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联合国儿童基金会2011年终回顾

2012-01-18

纽约/香港,2012年1月18日——「非洲之角」陷入饥荒、巴基斯坦水灾为患,中东地区爆发动乱,对于发展中国家来说,2011年是充满挑战的一年。极端天气变异、粮食价格高涨和政治冲突导致数百万人无家可归、四处流浪,只为寻找一綫生机,让儿童避过疾病和饥饿的煎熬。面对全球经济持续低迷,救援需求却不断上升,令拯救生命的工作变得更加艰巨,人道救援组织必需以最少的资源,作出最大的援助。

数百万人等待救援
On 9 July, a woman and several children walk through a dust storm to their tent, in an area for new arrivals in the Dagahaley refugee camp in North Eastern Province, near the Kenya-Somalia border. The camp is among three that comprise the Dadaab camps, located near the town of Dadaab in Garissa District. On 26 August 2011, the crisis in the Horn of Africa affecting primarily Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti continues, with a worsening drought, rising food prices and ongoing conflict in Somalia. Some 12.4 million people are threatened by the regions worst drought in 60 years. Hundreds of thousands of children are at imminent risk of dying, and over a million more are threatened by malnutrition and disease. In Kenya, 1.7 million children have been affected by the drought, including 220,000 Somali refugee children in the north-eastern town of Dadaab. UNICEF, together with the Government, United Nations, 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. A joint United Nations appeal for humanitarian assistance for the region requires US $2.4 billion, of which 58 per cent has been received to date. A majority of UNICEFs portion of the appeal has been funded.
在肯尼亚西北部达达阿比,您会发现全球最大的难民营。住在这里的,是成千上万歷尽艰苦及危机,徒步走难的索马里灾民。
其中一位父亲Abdile Mohammed几经艰苦才来到难民营。而他那只得3岁的儿子Aden,就差点熬不过而死去。「我一路上,歷尽艰辛。」他在到达肯尼亚,儿子终于接受到紧急治疗后忆述:「那时我孤身带着全家,日以继夜地赶路。」
在世界的另一端,9岁的Saeen Bukhsh经歷了另一场恐惧。在过去两年,巴基斯坦两度遭到勐烈洪水的侵袭,全国受灾,他的家
On 13 September, a boy pushes a cart along a narrow strip of land between utility poles and expanses of flood water, in the city of Hyderabad, Sindh Province. By 26 September 2011 in Pakistan, over 5.4 million people including 2.7 million children had been affected by monsoon rains and flooding, and this number was expected to rise. In Sindh Province, 824,000 people have been displaced and at least 248 killed. Many government schools have been turned into temporary shelters, and countless water sources have been contaminated. More than 1.8 million people are living in makeshift camps without proper sanitation or access to safe drinking water. Over 70 per cent of standing crops and nearly 14,000 livestock have been destroyed in affected areas, where 80 per cent of the population relies on agriculture for food and income. Affected communities are also threatened by measles, acute watery diarrhoea, hepatitis and other communicable diseases. The crisis comes one year after the countrys 2010 monsoon-related flooding disaster, which covered up to one fifth of the country in flood water and affected more than 18 million people, half of them children. Many families are still recovering from the earlier emergency, which aggravated levels of chronic malnutrition and adversely affected primary school attendance, sanitation access and other child protection issues. In response to this latest crisis, UNICEF is working with Government authorities and United Nations agencies and partners to provide relief. Thus far, UNICEF-supported programmes have immunized over 153,000 children and 14,000 women; provided nutritional screenings and treatments benefiting over 2,000 children; provided daily safe drinking water to 106,700 people; and constructed 400 latrines benefiting 35,000 people. Still, additional nutrition support and safe water and sanitation services are urgently needed. A joint United Nations Rapid Response Plan seeks US$356.7 million to address the needs of affected populations over the next six months. Only US$9 million has been received so far.
乡法鲁恰巴德(Farooqabad)亦都不能倖免,家园毁于一旦。「所有房屋都被淹沒。」他坦言:「我们甚至连垫在地上坐的东西也沒有。」
在中东及北非,数百万户家庭受到大规模动乱影响。17岁的Abdul(化名)亦都招揽入伍,参与在利比亚胡姆斯的战争。他坦言:「我的兄弟都在胡姆斯冲锋陷阵,快不行了,所以我亦必须赶上战场,这是我的义务。」
扭转劣势,成绩斐然

面对如此恶劣环境,联合国儿童基金会(UNICEF)与一众伙伴依然面不惧色,反之更加努力,为最弱势的社群提供救援。虽然2011年在筹募善款上遇到挑战,但我们的救援行动依然取得突破性的成果。

数据显示,5岁以下儿童死亡率录得进一步下降。与1990年的相比,2010年的5岁以下儿童的死亡率由1200万多名下降到760万名。而自2001年推出的麻疹项目,在去年亦取得重大胜利,为60多个发展中国家的10亿名儿童成功接种疫苗。此外,加纳亦成为了全球第21个杜绝新生儿感染破伤风的国家。

On 10 June, boys dive into the coastal waters of the Mediterranean Sea, in the city of Benghazi. By 15 June 2011, over one million people had fled the conflict between government and rebel forces in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, and an estimated 243,000 had been displaced within the countrys borders. Intense fighting continues, particularly near the cities of Brega and Misrata and in the Nafusa Mountains. United Nations inter-agency missions to Tripoli, the capital, and to Misrata have confirmed that children are experiencing increased stress and anxiety. Conflict zones are also experiencing medicine shortages; UNICEF has delivered vaccines and other medical supplies to some areas in need. In the eastern city of Benghazi, which is controlled by rebel forces, children and their families exist in an interregnum between peace and war. Many have sought refuge from other parts of the country, and many men of these families are away fighting. UNICEF and partners are assisting the provision of safe water in the city and supporting workshops to raise awareness of the risks to children and others of explosive remnants of war (ERW). Child protection workshops are training volunteers to provide psychosocial support to children. Workshops will be expanded to other parts of the country as access to other areas is restored. Most formal education has been halted since the onset of the crisis. In Benghazi, UNICEF is working to provide recreational and educational activities for children. The mass exodus from Libya including over 550,318 people who have escaped to Tunisia and over 347,900 who have fled to Egypt has also created emergency conditions in neighbouring countries. To address the regional crisis, a joint United Nations flash appeal for US$407 million has been issued; UNICEFs portion of the appeal is US$20 million.

UNICEF在国际政策层面上的工作同样取得空前成功。计及5个签署《巴黎承诺》(Paris Commitments)的新成员国,承诺禁止僱用童兵的国家已增至100个。

UNICEF执行主任安东尼‧雷克在雅典签署了《特殊奥林匹克运动会谅解备忘录》,维护残障儿童的权利和尊严。他在仪式上表示:「通过加强特殊奥林匹克运动会和联合国儿童基金会的合作,我们能够一起保护更多残障儿童的权利。」

UNICEF在今年亦发表了旗舰刊物《世界儿童状况报告》,强调全球12亿青少年是打破贫穷和发展不均衡两大跨代问题的关键。

一如以往,本会于上年度再度获得在国际社会上有份量、具影响力、且有善心的知名人士无私支持。国际网球明星莎莲娜威廉丝(Serena Williams)和祖高域(Novak Djokovic)先后加入了UNICEF亲善大使的行列,承诺将尽心尽力协助本会保护儿童权利。此外,莎莲娜威廉丝、韩国滑冰好手金研儿、曾任童兵的作家伊实美.毕亚(Ishmael Beah)、非洲着名歌手安杰莉克凯蒂霍(Angélique Kidjo),以及美国着名艺人美亚花露(Mia Farrow)等人,就一同响应「非洲之角」粮食危机的赈灾工作,他们的唿吁在国际社会一唿百应。
UNICEF驻索马里办事处代表赛柯德.可汗(Sikander Khan)表示:「自从7月宣佈当地爆发饥荒后,幸得世界各地的市民踊跃捐输,令成千上万儿童的生命得以获救,我们衷心感谢捐款者的鼎力支持。」
踏入新的一年,联合国儿童基金会将继往开来,续以协助最贫困地区儿童为核心工作,同时不遗余力,推陈出新,为全世界儿童建设更美好的未来。