UNICEF and  partners respond to the refugee situation in Maban

By Sid Shrestha

BUNJ, South Sudan, 5 November 2012 - You can hear the heavy rains outside the hospital in Bunj, in Maban County, South Sudan. Inside, Dr. Evan Atar treats 2-year-old Mustapha for severe malnutrition.

“There is no food. I go to buy the food and there is only lentil,” says Mustapha’s father Abdulah Abdulah.

Children at high risk
Malnutrition is a serious challenge in Maban County, which is home to over 100,000 refugees from the Sudan.

Continued conflict and increased food insecurity in the Sudan’s Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states have led to an influx of refugees into South Sudan.

Most refugees travel on foot, many for several months. They cross dangerous conflict zones along back roads that are barely passable from flooding. Along the way, hunger and disease are constant threats, particularly to the most vulnerable refugees – children.

Radwan Al Fahil, 12, recalls, “It took me and my sisters five days to walk to the South Sudanese border, a journey made all the more difficult because we had no footwear.”

Seasonal rains have begun falling across the area, increasing the transmission of disease. Acute diarrhoea has triggered a spike in child mortality and an increase in cases of malaria.

International support

With the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as lead agency, UNICEF and partners are supporting a variety of interventions involving nutrition and health, child protection and education.

At Bunj hospital, the clinic provides emergency treatment for severely malnourished children from both the refugee and host communities. 

“We've been providing basic healthcare services and basic vaccination such as measles, oral polio drops and tetanus,” says Chandra Gilmore, from UNICEF partner the International Medical Corps (IMC). Each day, the IMC vaccinates about 350 children and women of childbearing age at the entry point to Gendrasa camp.

Psychosocial support is also a key component for these children, who have had traumatic experiences. Marte Ricci from non-profit humanitarian aid organization INTERSOS discusses Child Friendly Spaces where children play and learn: “UNICEF is providing us with recreational material and school materials to cover 2,000 children in this space. These Child Friendly Spaces allow children to forget their past, make friends and also get new knowledge.”

UNICEF supplies education materials in order to support education in Maban. Khalda Hasan, a teacher in Black School in the Batil refugee camp, says that the children are eager to learn.

According to Radwan, “School is the best thing about being here. Education is even more important than shoes. I would rather be in class with bare feet than have shoes."

Challenges ahead

Although partners have stepped up the emergency response, the high rate of arrivals, including the sheer volume of vulnerable children, has put a tremendous strain on overall operations.

“Children fleeing the violence in Sudan have faced immense stress, and we are seeing the consequences of it. We have to make sure that children have access to healthcare, education and a protective environment, so that we can enable them to not just survive but thrive in a situation that is so challenging. And for that – increased support and funding is essential,” says UNICEF South Sudan Representative Yasmin Ali Haque.http://www.unicef.org/southsudan/reallives_UNICEF_assists_refugees_in_Maban.htm

Reading Data with Children in an innovative way as part of Africa Statistics Day
- Sid and Lilia
Kigali, Rwanda 26 Nov 2015. Why did the attendance rates in primary schools drop from 90% in 2011 to 88% in 2014?” questioned Phineas, 15 during the recent Reading Data with children event.
His question was prompted by an event organised by UNICEF and the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR). The African Statistics Day has been celebrated each year since 1990 in order to increase awareness about the important role statistics plays in all aspects of social and economic development in Africa. To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the NISR, children –the future of our nation-  were invited to participate in a “reading data” event as part of the African Statistics Day.
Over 50 children, including boys and girls and children with disabilities came from three different districts of Kigali City. Phineas, and his friends were not only able to ask questions to government officials and UNICEF staff but also provide interesting analysis and insights from their perspective.
In order to make data child friendly, NISR and UNICEF translated the data into illustrations. The purpose of the event was to make statistics fun for children and to engage them in discussions concerning different topics relevant to the development of their country. First, children were shown a statistical graph with related illustrations. Then they were given some time to think about it. In all cases, not only did the children immediately grasp the meaning of data presented and provided correct interpretation, they shared their opinions on both negative and positive trends in the development of Rwanda. It was inspiring to see both girls and boys being actively engaged, and children with disabilities sharing their thoughts through a sign language translator.
“In 2000, the mentality that girls should not go to school was still high, but today it has changed. Girls have the same rights as boys”, said Alice, a teenage girl, having read data on the link between mothers’ education and taking care of sick children.
The question on primary school attendance asked by Phineas excited the NISR representative who commended the participant’s attentiveness and courage to ask such a sensitive question.
“I am so happy our children are holding the government accountable for the issues relating to their present and future”, said Dominique Habimana, Director from the National Institute of Statistics and Research.
Following the session, the children were asked to paint pictures on where they see Rwanda in 2030 in line with the goals of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Children express their ideas and vision through painting. Photo: UNICEF Rwanda 2015/Mugabe

Ted Maly, UNICEF Representative, provided words of encouragement to the children during the closing remarks, “I commend your level of enthusiasm and active participation to learn about information on Rwanda and your passion to illustrate that through art. I am very impressed by the creativity I saw this afternoon“.
UNICEF is committed to support these interesting initiatives to promote child participation and learning for the overall objective – to offer children the best start in life.