XUNICEF News and Views

By Bernt Aasen We used to say the Country Program (CP) is the heart and soul of UNICEF, but not anymore. Today’s CPs are prepared and governed in ways that have reduced them to an instrument to ensure Country Offices have an approved budget. So, what`s the problem? The organization has no heart and soul anymore. There is no clear purpose. No clear comparative advantage to other UN entities and child-focused, international NGOs. There is no engine-room, or narrative, that keeps the organization together and gives it a distinct identity. There is just more money. Most likely, not because UNICEF is getting better, but, simply, because the world became richer. More money makes the organization bigger, but not necessarily, more relevant. The problem is that UNICEF is about to become just another UN organization, just another UN bureaucracy. So, what`s the solution? Well. It is not HQs’ Strategic Plans. They are too diluted, too inclusive, and too general, because in good democratic tradit...

By Rolf Carriere Psychological trauma insidiously interferes with the lives of countless millions—children and adults. Traumas are due to various types of violence, as shown in the Trauma Tree. Traumas invisibly inflict immense suffering and undermine health, development, and peace. If not treated, trauma may last a lifetime. And for many it does. But trauma needs no longer be the life sentence it was throughout most of history. Today effective, scalable treatments exist. Morality, enlightened self-interest, and the duty of care all compel us to make them widely available. Psychological trauma has devastating consequences on individuals, families, and whole communities. It ruins health, inhibits creativity, weakens productivity, harms educability and hampers well-being. It drives violence and that way it limits the space for peace. ‘Hurt people hurt people’, because unresolved trauma may produce anger, fantasies of revenge and lingering resentment that, at any time, could erupt again a...

by Susan Durston I was lucky enough to be part of the launch of Child to Child in 1978, just before the first International year of the Child. The organization, which won the Maurice Pate Award of UNICEF in 1991, was a decade ahead of the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC). Its philosophy and outreach was originally centred on school children helping other children and their communities, especially in low income countries, by relaying health messages to out of school children and their own families. There are several rigorous research projects which have illustrated the efficacy of this approach and which are still replicated today. As the current chair of trustees of Child to Child I am immensely proud of the fact that several large international organisations such as SAVE, Plan and World Vision, partnered with Child to Child in the initial stages of their child participation journeys. There was also a partnership with UNICEF, particularly in the Getting Ready for School prog...

By Peter Greaves From the editors: Peter Greaves passed away on 16th December 2021. Peter had shared the following article for inclusion in our December Quarterly, 2021. To reach a larger audience, we are currently reprinting all articles of the December Quarterly. Children born today will be fighting each other for food and water in 2050 if the COP26 climate summit fails, exhausted delegates in Glasgow were told as the deadline for a deal passed without agreement. But further negotiations finally led to agreement being reached, on a text that, at the insistence of India and China, stated that the use of coal should be phased down, instead of phased out, as the president of the conference had wanted. The Glasgow climate pact retained the strengthened goal of limiting global heating to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels, but was decidedly weak on actions to achieve it. There is only one way: the use of fossil fuels must be stopped altogether. The pact does not name oil and gas specifical...

by Sharad Sapra   The Covid Pandemic exposed the fragility and the vulnerability of community-based public health and social development systems. Services were disrupted, disinformation and rumors through social media challenged the credibility and outreach of formal communication channels. In some cases, innovations and adaptation of existing infrastructure, technology and delivery mechanisms  provided a few breakthroughs which can now be explored further. Some of these breakthroughs and  the lessons learned offer us a unique opportunity to rethink development in a post Covid era and in future  decades which are shared below.  1. Managing Information : We can expect that with the rapidly increasing  access to social media and peer networks globally,  rumours, misinformation and even dangerous lies will be loud and pervasive. The challenge will be to create  and maintain  trusted social media networks and peer network outlets that are in cont...

by Detlef Palm  The world has become a better place, historically speaking. I am not going to join the doomers. It took me quite some effort, but I will not give in to despair. It is in the DNA of the UNICEF profession to see the glass half empty. Because we need a task that gives meaning to our existence. But there will be no apocalypse. The current temporary pandemic aside, this is the greatest time in history to be alive. Two hundred years ago, 85 percent of the world population lived in extreme poverty. Today only 9 percent live in extreme poverty. The average life expectancy around the world has doubled in the same period, to 72. The biggest progress was made in child survival. To correct your misconceptions about the state of world affairs, check upgrade your worldview on Hans Rösling’s Gapminder . Bad news, catastrophes, terrorist attacks, wars and famines tend to make a headline, good news are just statistics. Rest assured: I am neither in denial, nor do I follow conspir...

by Jon Rohde Vaccine hesitancy – this immediate issue is a salient challenge for UNICEF’s role in establishing reliable social media that is widely revered and consulted. If UNICEF can succeed in offsetting the widespread disinformation around vaccines, not only Covid, but now spreading to childhood immunization, that will set the stage for a wider credibility around many more complex issues affecting children the world over. Loss of democracy in countries around the world - political democracy is a critical element needed to assure the Rights of the Child. Freedom of thought and speech, freedom to learn and the rule of law are all essential for children to realise their rights.  Appreciation for the key elements of democracy must be instilled in the very young if they are to defend these rights for all personas as they reach adulthood. UNICEF must not shy away from actively promoting and defending the full range of Rights of the Child that lie at the foundation of a democratic pol...

by Niloufar Pourzand At this moment in time - influenced by the pandemic atmosphere - when I think about the future - what comes to mind first is the changes we are witnessing in terms of reliance on the digital space sometimes to augment and support in person contacts and exchanges but now at times more and more as a replacement for in person interactions and that worries me. When I reflect on my own career and experiences, it was those very in person contacts, exchanges, challenges and pleasures which were amongst the most enriching and memorable. Thus, when thinking about the future - I just hope that our humanity won’t suffer because of this over-reliance on the digital space. I hope that UNICEF remains mindful of this element in its work and working relationships. But beyond the pandemic though this too has been amplified by the events of the past 18 months - what concerns me most about the future is the growing and persistent levels of inequality we are witness to in way too ma...

by Ramesh Shrestha Towards the beginning of the fourth decade of 21st century the United Nations will have some 210 member states as a result of fragmentation of several multi-ethnic countries. Many children in most countries will be able to speak multiple unrelated languages. Children born between 2021 and 2025 would be in their prime age of youth in 2046. They will be among the 9.5 billion people inhabiting the planet Earth. As the global population growth is slowing, the number of children in 2046 will be proportionately small but in absolute terms the number will still be higher compared to the early 21stcentury. They will be largely concentrated in Africa, Middle East and Asia. Here is a typical client of UNICEF in 2046. Considering the positive secular trend in cognitive development, children and youth in 2046 would be a lot smarter than the children born during the early 21st century. Their cognitive skills will be much better than at any time in history. As a result of inter-ge...

by Tom McDermott A wanderer is man from his birth. He was born in a ship On the breast of the river of Time; …. Haply, the river of Time— As it grows,  .... May acquire, if not the calm Of its early mountainous shore, Yet a solemn peace of its own. Matthew Arnold, ‘The Future’ The future does not exist - at least not yet Thinking about, let alone writing, about the future is not easy. The hard fact of age is that for many of us the coming 25 years are merely the leading edge of a future many of us will not see. It is instead a future for our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Only through their ‘present’ does it become our future. Telling the story of our pasts is easier - we can remember - or pretend to remember, each in our own ways - real people, places and events, and weave them into the stories we tell of why we are who we are. The story of our future, on the other hand, is a much harder story to tell. Either we aim too high and paint a rosy picture of a fut...

by Horst Cerni A UNICEF poster featured an African child and the question: “What would you like to be” and her answer: “To Be Alive”. Thinking of the future this is certainly the most basic wish any of us could have. I have five grandchildren ranging from 11 to 22 years old. Their future looks promising, since they have access to basic health care, including all vaccinations, good schooling and opportunities to achieve greatness. Three of the grandchildren, living in New York, have a Philippine mother and they would like to meet her family and their ten cousins. They worry about them. Right now, outside Manila, where they live, only 30% are vaccinated against COVID-19. They also can’t go to school and have to “attend” classes virtually - via Zoom. It’s not good, but at least they’ll get an education. In the remote areas children do not have access to the internet and can only study with books. My grandchildren - and my son and their mother - hope that there is some way they could help....