XUNICEF News and Views

Have you ever thought about the terrible impact of COVID-19 on education? @UN Secretary-General @Antonioguterres and @Leogarnier explain to us the pandemic effects and what is the path we should follow. Watch to learn more! #TransformingEducation @UNICEF pic.twitter.com/goe0C0oIgB — Transforming Education Summit (@TransformingEdu) May 31, 2022   Editor's Note: The Transforming Education Summit is scheduled for September 2022. The summit is proposed in 'Our Common Agenda,' as part of the focus on better representing young people and future generations. See  https://transformingeducationsummit.sdg4education2030.org / for more information. 

Dear friends My business partner and pal Paul Hoeffel unearthed this truly inspired and inspiring interview he did with Jim Grant in 1990, just before the historic World Summit for Children. At the time, Paul was deputy editor-in-chief of the UN’s Development Forum newspaper. The questions he asked were strategic and probing and the answers Grant gave were, well, absolutely Grantian. Reading this made me weep for the dismal state of the world today and the absence of leadership like JPG’s. At the same time, it brought home how groundbreaking and bold the World Summit was, a rare moral and political turning point in history. Robert Editor's Note:    Click on the image and click again to zoom and read the text. Or if you are using a smartphone, tap the photo and then expand to a readable size by pinching and pulling the text to a comfortable size.

  Today Ms. Aida Girma, @UNICEFPakRep , is ending her assignment in Pakistan. For four years, she worked tirelessly to help make the country a better place #ForEveryChild . She has worked with @UNICEF for more than three decades. We will never forget her dedication and commitment. pic.twitter.com/g0oquFkUwE — UNICEF Pakistan (@UNICEF_Pakistan) May 30, 2022 Editor's Note:  Aida Girma has served as Representative in Pakistan since early in 2018.   Abdullah Fadil who has until recently been the Representative in Sudan will replace Aida.  

Secretary-General António Guterres expressed concern, over the fall in Overseas Development Assistance (ODA), at a meeting of the UN Chief Executives Board, which brought together the heads of 30 UN agencies, to discuss ways of alleviating the crises holding back economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and boost implementation of the SDGs. The four-month-old Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has triggered a hefty increase in military spending among Western nations and a rise in humanitarian and military assistance to the beleaguered country, is now threatening to undermine the flow of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the world’s poorer nations. In an advance warning of the upcoming cuts, the UN’s Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told a recent meeting of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC): “As Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, I am deeply troubled over recent decisions and proposals to markedly cut Official Development Assistance (O

Great news! Nine Albanian children & their mothers have been repatriated from a Syrian camp. @UNICEF continues to call for the safe reintegration & repatriation of all children in camps & detention centres in northeast #Syria . #EveryDayCounts @UNICEFinSyria @unicefprotects pic.twitter.com/XX1OoU02PY — Bo Viktor Nylund (@bvnylund) May 30, 2022 According to ABC News Kosovo has also repatriated 121 people from Syrian camps Albania's Interior Ministry said Saturday that four Albanian women and nine children, all related to Albanians who joined Islamist extremist groups fighting in Syria and Iraq, have been repatriated from a Syrian camp. The group, which landed at the Pristina Adem Jashari Airport in neighboring Kosovo, was joined by “other Kosovar citizens leaving the hell camps,” the statement said, without disclosing the number. At least one man's blurred face was seen in a video distributed by the ministry. Speaking at the airport, Albanian Interior Minister B

These are not just numbers…. These are lives cut short, dreams shattered…. Each of these children had a story, a family, hopes and aspirations. Nothing justifies killing children read our statement. Juliette Touma 29 May 2022 From Adele Khodr, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa  “Another 14-year-old Palestinian boy was shot and killed in Bethlehem last Friday, the third Palestinian child killed this week alone. “Since the beginning of the year, 13 Palestinian children have been killed in the West Bank - almost double the number compared to last year. “That is 13 lives lost, 13 lives cut short, 13 dreams shattered. “A child is a child, and their right to life must be protected by all parties. “Children should never be targeted. They should never be put in harm’s way or be exposed to violence. “UNICEF reiterates its call to protect all children, at all times, everywhere”.

Highlights In 2021, the second full year of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF worked tirelessly together with partners to protect children’s rights in the face of the mounting impact of COVID-19 and other threats including armed conflict and climate change. UNICEF continued to alleviate the impacts of these crises on children while strengthening national systems to reach the most marginalized, excluded children and communities and to enhance preparedness and resilience in the face of future shocks. This work was possible thanks to strong public, private and civil society partnerships, including across the United Nations system, and voluntary funding. This report outline's UNICEF's key achievements for children and young people in 2021, including: In its role as procurement coordinator for the COVAX Facility, UNICEF led the procurement and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines. In 2021, COVAX delivered 958 million doses (including donated doses) to 144 countries. Providing services to prev

©ILNA 16 Afghan Children Killed in Two Days of Explosions: UNICEF Mohamed Ag Ayoya, the UNICEF representative in Afghanistan, stated in a tweet on Friday, "“In the past two days 16 children were killed in attacks in Kabul & Mazar-e-Sharif and one other in Uruzgan due to unexploded remnants of war. Violence against children should be stopped immediately.“ The UNICEF representative offered condolences to the families of the deceased children and stated that children should not pay the price for conflicts that are unrelated to them. He continued to call for children protection. Mohamed Ag Ayoya made the remarks following a series of explosions in Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif that killed and maimed a lot of children. The UNICEF called the escalation of violence against children in western Kabul schools and educational institutions a disaster that brazenly violated children’s rights. Meanwhile, UNICEF, the UN children's agency, said 1.1 million children this year are expected to s

Here is news from/on Germany that may be of interest to those members who speak German. Kind regards, Gabriele Publication: 30 Jahre UN-Kinderrechtskonvention in Deutschland – Eine Bilanz (The 30th anniversary CRC in Germany: an assessment) This booklet (in German) offers articles by experts on child rights and German policy making. My piece critically examines the shortcomings of SDG implementation in Germany with regard to SDGs addressing poverty and inequality, the climate crisis, health policy, and the right to asylum. David Stewart of UNICEF NY writes on Equitable socieites for children. With forewords by Olaf Scholz, German Chancellor; and Georg Graf Waldersee, Chair, UNICEF NatCom Germany. https://www.unicef.de/informieren/materialien/30-jahre-kinderrechtskonvention/265966 Webinar: Kinder in Krisen (Children in crises) Wednesday 8 June 2022, 18.00 CEST in German Persistent civil conflict and war have resulted in 103 million displaced persons, asylum seekers and refugees. Russia

Welcome to the summary of selected articles that appeared last week on our website xunicefnewsandviews.blogspot.com Our website is a blog where we post new articles every day.  Click here  sign up for a daily email giving short excerpts and links to articles posted each day.  A Window to the Sea  Luis Oliveros Luis Oliveros has captured some remarkable imagery of various spots in Algarve, Portugal . If you are thinking of relocating to this haven which many UN retirees call home, click here to see what awaits you. Luis, an avid photographer and traveler has shared a large collection with XUNICEF. Click here to see his XUNICEF album .  This week  Robert Fuderich  answers our 10 Questions.  Click here to see the answers given by earlier contributors .  Consider sending us your own responses to these questions at xunicef.news.views@gmail.com   Thomas Haettenschwiller chatted with us this week.  Thomas talked to us about his recent retirement, which followed a long career that inclu

  John Skoda  commented on  " Conflict - Which Conflict? : Detlef Palm " 16 hours ago Upon joining UNICEF in 1976, one of the first things I heard was that UNDP had accepted the recommendations (Jackson et al) that it should accept whatever priorities any particular country's planning commission dictated. I feel that any UN agency should be entitled to have its own reason for existence and its policies. How can UNICEF aid children on both sides of civil strife/war, if it's only following the priorities of the government of the day. Way back in time I noticed there were staff in UNICEF that seemed to feel that it should become more like UNDP in adhering more closely to government and local political favorite themes. I felt that would be (or was) a mistake.     Ken Gibbs  commented on  " Conflict - Which Conflict? : Detlef Palm " 16 hours ago I was always under the impression that UNICEF would assist national governments’ priorities where they aligned them