The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Georgetown University, and the United Nations University have today launched new guidelines to provid
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e the first-ever global policy framework that will help protect, include, and empower children on the move in the context of climate change.
The Guiding Principles for Children on the Move in the Context of Climate Change provides a set of 9 principles that address the unique and layered vulnerabilities of children on the move both internally and across borders as a result of the adverse impacts of climate change. Currently, most child-related migration policies do not consider climate and environmental factors, while most climate change policies overlook the unique needs of children.
The guidelines note that climate change is intersecting with existing environmental, social, political, economic, and demographic conditions contributing to people’s decisions to move. In 2020 alone, nearly 10 million children were displaced in the aftermath of weather-related shocks. With around one billion children – nearly half of the world’s 2.2 billion children – living in 33 countries at high risk of the impacts of climate change, millions more children could be on the move in the coming years.
Developed in collaboration with young climate and migration activists, academics, experts, policymakers, practitioners, and UN agencies, the guiding principles are based on the globally ratified Convention on the Rights of the Child and are further informed by existing operational guidelines and frameworks.
Recommendations for safeguarding the rights and well-being of children regardless of their location or migration status.
The guiding principles provide national and local governments, international organizations and civil society groups with a foundation to build policies that protect children’s rights. The organizations and institutions are calling on governments, local and regional actors, international organizations, and civil society groups to embrace the guiding principles to help protect, include, and empower children on the move in the context of climate change.
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Developmental disabilities are common. Yet, children with developmental disabilities have been neglected in health systems planning and policy provisions for health
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and continue to experience stigmatization, institutionalization, barriers to access health care and inequalities in health and education outcomes.
Using findings from research and practice and guided by the tenets of international human rights conventions, this WHO-UNICEF Global Report on children with developmental disabilities provides principles and approaches to intentionally include the needs and aspirations of children and young people with developmental disabilities in policy, programming and public health monitoring. It makes the case for greater accountability and proposes 10 priority actions to accelerate changes towards inclusive environments and responsive multisectoral care systems for children with developmental disabilities.
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Singing to the Lions is a free training package (facilitator’s guide, supplement and video) by CRS, that is designed to help children and youth l
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essen the impact of violence and abuse in their lives. The main component is a three-day workshop where participants learn skills that can help them transform their lives and no longer feel dominated by fear. Although the workshop is aimed at young people and includes games, art and songs, it can also be used to help adults take action on aspects of their lives that cause fear and, in so doing, become better parents and caregivers.
Singing to the Lions is available in English, French and Spanish, with Arabic and Hindi in process. See the links below. It can be easily adapted to different cultures, with different pictures and metaphors (e.g., “Singing to the Wolves” in Arabic; “Charming the Snakes” in Hindi.)
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The global COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented levels of disruption to education, impacting over 90% of the world’s student population: 1.54 billion children, including 743 million girls. School closures
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and the wider socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 on communities and society also disrupt children’s and young people’s normal support systems, leaving them more vulnerable to illnesses and child protection risks such as physical and humiliating punishment, sexual and gender-based violence, child marriage, child labour, child trafficking and recruitment and use in armed conflict. Girls and other marginalised groups, particularly those in displaced settings, are particularly affected.
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NICE guideline | This guideline covers recognising, assessing and treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children, young
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people and adults. It aims to improve quality of life by reducing symptoms of PTSD such as anxiety, sleep problems and difficulties with concentration. Recommendations also aim to raise awareness of the condition and improve coordination of care.
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“Because we struggle to survive” Child Labour among Refugees of the Syrian Conflict | This study provides pertinent first-hand information on the reality facing Syrian children who are working either in their homeland, the neighbouring countries
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or elsewhere in Europe. Syria's civil war is the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. Hundreds of thousands of people - adults and children alike - have been killed. Two thirds of all Syrians have lost their homes and their livelihoods. Millions of Syrians have been uprooted from their home communities and forced to flee within their country or to neighbouring countries. The consistent spill-over has drawn global attention not just to the humanitarian crisis facing both local communities and national governments but also to the economic and social strain. The bloodshed wreaked by the different parties continues. The suffering deepens. Approximately half of the Syrian refugees and displaced persons are children and young people who suffer from a double-vulnerability: as children and as migrants or refugees.
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The crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated preexisting structural economic inequalities, and had a disproportionate impact on informal workers, especially on women and
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young people, who lost jobs and income. The situation was even more difficult for single-parent households led by women, who also had to endure more housework and care tasks. As shown by various research studies, the asymmetric distribution of care tasks, taken up by women, is an inequality factor.
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Clinical guideline, Methods, Evidence and Recommendations
In this guideline the following is covered: information needs of people with chronic hep
titis B
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and their carers; where children, young people and adults with chronic hepatitis B a-
should be assessed; assessment of liver disease, including the use of non-invasive tests and genotype testing; criteria for offering antiviral treatment; the efficacy, safety and cost effectiveness of currently available treatments; selection of first-line therapy; management of treatment failure or drug resistance; prophylactic treatment during im-
munosuppressive therapy; and monitoring for treatment response
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This document provides a guidance on the importance of consulting with children with disabilities. It provides practical suggestions for consulting with children
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and young people with disabilities in a variety of situations. It aims to equip individuals working on child rights with the knowledge and skills necessary to communicate with children with a variety of disabilities.
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The micronutrient powders will be distributed at the health facilities where instructions on use will be provided by Health Care Providers. Community Health Volunteers will educate, counsel, and mobilize caregivers at the community level to visit he
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alth facilities for nutrition assessment and provision of the micronutrient powders.
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Chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma and
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, kill more than
four million people every year and affect
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hundreds
of millions more. These diseases erode the health
and well-being of the patients and have a negative
impact on families and societies. Women and
children are particularly vulnerable, especially those
in low and middle income countries, where they are
exposed on a daily basis to indoor air pollution from
solid fuels for cooking and heating. In high income
countries, tobacco is the most important risk factor
for chronic respiratory diseases, and in some of
these countries, tobacco use among women and
young people is still increasing.
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“We must not forget that no matter where we are or how old we are, we can all work for life and take action.” Francisco Vera, 15, UNICEF Child Advocate
The Young Climate Activists toolkit was
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created by advocates of all ages who, like you, are deeply concerned about our planet's future. Having faced numerous challenges in advocacy and action, our aim is to provide clear, concise and easily understandable information about global, regional and national climate action. This will equip you for meaningful and informed participation. The toolkit booklets are designed to be read sequentially to build a comprehensive understanding of each topic, though they can also be consulted independently based on your needs.
This is the global volume of the Young Climate Activists Toolkit and is designed to complement the regional toolkits for Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa Region.
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While the world was gripped by the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, children continued to face the same crisis they have for decades: intolerably high mortality rates and vastly inequitable chan
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ces at life. In total, more than 5.0 million children under age 5, including 2.4 million newborns, along with 2.2 million children and youth aged 5 to 24 years – 43 per cent of whom are adolescents – died in 2020. This tragic and massive loss of life, most of which was due to preventable or treatable causes, is a stark reminder of the urgent need to end preventable deaths of children and young people.
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Climate change has important implications for the health and futures of children and young
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people, yet they have little power to limit its harm, making them vulnerable to climate anxiety. This is the first large-scale investigation of climate anxiety in children and young people globally and its relationship with perceived government response.
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Naicker et al. BMC Palliative Care (2016) 15:41 DOI 10.1186/s12904-016-0114-7