XUNICEF News and Views

We are delighted to welcome  new members to XUNICEF in September If we overlooked your name, please let us know. XUNICEF now has a total of 930 members living in 105 countries.  Help us to keep growing by inviting other members of the wider UNICEF family - current and retired staff, consultants, spouses, volunteers and contractors.  All we ask is that the person has a significant current or past relationship to UNICEF and a continuing commitment to UNICEF's mission. Want to find out who else is already a member?   Just click on the 'Members Directory' in the sidebar or click here . Need someone's email address?   Contact the Network Administrator, Oscar Fernandez ( ofernandez@xunicef.com ) or contact the editors at News and Views ( xunicef.news.views@gmail.com ). Why don't we post the email addresses of all members?   Some members do not want their addresses to become public.  Also, we have had experiences in the past when someone copied the list and used it for adv

The governments will not be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is the people who can do this by taming their consumption behaviour and minimising energy use. This is us Major sources of greenhouse gases (GHG) are transportation, electricity generation, industries and agriculture, all of which are meant for our day to day survival and comfort. But the consumption of energy is extremely skewed when we examine this  on a per capita basis. Most South Asian, African and several Latin American countries consume less than 1500 kwh (kilo-watt-hour) of energy per person per year. Fifty-two developing countries consume less than 500 kwh per person per year. The top ten countries (excluding Iceland and Norway as their energy production has a near zero GHG emission) energy consumption range between 10,000 to 12,000 kwh per person per year. All developing countries and several mid-income countries are already at the rock bottom when ranked by per capita consumption. It is up to the citize

The 1960s was an exciting time for us as an Organization. Known as the development decade, our global presence and impact expanded far beyond our initial origins as a relief and emergency organization. Sharing some fascinating insight into the era, former Chief of Africa Section, Fouad Kronfol talks about this period on the For Every Child Podcast as well as his collaborations with many of UNICEF’s legendary figures, including Executive Director Henry Labouisse Jr.. “He – Labouisse – brought to UNICEF a culture of understanding of the developing world, and its needs and its problems,” explains Fouad. “During the Labouisse period we went out to all regions of the world in a much more substantive way.” During a rich and varied career spanning nearly 37 years, at the start of the 80s, Fouad led UNICEF’s bold new programmatic approach in Africa, ultimately becoming the Chief of Africa Section. “This is the time, I said, the iron is hot, the world wants us to do things in Africa…and that wa

The venerable New York Times, whose reliability is beyond reproach, foretold chaos in German politics; likewise, many foreign newspapers hyperventilate about the mess that will ensue as a result of the recent German elections: three parties need to agree to form the government. Do not worry. I am not going to impose on you my take on what the politics in Germany will be, though I am gladly accepting any bets. I am going to vaguely stick to the theme of my bubble-thoughts: the renewal of the United Nations and especially UNICEF. First of all , rest assured. The sun will rise and set as usual, regardless the results of any elections in Germany or anywhere in the world. Your pensions will be save, and nobody is going to press any red button. Second: It is very amusing to read analyses by the foreign press about a country’s politics. I have to restrain myself from losing composure and slapping my knees. What I am trying to say: How can anyone, sitting several thousand miles away, judge wh

This week, to celebrate my 30th column, I decided to change the focus from stamps and covers to feature some XUNICEF colleagues who helped increase and improve my philatelic collection. I take this occasion to express my appreciation and thanks for those colleagues who provided me with stamps and covers over the years. Their gifts were a testimony of their friendship and strong bonds of camaraderie and their appreciation and encouragement for my passion and hobby. Some of the items I show are only examples of those sent by my colleagues; they may or may not be the same stamps and covers, just as they may or may not be UNICEF-related. If I have left out any other colleagues please let me know so I can correct my omision. ***** My long time colleague Trinh Tri Muoi  continued to send me regularly packages of stamps issued by Viet Nam. Mrs.Muoi had joined UNICEF just before my arrival to Hanoi in January 1980 as the youngest and newest of our local staff. She started doing clerical work

Rudha Sahoo Fear of Bandits Keeps Students in Nigeria’s Kaduna State Away From School By Timothy Obiezu Voice of America 3 min View Original ABUJA, NIGERIA — Two weeks ago, UNICEF estimated one million Nigerian children could miss out on education due to security concerns.   The agency estimates Nigeria has the greatest number of out-of-school children in the world, about 13.2 million.  UNICEF Nigeria's education manager, Rudra Sahoo, says the actual figure could be even higher. "In the months of May, June and July, there were regular attacks particularly in the north central and northwest region, and as precautionary measure, 11,000 schools closed during that time," said Sahoo. "The schools are opening now but the apprehension on the minds of the parents is there." Nigerian authorities have reopened schools in northern Kaduna state after closing them for two months due to insecurity.  The region has suffered a string of armed kidnappings and the U.N. Children&#

Afghanistan: Rapid decline in public health conditions, WHO warns By news.un.org 2 min View Original According to the World Health Organization ( WHO ), the COVID-19 response has also declined and almost half of the country’s children are at risk of malnutrition. Moreover, the agency pointed out that only 17 per cent of the over 2,300 health facilities previously supported by the World Bank, are fully functional, two-thirds of which have run out of essential medicines. Help on the ground Despite the rapidly deteriorating health situation, WHO is working with donors to sustain health facilities to prevent outbreaks, and rising illness. And as the coronavirus continues to be a significant challenge, the UN health agency is boosting surveillance and testing capacities within the country. “Recently, we have airlifted 50,000 COVID-19 tests that are being distributed to 32 labs across the country”, WHO said, adding that 10 more labs are also being planned. Several humanitarian partners on

WHO, UN Partners Compile 500 Actions to Reduce Health and Environment Risks By Marcus Kauffman sdg.iisd.org 3 min View Original The World Health Organization (WHO) and UN partners have published a compendium of 500 actions to reduce death and diseases driven by environmental risk factors. The publication states that almost 25% of deaths worldwide could be prevented by fully implementing these actions. Along with the WHO, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) created the compendium, which the authors describe as the first resource of its kind, in bringing together expertise from across the UN system to address health and environment. The compendium provides guidance on policies, actions, awareness raising, and capacity building for all major areas of health and environment. It is designed for policymakers, government ministries, local governments, in-country UN personnel, and other decision makers. Each intervention

Ethiopia’s Tigray crisis ‘stain on our conscience’: UN By Al Jazeera English 3 min View Original UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths calls for urgent action to stave off famine in the rebel region of Tigray. The United Nations' Martin Griffiths has asked for more aid access to Ethiopia's war-ravaged Tigray. The crisis in Ethiopia that is pushing the war-scarred Tigray region towards starvation is a “stain on our conscience”, the United Nations humanitarian chief says. Martin Griffiths issued one of the most sharply worded criticisms to date of the worst famine situation in decades, calling on Ethiopia’s incoming new government to lead the country away from “the abyss that it’s peering into”. “People have been eating roots and flowers and plants instead of a normal steady meal,” Griffiths said in an interview with The Associated Press (AP) on Tuesday. Memories of the 1980s famine in Ethiopia, which killed some 1 million people, were still vivid in his mind, “and we fervently

Do you want to work with us for well-being of #Afghan #children ? We are recruiting Education Officer in #Mazar . Afghan nationals, especially women, are eligible! Apply by 5 October 2021! More info: https://t.co/wFSbHmY5YF pic.twitter.com/eXix8V0Mop — UNICEF Afghanistan (@UNICEFAfg) September 28, 2021 Do you want to work with us for well-being of #Afghan #children ? We are recruiting Education Officer in #Mazar . Afghan nationals, especially women, are eligible! Apply by 5 October 2021! More info: https://t.co/wFSbHmY5YF pic.twitter.com/eXix8V0Mop — UNICEF Afghanistan (@UNICEFAfg) September 28, 2021

Evidence Matters – Now more than ever: Results from a review of UNICEF’s evidence on COVID-19 and Child Protection By reliefweb.int 1 min View Original Abstract There is no question that the COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting the lives and rights of children. Early on, the pandemic rapidly sparked research on child protection across the globe. In the barrage of information on COVID-19, evidence is key to understanding children’s situations and to developing the best solutions. This review takes stock of UNICEF’s rapidly evolving evidence base on COVID-19 and child protection and describes what has been learned so far from this evidence base on the impacts of COVID-19 on child protection and the response measures put in place since the pandemic.

UN agencies call for protection measures and a comprehensive regional approach for Haitians on the move By UNHCR unhcr.org 2 min View Original Geneva – The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) call on states to refrain from expelling Haitians without proper assessment of their individual protection needs, to uphold the fundamental human rights of Haitians on the move, and to offer protection mechanisms or other legal stay arrangements for more effective access to regular migration pathways. The four agencies also encourage countries in the Americas to engage in a comprehensive regional approach to ensure the protection of Haitian men, women and children moving throughout the region. The UN and its partners are providing basic assistance to Haitians at various points en route and in Haiti. However, more needs to be done to address their profound vulnerabilities. T

The UN Seek to Repatriate ISIS Kids, Women to Their Home States By Relevance Title albawaba.com 3 min View Original UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said the agency is concerned about the situation of thousands of foreign children and families in detention centers and closed camps in Syria and Iraq. She said the global framework aims to help them. “Some of these children have spent half of their childhood in limbo, with barely any access to education, health care, clean water, or other essential services. Their circumstances may be complex, but the decision to help them is a simple one,” Fore said. “And we have seen that solutions are possible. That is why UNICEF is proud to co-lead this Global Framework — a unique partnership to solve a critical contemporary problem.” Iraq and the Netherlands supported the UN agencies responsible for children and counter-terrorism to launch a global framework to support UN member states willing to repatriate their citizens from Iraq and Syria

 Dear Colleagues, I have bittersweet news to share with you. The Swedish Government has appointed Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, our Deputy Executive Director for Partnerships, as the new Director-General for the Swedish Agency for Civil Contingencies (MSB). Recent events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, climate-related extreme weather events, cyber security threats, and disinformation have made the mandate of this Agency more important than ever before, including in international humanitarian interventions, resilience-building operations and civilian crisis management. We are very sad to see Charlotte leaving UNICEF after three years, during which she has helped to sharpen and deepen our focus on partnerships and successfully led our exceptional resource mobilization and communication efforts. Charlotte also continues to be the brain and engine behind preparations for the Global Forum for Children and Youth (CY21) which will take place from 7 to 9 December, and I am please