The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created a global and gendered crisis that is compounding existing inequalities and disproportionately affecting girls and women. Emerging evidence from the COVID-19 crisis in 2020 shows school closures, disruptions in essential services and rising
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poverty contributed to girls’ increased risk of female genital mutilation (FGM). School closures limited the monitoring and reporting of cases of FGM. Rising household monetary poverty may have contributed to families adopting negative coping mechanisms, including having girls undergo FGM as a precursor to marriage to reduce household costs. A report from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates 2 million additional cases of FGM by 2030 due to the pandemic.
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The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the United Nations Children’s
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Fund (UNICEF) have newly developed "Caring for Child Survivors of Sexual Abuse Guidelines" for health and psychosocial providers in humanitarian settings - “CCS Guidelines”. The CCS Guidelines are based on global research and evidence-based field practice, and bring a much-needed fresh and practical approach to helping child survivors, and their families, recover and heal from the oftentimes devastating impacts of sexual abuse. The guidelines walk the reader through the core knowledge, attitude and skill competencies required for service providers to effectively care for children and families affected by sexual abuse. In addition, the guidelines outline how to provide case management and basic psychosocial care for child survivors, as well as best practices for coordinating care.
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Interpersonal violence – in all its forms – has a grave effect on children: Violence undermines children’s future potential; damages their physical, psychological and emotional well-being; and
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in many cases, ends their lives. The report sheds light on the prevalence of different forms of violence against children, with global figures and data from 190 countries. Where relevant, data are disaggregated by age and sex, to provide insights into risk and protective factors.
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Immunizations are an essential health service that protect susceptible individuals from vaccine-preventable diseases (VPD).2 By providing timely immunizations, individuals and communities remain protected and the likelihood of a VPD outbreak decreas
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es
This publication is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish
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Child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) threaten the well-being of millions of girls around the world. Both have existed for generations, as manifestations of gender inequality, and have been propagated by discriminatory norms that devalu
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e girls. In many countries where both child marriage and FGM are common, girls most at risk for each practice tend to share certain characteristics, such as low levels of education, rural residence, and living in poorer households. Yet, there are distinct differences in what drives each practice, and many communities in which one may be common, will not practice the other.
This report seeks to identify the extent to which child marriage and FGM co-exist. The intersection of these two practices – that is, the share of women who underwent FGM and were married in childhood – is reviewed over time, to determine whether girls’ likelihood of experiencing both practices has changed across generations. Lastly, the analysis identifies the characteristics that most commonly distinguish the girls who experience one practice from those who experience both.
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The articles in this compendium elaborate on some of the ideas shared at the symposium. Together, they provide a broad view of the dynamic interactions among physical, sexual and brain development that take place during adolescence. They highlight some of the risks to optimal development – includi
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ng toxic stress, which can interfere with the formation of brain connections, and other vulnerabilities unique to the onset of puberty and independence. They also point to the opportunities for developing interventions that can build on earlier investments in child development – consolidating gains and even offsetting the effects of deficits and traumas experienced earlier in childhood.
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A Joint Statement by the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, the
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United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition and the United Nations Children’s Fund
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Arsenic contaminated tube well water was first detected in Bangladesh in early 1990s. The arsenic comes from naturally arsenic-rich material delivered by the region's river systems, deposited over many years to make up the land of Bangladesh. Arsenic contamination is not caused by tube wells, or by
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irrigation or application of fertilizers.
Today, although 98 per cent of the population uses an improved drinking water source the safe water coverage of Bangladesh is 86 per cent because of arsenic contamination.
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Around the world, more than 2 billion people lack access to safely managed water, sanitation and hygiene services, with conflicts and climate change exacerbating the issue.
Unsafe and insufficient WASH facilities, especially in rural and remote a
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reas, can lead to increased health complications for older people, persons with disabilities and children. They also reinforce cycles of poverty, inequality and deprivation – particularly for women, children and marginalized groups, who are disproportionately impacted by a lack of equitable access to water and sanitation.
Launched on World Water Day, the guidelines address the knowledge gap on ways to practically implement inclusive approaches to WASH infrastructure development, particularly in developing countries and fragile contexts.
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With a focus on Pakistan and Nigeria’s most vulnerable communities, this report provides insight about the role that community push-back is playing in the transmission of the polio virus and how the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) can mitigate these social risks to reach every missed ch
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ild.
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Statistics and Monitoring Section / Policy and Practice
La vaccination est un service de santé essentiel qui protège les sujets sensibles contre les maladies à prévention vaccinale (MPV).2 La vaccination en temps voulu permet aux individus et aux communautés de rester protégés et diminue la probabilité d’une poussée épidémi
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que de MPV.
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Gaps in data covering refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and internally displaced populations are endangering the lives and wellbeing of millions of children on the move, warned five UN and partner agencies today. In 'A call to action: Protecting children on the move starts with better data',
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UNICEF, UNHCR, IOM, Eurostat and OECD together show how crucial data are to understanding the patterns of global migration and developing policies to support vulnerable groups like children.
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Overview
Early Adolescent Skills for Emotions (EASE) is an evidence-based group psychological intervention to help 10–15-year-olds affected by internalizing problems (e.g. stress and symptoms of anxiety, depression) in communities exposed to adversity. Published by the
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World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), EASE aims to support adolescents and their caregivers with skills to reduce distress. The intervention consists of 7 group sessions for adolescents and 3 additional group sessions for their caregivers. It is based on adapted aspects from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and has been designed to be suitable for delivery by trained and supervised non-specialist helpers.
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