousands fleeing into Kenya and Ethiopia. More than 10,000 Somalis a week are now arriving in the Dadaab camps in eastern Kenya, where aid partners are struggling to meet the needs of some 360,000 people in facilities meant for 90,000. In drought-affected areas of Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti, up to 500,000 severely malnourished children are at risk of dying, while a further 1.6 million moderately malnourished children and the wider-affected population are at high risk of disease. In northern Kenya, more than 25 per cent of children suffer from global acute malnutrition in Turkana District the rate is at 37.4 per cent, its highest ever. UNICEF, together with government, UN, NGO and community partners, is supporting a range of interventions and essential services, especially for the displaced and for refugees, including feeding programmes, immunization campaigns, health outreach, and increased access to safe water and improvements to sanitation. UNICEF is seeking US $31.8 million for the next three months to provide humanitarian assistance for children and women in the four most affected countries.

「数十年来，索马里的教育问题一直被忽略，加上经费不足，大部分学龄儿童因而得不到应有的学习机会。故此，我们必需尽全力阻止情况继续恶化。」Chorlton女士续指，「是次评估所得的结果，正正再指提醒社会，教育对儿童是何等重要。」

是次即时评估由UNICEF及救助儿童会共同带领14个非政府组织与其合作伙伴进行，对象包括：社区学校、难民学校及私校等589个学习机构。评估除了收集相关数据及资料，亦访谈了由校长，由长者、家长及教师组成的「社区教育委员会」及多个民间组织，听取各方意见。