Child Friendly Spaces- A Ray of Hope for flood affected children

By Jawahir Habib

Children are the most vulnerable in the aftermaths of any natural disaster, war or conflicts. In emergencies such as floods children are at a very high risk of water-borne illnesses due to lack of clean water and sanitation. A child may get separated from his parents, may lose friends or siblings. Events such as leaving the home, their schools and living in overcrowded spaces may leave children distressed. These disasters are followed by instability which affects both children and adults and can result in psychological damage to children.

Child Friendly Space Quetta

Estimated more than 8 Million children have been affected in by the floods in Pakistan. UNICEF has built structured safe sites where children meet peers, play, get involved in some informal education, relax and learn skills to deal with the risk they are face. These spaces aim on promoting sense of safety in the children, keeping the children away from dangerous places and protecting the children from exploitation or abuse.

Unicef Balochistan along with its partner organizations has established eight child friendly spaces for IDPs in district Quetta and Sibi. Four of these child friendly spaces are established in Eastern Bypass IDP camp Quetta which hosts more than one fifty families.240 children have joined these child friendly spaces in IDP camp Quetta. These children are provided with a safe and friendly environment to get involved in indoor games, make friends and get involved in more informal education where main focus is on Health education, literacy and numeracy and on life skills.

These child friendly spaces are accessible to both genders, different age groups of children are involved in different activities. Based on the cultural norms boys and girls are provided with separate child friendly spaces. The volunteers working in these child friendly spaces are from the host community and are trained in providing psychosocial support to the children.

Four of these child friendly spaces are established in Sibi mela camp. About 300 children are provided psychosocial support in the CFS, given an opportunity to express and voice their feelings and provided with a sense of safety.

Most of us would worry about what a child may become tomorrow, yet some forget that he is someone today...We at UNICEF keep that in mind while planning for Children affected by emergencies and Child Friendly Spaces established by Child protection UNICEF are an example .Let us join hands and unite for Children of Balochistan affected by the floods.

Saving Children from Measles

By : Jawahir Habib

Measles is a highly-contagious viral infection. It spreads by contact with the infected person through coughing and sneezing. When in close contact one person infected with measles can communicate a disease to 90% of the people who don’t have immunity (i.e. without previous vaccination or previously contracted the disease). The disease can also lead to severe health complications, including pneumonia, encephalitis, severe diarrhea and blindness

 Measles remains one of the leading causes of death among young children globally, despite of the availability of a safe and effective vaccine. According to WHO in 2008 an estimated 164 000 people died from measles– most of them children under the age of five

A child being immunized in IDP Camp Quetta

Measles in a major killer of children in emergencies.In complex emergencies infection rates increase as damage to infrastructure and health services interrupts routine immunization, and overcrowding in residential camps greatly increases the risk of infection. In developing countries, 1-5% of children with measles die from complications of the disease. This death rate may be as high as 25% among people who are displaced, malnourished and have poor access to health care.

Diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, measles malaria and malnutrition are the major killers of children in complex emergencies. Of these diseases, measles is the only condition against which an effective vaccine currently exists

UNICEF Balochistan along with its partners World Health Organization and Department of Health Balochistan is saving children all over the country from measles through immunization. UNICEF focuses its efforts on urgent, structured and coordinated supplementary immunization activities, together with vitamin A supplementation, to reduce measles mortality during and after the flood emergency.

All the children from 6 months to five year old are being immunized against measles in the flood affected districts of Balochistan i.e.Naseerabad,Jafferabad,Kohlu,Barkhan,Sibi and Bolan along with the camps established in other districts for IDPs as in Quetta. Vitamin A supplementation is also being provided to the same age group along with measles vaccination.

The immunization is being carried out at the health facilities and the health camps of the affected districts. Currently to date 05.09.2010 about 48 ,407 children have been immunized in the flood affected districts of Balochistan through efforts by UNICEF and its partners. Nearly 10,000 children have been vaccinated in Naseerabad which is one of the worst affected districts in Balochistan where nearly 127526 people have been affected.

UNICEF along with its partners is working for prevention of disease such as Measles and polio in children of the flood affected areas.