跳到内容(按回车键)
主要内容

欧盟慷慨赠颁诺贝尔和平奖奖金予UNICEF等5组织 为儿童建设和平基石

2012-12-19

Girls attend class in a village in Nowshera District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province The school was damaged by the floods, but has been rehabilitated with UNICEF support. [#2 IN SEQUENCE OF TWO] In December 2010 in Pakistan, millions remain affected by the massive flooding that began in July 2010 and spread through most of the country. Nearly 200,000 people continue to live in camps in the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan, and millions more are returning to homes damaged by floodwater. Returnees confront persistently high water levels, washed-out roads and idges, and damaged infrastructure, property and livelihoods. Meanwhile, the arrival of winter has made the need for shelter increasingly acute. Road damage and security concerns related to ongoing conflict are hampering access by aid groups to many areas. Pakistan, one of four polio-endemic countries in the world, has also experienced a rise in polio infections, with 139 cases reported in 2010. In response, UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and others have launched coordinated programmes to meet the needs of flood-affected populations. Nearly 21,000 children under age five have received therapeutic feeding, and many more have received supplementary feeding. UNICEF and partners have immunized 11.7 million children against polio, and UNICEF is distributing children’s winter clothes, blankets, and additional supplies in areas that anticipate freezing temperatures. UNICEF has reached 150,000 children with temporary learning centres, 195,000 children with school supplies, and 180,000 with child-friendly spaces. The agency also continues to provide safe drinking water to over 3 million people per day and sanitation facilities to 1.7 million people. To date, 76 per cent of UNICEF’s US$251 million funding requirements under the joint United Nations appeal have been met, including US$22.9 million in pledged funds.
布鲁塞尔/纽约/香港,2012年12月19日──欧洲联盟(欧盟)决定将部分诺贝尔奖奖金捐赠予联合国儿童基金会(UNICEF),此举意味着在巴基斯坦将有更多儿童获得教育和学习的机会。

欧盟于本月10日获颁发诺贝尔和平奖,随即决定将有关奖金捐赠予UNICEF等5家人道主义组织,协助组织应对灾难等复杂的紧急情况。欧盟並宣佈所捐款项,将不限于约值港币930万元(即93万欧元)的奖金,会加码至总数约港币2,000万元(200万欧元),全数拨作欧盟儿童和平倡议项目(EU Children of Peace initiative),以支持在紧急情况下的地区教育工作。

UNICEF执行主任安东尼.雷克表示:「我们並不止代表UNICEF,更是代表所有因为UNICEF服务而受惠的儿童,向欧盟致以衷心的感激,好荣幸得到欧盟的慷慨捐助。」

儿童身处在复杂的紧急情况之中,会对他们的生理、心理和情绪状况造成长远而持久的影响。教育,则可以帮助他们培养正确的态度和价值观,远离冲突,建设和平。

Ten-year-old Khairzada Zaman (right) and other boys play with blocks in a UNICEF-supported child protection centre in Ghaniabad Village of Dera Ismail Khan District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province. Khairzada wears a cloth bandage over his oken hand. “I was home when water came,” he said about the floods. “It was about 4 p.m. We had to leave immediately, leaving everything behind… Water destroyed everything, even my textbooks. My school uniform is rotten. Later, when we came back, there was a lot of mud around. I slipped and oke my hand.” Khairzada now lives in a tent with his parents and seven siblings. By the end of January 2011, the people of Pakistan continue to struggle with the effects of the worst flooding in their country’s recorded history. The flooding began in mid-July 2010 and, at its height, affected 20 million people, half of them children. An estimated 170,000 people remain displaced in camps and spontaneous settlements, primarily in Sindh Province, but all four provinces and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas face difficult recoveries. Millions have returned to ruined homes and damaged infrastructure, with recovery and rebuilding costs estimated at US$8-10 billion. Six months after the crisis began, a joint nutrition survey conducted by the Government and aid agencies, including UNICEF, has revealed that malnutrition rates for children under five far exceed critical levels: the rate of severe acute malnutrition, a deadly condition, stands at 6.1 per cent in northern Sindh, and the province’s global acute malnutrition rates are between 21 and 23 per cent. Forty per cent of households lost entire food stocks, and over 2 million hectares of crops were destroyed, leaving over 5.7 million people ‘food insecure’. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, 650,000 people are displaced by civil conflict and unable to return due to winter conditions. They are further threatened by landmines that have been moved by floodwaters. From the start, UNICEF has joined the government, other UN agencies and partner NGOs in responding to this unprecedented emergency. UNICEF is supporting: the supply of drinking water to 3.5 million people daily, and sanitation facilities to more 1.9 million; the provision of services for 120,000 malnourished children and women in feeding centres; the immunization of 9 million children against measles and polio; and the creation of temporary learning centres for 180,000 children, and child-friendly centres for 200,000 children. UNICEF has appealed for US$251 million to fund its emergency response, of which US$198 million has been received or pledged – leaving a US$52 million gap still needed to meet vital child rights concerns.
UNICEF将运用有关的善款于改善位于巴基斯坦西北部地区30所防灾避难收容学校的教育工作之上,料约3,000名3至9岁的儿童受惠。有关的教育工作包括:购置「教育百宝盒」等用品、培训师资、和平教育培训和心理辅导等,凡此种种将可协助儿童面对惨痛经歷,走出阴霾。

UNICEF亦衷心祝贺其余获捐赠的组织,包括:技术合作与发展组织(Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development)、联合国难民署(UNHCR)、救助儿童会(Save the Children)和挪威难民理事会(Norwegian Refugee Council)。