Information and stories addressing children.

, ,

Four Steps to Ending Child Marriage

end-child-marriage

Ending the practice of child marriage is an important step in eradicating global poverty and improving global health. Countries that have a high rate of documented child marriages also rank high in infant and maternal mortality as well as perpetual poverty. Here are some key steps to ending the practice:

  1. Transform cultural norms; In many places, child marriages are considered acceptable no matter the age or age difference between prospective spouses.
  2. Establish community-based programs; Often, the groups that are the most effective in combating such issues are already rooted in the affected communities. Such grassroots efforts, when combined with enforced national laws and policies that prohibit child marriage can greatly decrease them.
  3. Increase education; Girls who have access to education are less likely to marry early than those with minimal or no schooling. Even girls who are married, however, should be to encourage their education. This will help to make them more qualified for any economic opportunities that may come their way.
  4. Provide economic opportunity; Many girls enter into marriage at a young age because of the dowry given to their family by their prospective groom. Young women are also sometimes forced into marriage by their families when they can no longer afford to take care of them, or when it appears that the groom’s family will be able to better provide for her. Thus, practices such as micro-lending, savings clubs, and job placement programs can provide other options.

– Samantha Mauney

Source: ICRW
Photo: Sulekha

, , , ,

Kenyan Girls Protected from Cervical Cancer

kenya_girls_students_smiling_cervical_cancer_opt
Every year, approximately 275,000 women lose their lives to cervical cancer. The vast majority of these women live in developing countries where it is difficult to access the necessary healthcare, and where the ability to screen, diagnose and treat the life-threatening cancer is rarely available. However, the fight against cervical cancer in developing countries received an unprecedented boost when the GAVI Alliance announced recently that it had guaranteed a record low price of $4.50 per dose for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines.

For the first time, the GAVI Alliance will make the vaccination available to girls of a school age on a widespread scale, and at an affordable price. The GAVI Alliance has already begun their vaccination program in Kenya where cervical cancer is responsible for the deaths of more Kenyan women than any other cancer. In the past, most of the HPV vaccine programs have only been available in richer countries despite the fact that the need for these programs has always existed in developing countries. Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of the GAVI Alliance, said that through their partnership with WHO and UNICEF, their support for HPV vaccines is “bridging the gap between rich and poor countries, enabling HPV vaccines to reach girls no matter where they live.”

The vaccine is distributed in three doses, and since Kenya has high enrollment rates among girls, schools will become the main centers for the HPV vaccines. With the support of community health workers, the treatment will also be available to girls who are unable to attend school, and who are often at higher risk of contracting the disease.

Seven other sub-Saharan countries will also receive support from the GAVI Alliance in the near future; Ghana, Lao PDR, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Sierra Leone and Tanzania. The GAVI Alliance estimates that by 2020, it will have immunized more than 30 million girls in 40 countries. In these countries, where access to diagnosis and treatment is seldom available, providing a preventative vaccine is the clearly preferred option. This news provides hope to millions of girls and women in developing countries who remain at risk of contracting cervical cancer.

– Chloe Isacke
Source: GAVI Alliance,Impatient Optimists
Photo: WUSC

, , , ,

300,000 Students Mobilize Against Hunger

300,000 Students Mobilize Against Hunger

The Lift-a-Life Foundation’s creation, Lead2Feed, recently announced the winner of its nationwide “World Hunger Leadership Challenge,” in which students from all over the country worked on projects that focused on solving world hunger. The middle and high school students who participated had the chance to receive $25,000 from the Yum! Brands Foundation for their local hunger relief charity. The winners, St. Francis Day School, partnered with a school in Meerut, India, in order to discuss and discover ways to fight hunger in its community. St. Francis students collected canned food and packed sack lunches while the school in India volunteered at a local orphanage.

The Chairman and CEO of Yum! Brands, Inc, David Novak, spoke with hope about the program. “I am inspired by the leadership and creativity that students from around the country used in their projects to fight hunger. Lead2Feed challenges students to think and act like leaders, work with others and set big goals to solve a real problem in our community and world. It is exciting to watch the program develop the next generation of leaders who are passionate about solving hunger.” These students have learned valuable problem-solving skills while being educated about critical global issues like world hunger. Thanks to the program, students will be better equipped to advance local solutions and apply them to a larger global context in the future.

Lead2Feed itself consists of a ten-lesson curriculum on the topic of leadership with the challenge of solving world hunger via service. Goals include working with others, creating a plan to solve local or global hunger issues, and self-awareness. Any middle or high school classroom in the United States can participate, and various projects have been attempted which range from building a race car out of canned food, fundraising, creating cookbooks, to collecting food for local food pantries. By getting youth involved in the issue of global hunger, we are creating a more educated and knowledgeable group of people who can use the skills which can later be utilized to advance the cause of defeating hunger and poverty.

– Sarah Rybak

Source: EON,Lead2Feed
Photo: KSCA

, , ,

Middle School Students Fight Global Hunger

francisstudents
Middle school can be an unforgiving time for young people, but one group of students at St. Francis Episcopal Day School in Texas are using their middle school years to fight global hunger. Under the direction of faculty Debbie Harris, the St. Francis Wolves Against Hunger are making a global difference. The group consists of 7 eighth grade students. They participated in the World Hunger Leadership Challenge, an initiative founded by Lead2Feed with the purpose of promoting leadership among middle school students in the fight against world hunger.  It is important to develop future leaders and foster a spirit of giving back to the community especially during the tough middle school years.

The St. Francis Episcopal Day School was awarded a $25,000 check from the Yum! Brand Foundation for the work the Wolves Against Hunger did in the World Hunger Leadership Challenge.  More than 300,000 students participated from over 1,500 schools and the Yum! Foundation provided close to $250,000 in prize money grants to 140 schools. The grants will support US public charities engaged in hunger relief. The recognition ceremony was shared with another student group located in Utaar Pradesh, India. The students from St. Francis have been in close contact with the students from K.L. International (KLI) in Utaar Pradesh over the last two semesters.  The St. Francis students packed 5,100 sack lunches, collected more than 6,500 cans of food, and packed boxes at a local food back. The KLI students volunteered time at a local orphanage run by Mother Teresa Missionaries of Charity as well as created Project 365 in which at least one hungry person is fed every day of the year.

Harris had heard about the World Hunger Leadership Challenge and entered her students in the hopes of gaining them some recognition for all their hard work. She noted the students participated in events on the weekends in addition to school activities. The program began when Harris organized a campaign for World Water Day in 2012 and came in contact with Jasdeep Lamba, whose father-in-law runs KLI School. They worked together to get a Skype discussion scheduled between the students and faculty of the two schools. The next school year, they arranged for six Skype forums to be held. The forums gave the US students a greater appreciation for hunger and poverty as well as motivated both groups of students to get more involved in their respective communities.

The award money won by St. Francis will be donated to Kids’ Meals Houston, a charity working to feed children under 5. The work done by the KLI students will benefit The Earth Saviours Foundation, a local charity in New Delhi, India.

– Amanda Kloeppel
Source: Indo American News

Haiti Babi: Moms Helping Moms

Haiti_family_orphanage_mom_mother_volunteer_program_babi_opt
When Katlin Jackson volunteered at an orphanage in Haiti, she expected to do a lot of important work.  What she didn’t expect was how her trip inspired Haiti Babi, an organization that aims to keep Haitian children in their homes and out of orphanages.
One in ten children in Haiti lives in an orphanage.  That’s nearly 500,000 kids who don’t live with their parents.  Many of them aren’t even orphaned; their parents just can’t afford to provide for them, so they are removed from their care and placed in orphanages.  As a volunteer, Katlin met and fell in love with one of these “orphans”.  One year old Sterly, like so many residents, had been taken from his parents not because they had died or mistreated him, but because they couldn’t afford a house, food, or basic medical care.
On a second trip to Haiti, Katlin was able to visit Sterly and his family after they had been reunited.  She was able to see firsthand the love in Sterly’s home, and that his parents wanted nothing more than to be able to care for and be with their son.  Katlin left Haiti with her mind made up that a loving family should not be forced apart due to poverty.  So she founded Haiti Babi, an organization that employs Haitian mothers wanting to provide for their children.
Haiti Babi, partnered with Second Mile Ministries in Haiti, enables Haitian moms to earn a reliable income for their family by knitting and crocheting artisan baby blankets.  Mothers around the world have the opportunity to support these women by purchasing their quality, handmade products online.  The sentiment behind the idea: moms helping moms.
So next time you’re in the market for a baby blanket, buy one that can warm your heart; a Haiti Babi blanket, handmade by a mother, doing everything she can for the children she loves.
– Dana Johnson

Source: Haiti Babi

, , , , ,

UN Calls for Implementation of Anti-human Trafficking Treaties

 UN Calls for Implementation of Anti-human Trafficking Treaties
At the UN General Assembly meeting Monday, UN Officials urged those in attendance to continue to work towards “full implementation” of major anti-human trafficking treaties. The treaties are central in the fight against the US$32 billion global human trafficking industry.  Global estimates of those in forced labor, sexual prostitution, and military labor range from 2.4 million to 27 million. Regardless of the numbers, the industry will continue to grow without support and implementation from UN member countries.

Vuk Jeremic, General Assembly president, opened the two day UN conference aimed at improving coordination among nations in the fight against human trafficking.  When talking about stopping the crime of human trafficking and helping victims rebuild their lives, he said “no effort must be spared.”  We must increase our attention to the matter and collaborate to fight against human trafficking.  Increased sensitivity and awareness training for law enforcement, border control, embassy officials, and peacekeepers is one such area where coordination must be improved.

The two-day meeting will also serve to provide an update on the UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons.  The plan was adopted in 2010 and includes measures for integrating the fight against human trafficking into broader programs within the UN as well as increasing development and security globally.  Discussions throughout the meeting built upon the plan and addressed preventing human trafficking, prosecuting offenders, protecting victims, and forming partnerships to fight human trafficking. The Plan also set up the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons. Jeremic requested member countries to provide greater support for the fund.

With almost a third of victims worldwide identified as children, the need for greater collaboration is great. Awareness on the part of government officials, humanitarian organizations, and citizens is necessary to continue in the fight against human trafficking. The UN conference is a huge step in this direction.

– Amanda Kloeppel
 Source: National News Agency of Malaysia
Photo: UN

Pediatric HIV Treatment Must Be Reassessed

hiv children treatment where you live botswana study efavirenz nevirapine medicine
There are over 3 million children that are HIV-positive, with more than 90% of them living in Sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends both efavirenz and nevirapine for first-line pediatric use in resource-limited settings such as sub-Saharan Africa. A recent study compared the first-line treatments for HIV-positive children and was conducted by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, along with colleagues at the Botswana-Baylor Children’s Clinical Centre of Excellence. The study found that initial treatment with efavirenz was more effective than nevirapine in suppressing the virus in children ages 3 to 16, and that nevirapine is less effective than efavirenz. Nevirapine, the less effective drug, is used much more often in countries with a high prevalence of HIV.

The study notes that nevirapine costs less than efavirenz and is more widely available in pediatric formulations, which may explain this disturbing fact. Studies that focused on adult treatment also found efavirenz to be more effective than nevirapine. Conclusively, the study states, “Given this evidence, it is very reasonable to adjust pediatric HIV treatment guidelines…more work should be done to make efavirenz a more financially viable option for children on anti-retroviral therapy in these resource-limited settings.”

– Essee Oruma

Source: allAfrica
Photo: Science Daily

, , ,

Chairman Royce on Human Trafficking

Chairman Royce on Human Trafficking
 “Trafficking in persons is a grievous offense against human dignity that impacts every country on earth, and disproportionately victimizes girls and children.” – Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA)

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Ed Royce opened a hearing on human trafficking on May 7th, 2013. The hearing will discuss local and private sector initiatives to combat human trafficking.  Modern-day slavery, human trafficking is a growing global crime.

One of the things society must wrestle with is how the vulnerable are treated and protected as well as what their responsibility is in coming to the aid of the exploited. Human trafficking exists in every nation worldwide and targets women and children in disproportionate amounts.  Numbers indicate over 20 million victims of forced labor and forced sex work worldwide. However, bigger than the numbers are the faces and stories of the victims, largely children, who have been stripped of their hope, innocence, and youth.

Chairman Royce’s Chief of Staff, Amy Porter, spent time in India and Cambodia serving victims of human trafficking. She recounts girls as young as 3 years old in awful, disgusting situations. Closer to home, it is estimated that 100,000 children in the US are victims of human trafficking.  The Foreign Affairs Committee has worked tirelessly to get human trafficking on the minds of Congress and will continue to work hard to make the issue an urgent and pressing one in the coming weeks and years.

The hearing will look at some of the promising private sector and community partnerships going on worldwide and the implications of those innovative partnerships in eradicating human trafficking. The tools that are being developed and the relationships established on the local, community level may just be the answer to fighting human trafficking worldwide.

Videos of the Question and Answer session as well as the opening statement can be found here.

– Amanda Kloeppel

Source: House Foreign Affairs Committee
Photo: Jewish Journal

Children and their Most Prized Possessions

Italian photographer Gabriele Galimberti spent months traveling the world and captured children at their most vulnerable and innocent. His efforts were compiled into the project Toy Stories which documented children with their toys. For each child, Galimberti had them spread out in a very organized fashion all or some of their prized possessions and then photographed them. The toys even reflected not necessarily the socio-economic situations of each child but their geographical location or family’s occupation.

He also noted their demeanor and interaction with both him and the toys. Children in richer countries, he found, were more possessive with their toys while those from poorer countries were much easier to quickly interact.

But don’t be quick to jump to a pessimistic view that rich children are spoiled and don’t have the decency to appreciate what they have. Though it is true, it seems, that Galimberti’s experience illustrates such a pattern but keep in mind that they are just children. However, what this project shows and will hopefully stir up is a parent’s ability to help their children, no matter how young, to become aware of their luxuries and way of life and how those aren’t the same for everyone.

The notion that children are not able to understand such serious topics is completely unfounded. In fact, their strong sense of curiosity already creates the foundation of fostering care and awareness of poverty related issues, especially when it comes to other children. By starting with them at a young age, we can have a chance at making sure the next generation is internally wired to act and think differently about poverty to help end what perhaps this generation may only come close to doing.

Alessia- Catiglion Fiorentino, Italy

gabriele_galimberti_1

 

Enea- Boulder, Colorado

enea-colorado-1024x1024

 

Chiwa- Mchinji, Malawi

gabriele_galimberti_12

 

Keynor- Cahwita, Costa Rica

gabriele_galimberti_9

 

Bethsaida- Port au Prince, Haiti

gabriele_galimberti_14

 

Taha- Beirut, Lebanon

Taha-Abou-Chellah-Beirut-Lebanon-1024x1024

 

Cun Zi Yi- Chongqing, CHina

gabriele_galimberti_11

 

Pavel- Kiev, Ukraine

gabriele_galimberti_6

 

Maudy- Kalulushi, Zambia

 

Maudy-Sibanda-Zambia-1024x1024

 

Shaira- Mumbai, India

gabriele_galimberti_5

 

Arafa & Aisha- Bububu, Zanzibar

gabriele_galimberti_15

 

Stella- Montecchio, Italy

gabriele_galimberti_4

 

Tangawizi- Keekorok, Kenya

gabriele_galimberti_3

– Deena Dulgerian

Source: feature shoot, gabriele galimberti

, , , , ,

What is Childhood Stunting?

childhood stunting
Childhood stunting effects a massive percentage of the world’s youth. UNICEF estimates that some 39% of children in the developing world are stunted. 40% of children in sub-Saharan Africa are stunted and in East and South Asia, estimates climb as high as 50% of children. The numbers tally in at 209 million stunted children in the developing world.

Childhood stunting is a condition that is defined as height for age below the fifth percentile on a reference growth curve. If, within a given population, substantially more than 5% of an identified child population have heights that are lower than the curve, then it is likely that said population would have a higher-than-expected prevalence of stunting. It measures the nutritional status of children. It is an important indicator of the prevalence of malnutrition or other nutrition-related disorders among an identified population in a given region or area.

Aside from inadequate nutrition, there are several other causes of childhood stunting. These include: chronic or recurrent infections, intestinal parasites, low birth weight, and in rare cases, extreme psychosocial stress without nutritional deficiencies. Several of these factors are influenced by each other. Low birth weight is correlated with nutritional deficiencies, and inadequate nutrition is correlated to chronic or recurrent infections.

One of the serious consequences of stunting is particularly impaired cognitive development.  When a child has inadequate access to food, their body conserves energy by first limiting social activity and cognitive development in the form of apathetic and incurious children. These children may not develop the capacity to adequately learn or play. Then the child’s body will limit the energy available for growth.

Fortunately, studies have found that improvement in diet after age two can restore a child to near-normal mental development. Conversely, malnutrition after age two can be just as damaging as it is before age two. However, it is important to note that once stunting is established, it typically becomes permanent.

The reasons stated above serve as important reminders of why foreign aid and programs aimed at eliminating extreme malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies are so vital. The impact of new legislation focusing on increasing USAID and other foreign aid is substantial. Stunting can be seriously limited through the introduction of increased access to food security in the developing world. Knowledge of the facts surrounding stunting is also an important step in working to combat and eliminate childhood stunting worldwide.

– Caitlin Zusy

Sources: UNICEF, Future of Children