XUNICEF News and Views

A History of Programming with-and-for adolescents -Beyond the Voices of Youth[1] By Rick Olson Close your eyes and visualize a child. Who did you see? A baby? A toddler? Or an adolescent, under age 18? The confusion about ‘the who’ of our programming with-and-for-adolescents has a long history[2]. In 1946, UNICEF was established for the benefit of children and adolescents. I first learned about this through a mid-1990 UNICEF programming note, entitled Youth Health for a Change. References to children and youth can be found throughout the 1960s Executive Board discussions. For example, the Board approved, in 1961, assistance to pilot youth centers, and in 1969 reviewed UNICEF’s assistance to youth vocational and occupational training in 12 countries. The 1962 UNICEF declaration of long term policy for the 1st development decade stated that countries could receive aid towards all aspects of children’s development – physical, mental, social – and for preparing young people for their full

UPDATE on Samir Beida March 29, 2021 It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart we announce the loss of our dear friend and valued colleague, Samir Beida. Samir passed away yesterday at approximately 7 P.M. in Florida. He was surrounded by his family the last days of his life. Our thought and prayers go out to his family and especially to Linda Mayer. May he Rest In Peace.

Ali Chaaban - Hafez Gallery 10 Must-See Shows from Middle Eastern Galleries You Can Visit Online Please share with art lovers Baquer Check out 10 Must-See Shows from Middle Eastern Galleries You Can View Online on Artsy:   https://www.artsy.net/article/ artsy-editorial-10-must-see- middle-eastern-galleries-view- online

  Caution - Bear Crossing Bearenting pic.twitter.com/zimjbXzf4B March 28, 2021

This is a short excerpt.   Click here for the original article As Myanmar’s security forces crush anti-coup protests, more and more children are dying The Myanmar military’s targeting of children, civilians and peaceful protesters, human rights experts say, constitute acts of terrorism, designed to subjugate a population that has risen up against the army’s seizure of power. After an especially bloody weekend, protesters and human rights groups are calling for stronger action from the international community, and warn that children are at particular risk. A day after security forces cracking down on anti-coup protests left more than 100 dead, witnesses said troops opened fire at a funeral in Bago, Myanmar. (Reuters) “These are barbaric criminal acts, calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public with the purpose of terrorizing the entire population,” says Marzuki Darusman, a member of the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar and the former chair of a United Nations fac

Want to end the Pandemic?  Vaccinate Kids Too Click here for the original article So far, children have mostly been spared from the worst aspects of Covid-19. Let’s keep it that way. Jeremy Samuel Faust and Angela L. Rasmussen Dr. Faust is a doctor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Rasmussen is a virologist at the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University Medical Center. March 29, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ET Credit...Marta Monteiro The United States’ coronavirus vaccine rollout has finally hit its stride, with well over two million doses administered daily . Soon, vaccines will be available to all adults who want them . Children are the next vaccination frontier. When it comes time to vaccinate them, the same urgency and large-scale coordination efforts driving adult vaccination must continue if we want to sustainably drive down Covid-19 cases and ultimately end the pandemic. Currently, vaccine demand among adults exceeds the supp

UNICEF Will Act as Procurement / Logistics Agent for 220 Million Doses of COVID Vaccines from Johnson and Johnson for the African Union / African Vaccine Acquisition Trust  in Addition to the 500 Million Doses Committed Under COVAX The paragraphs below are excerpts.  Click the links to read the full articles. Slaughter and May In a historic COVID-19 vaccine procurement agreement signed on 28 March 2021, all African Union Member States, through the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT), will have access to 220 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot COVID-19 vaccine, with the potential to order an additional 180 million doses. The vaccines will be made available to African countries through the African Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP), over a period of 18 months. The transaction was made possible through the US$2 billion facility approved by Afreximbank, who also acted as Financial and Transaction Advisers, Guarantors, Instalment Payment Advisers and Payment Agents. Th

Silence from India and Bangladesh? Kul Gautam India and Bangladesh were among the 8 countries (besides China, Russia, Pakistan, Vietnam, Laos & Thailand) whose diplomats attended the high-profile Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw on 27 March lending legitimacy not only to Myanmar's military junta but its reign of terror against unarmed peaceful protesters and even ordinary bystanders including innocent children. Both India and Bangladesh, and all other countries of SAARC & ASEAN issued very mild, almost proforma denunciation of the 1 February 2021 coup d'état but, to the best of my knowledge, they have taken no meaningful action to oppose the military junta and show solidarity with the people of Myanmar either bilaterally or in multilateral forums like the UN. According to SIPRI, India is the 3rd largest arms supplier to Myanmar after China and Russia. Perhaps in an effort to compete with China's influence in Myanmar, India's support for the democratic aspi

ED Fore's remarks at the Security Council briefing on the humanitarian situation in Syria As Delivered NEW YORK - 29 MARCH 2021 Thank you, Mr. President, and I am thankful to be briefing with Under-Secretary Lowcock and Dr. Ballour. Council members — this year marks an anniversary no one wanted to see: the 10th year of the Syria crisis. Homes, hospitals, schools and water systems destroyed. An economic crisis — the worst in Syria’s history — plunging 90 per cent of the population into poverty. Humanitarian law flouted with impunity. Millions internally displaced or fleeing across Syrian borders. And shocking violence that has killed or injured a verified 12,000 children — and likely many more — since the fighting has begun. Last week, a 10-year-old boy was killed in the Al-Atareb area, in yet another attack on a hospital. Tragedy upon tragedy for a once-beautiful country rendered unrecognizable today. I visited East Ghouta, a once beautiful neighbourhood, shelled and crumbling

Editor's Note: The data displayed at the bottom of this post is interactive material which we cannot display on our website. Please click on the blue box marked "Access the profiles " to go to the correct UNICEF webpages. Then select the country or countries in which you are interested.

     To view all articles posted last week, click on the link below. We post articles throughout the week, and you may want to check for new posts on our blog any day. xunicefnewsandviews.blogspot.com From Your Editors Back to 'Normal' - Perhaps we should call this week's edition a 'tri-weekly' as it covers three weeks, rather than the usual one week. The long interruption, of course, was due to the time we needed to put together the March Quarterly. Now that we have finished with that mega-issue, we will now return to our usual weekly pattern - at least, until it is time to assemble the Quarterly for June. The March Quarterly - We hope that everyone received and enjoyed (or are still enjoying) the latest Quarterly. If you missed it, or need another copy, you can find  it by clicking here.   Be sure to send us your comments and recommendations for improving future editions. Still celebrating !!  - Your volunteer editors are still celebrating the third annive