Category: Save The Children

Source: Save The Children

PORT-AU-PRINCE, 13 August 2024 – At least 131 children, including babies, have been reported killed or injured in Haiti during violent attacks against their neighbourhoods or clashes between armed groups and the police so far in 2024, Save the Children said.  

According to an analysis of UN verified data, an average of five children a week in the first six months of 2024, have been killed or injured by armed violence in Haiti. However, the true number of child casualties is likely to be much higher.  

While some children were killed or injured by stray bullets, others were reportedly targeted due to their suspected support for rival gangs or the police, according to the UN. Additionally, other children accused of minor offences were lynched and killed by members of the public.  

In June, the UN-approved Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission started deploying security forces to Haiti to tackle the violent armed groups overrunning the country’s capital. Before the MSS deployment, Save the Children joined other aid agencies in warning that security forces will likely encounter children—both civilians and those involved with armed groups—putting children at significant new risks of being caught in the crossfire unless robust child protection measures are in place.  

Chantal Sylvie Imbeault, Save the Children’s Country Director in Haiti, said: 

“We are at a loss for words when it comes to the unimaginable suffering children in Haiti are enduring. Entire neighbourhoods have been burned, kidnappings and sexual assaults are rampant, and children are being directly targeted or caught in the crossfire. 

“Behind these horrifying numbers are real children who have been severely harmed or killed.  And the true extent of this crisis is likely even worse than the verified figures available. Our local partners and staff on the ground have witnessed a heart-wrenching surge in violence against children this year. 

“While the Multinational Security Support mission is a significant development, it may inadvertently bring new risks for children. Immediate and robust child protection measures are crucial to preventing further suffering and safeguarding these vulnerable lives.” 

Save the Children is calling for transparency and assurances from the MSS to ensure the forces have adopted robust child protection measures, undergone pre-deployment training on child safeguarding, prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and gender-based violence, and have comprehensive plans for continued post-deployment rights training.  

Moreover, all security forces deployed in Haiti must fulfil their obligations under international humanitarian law and respect for human rights. The child rights organisation is also calling on UN Security Council members to use their power to end impunity for those responsible for the unlawful recruitment and use of children and other grave violations against children, and on all parties in Haiti to allow immediate, sustained and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief.  

Save the Children has been working in Haiti since 1978, in both urban and rural communities, providing cash assistance so families can buy essentials, and delivering health and nutrition support, and supporting children access quality education.  

ENDS 

Notes to Editor: 

• According to the UN BINUH Q2 report, between April and June, at least 49 children, including babies,  were killed or injured: quarterly_report_on_the_human_rights_situation_in_haiti.pdf (unmissions.org) 
• According to Save the Children’s analysis of the BINHU data, 131 children were recorded killed or injured between January and June 2024, or an average of five children a week.  

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Source: Save The Children

DHAKA, 13 August 2024 – Children need to return to schools and colleges, be protected from violence, and no longer be allowed to work as traffic controllers, said Save the Children as the interim government begins work.  

The child rights organisation is urging the new administration to prioritise the rights and needs of children after weeks of unrest and uncertainty. For the last week, some children and students have stepped in to direct traffic in many cities, filling the void left by police. 

Save the Children in Bangladesh said:  

“Save the Children applauds the children of Bangladesh who have been demanding their rights to a more equitable future and a voice in decisions that affect their lives. We also grieve with the families who lost their loved ones in the recent unrest.   

Many children are receiving treatment for injuries or trying to cope with mental trauma. In addition to urgent medical treatment, we urge that the mental health support needs of all children be addressed as a priority. We also urge the new government to ensure that all children are safe from violence and discrimination and that their rights to quality education and healthcare are upheld.   

While we laud the efforts of children and young people trying to keep others safe, Save the Children is concerned about the health and safety of the children currently managing traffic on roads across the country.  We therefore urge the new government to deploy the police and traffic sergeants in their full capacity. 

Children need security, stability and certainty. They need to be in the classroom, not facing violence or on the streets directing traffic.”   

Save the Children has been working in Bangladesh for more than 50 years. Together with government, civil society organisations and businesses, we respond to major emergencies, deliver development programmes and ensure that children’s voices are heard through our campaigning to build a better future.

ENDS

For further information please contact:  

Rachel Thompson, Regional Media Manager (Asia): rachel.thompson@savethechildren.org  

Amy Sawitta Lefevre, Global Media Manager (Asia): amy.lefevre@savethechildren.org  

Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409   

Source: Save The Children

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, 12 Aug 2024 – Actor Sir Sam Neill, best known for his role in the “Jurassic Park” movies,  is helping bring much-needed support to child refugees supported by Save the Children by putting his collection of unopened, star-signed Jurassic Park figurines up for auction.

Neill, 76, who plays Dr Alan Grant in Stephen Spielberg’s  “Jurassic Park” films, is selling cast-autographed Funko Pops! figurines from various Jurassic Park films through Propstore, one of the world’s leading vendors of entertainment memorabilia.

The auction closes 17 August with all proceeds going to Save the Children’s work supporting children living in refugee camps.

In a video to promote the auction, the New Zealand actor shows each of the items up for grabs for movie buffs everywhere. Funko Pops are small body, big headed vinyl figures of characters from movies, videogames and other pop culture:

“They’re all signed. They’re unopened. No one else has this set in the world. They’re absolutely invaluable. And you will want to go for the auction and get these.

“Look here’s me, rather cruelly with a grey beard and a hat of course… you won’t want to miss out on this, will you?” 

The set includes five unboxed Funko Pops! of No. 39 Park Vehicle, which comes with an Ellie Sattler figure; No. 547 Dr. Ian Malcolm; No. 585 Owen Grady; No. 590 Claire Dearing; and No. 1221 Dr. Alan Grant. Each figure features an autograph by their respective actors – Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Sam Neill, on the plastic windows of the box.

Save the Children New Zealand Chief Executive Heidi Coetzee said:

“Latest figures show that at least 117 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict and persecution, and at a time when half of the world’s refugees are children, Sir Sam’s generous contribution for child refugees is more important than ever.”

Neill’s donation will go towards helping the nearly one million Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, the largest refugee settlement in the world. Save the Children is providing services including primary health care, learning centres and child protection programmes for refugees and the local host community in Cox’s Bazar. 

Neill is the recipient of the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, the Longford Lyell Award, the New Zealand Film Award and the Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actor. He also has three Golden Globe and two Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won the Silver Logie for Most Popular Actor at the 2023 Logies.

Propstore auction listing here.

ENDS

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For further enquiries please contact:

Amie Richardson amie.richardson@scnz.org.nz

Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409

Source: Save The Children

GOMA, 12 August 2024– Newborn babies as young as two weeks old are catching the deadly mpox virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’s overcrowded hospitals, Save the Children said, as global authorities meet to decide if the rapid spread of the virus constitutes a global emergency.

About 15,000 suspected cases have been identified in DRC so far this year which has already surpassed the total number from 2023 [1] and the virus is spreading to other countries in Africa. Authorities, health workers and aid groups are racing against time to curb the spread of the deadly disease in a country already embroiled in a humanitarian crisis and with one of the most fragile healthcare systems in the world.

Both cases and deaths are more prevalent in children than adults, Save the Children said.

The rapid spread of the virus in DRC – which has reportedly about 90% of all cases – is putting a strain on an already fragile health system that is still reeling from past outbreaks of Ebola and COVID-19 and a scarcity of staff and medical supplies. In some health centres around Goma, patient intake is 4,000% higher than their capacity, Save the Children said. 

Jacques, an epidemiologist and mpox expert with a Save the Children partner in South Kivu province, DRC, said:

“The worst case I’ve seen is that of a six-week-old baby who was just two weeks old when he contracted mpox and has now been in our care for four weeks. He got infected because hospital overcrowding meant he and his mother were forced to share a room with someone else who had the virus, which was undiagnosed at the time.

“He had rashes all over his body, his skin was starting to blacken, and he had a high fever. His parents were stunned by his condition and were scared he was dying.”

Children are at higher risk than adults of contracting the virus, also known as Monkeypox, with 70% of DRC’s 14,901 cases in children under 15 [2] [3], and 39% of cases in children under five [4], according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Children in the DRC are also nearly four times more likely to die from mpox than adults, with WHO data showing that the case fatality ratio for children under the age of one is 8.6%, compared to 2.4% in people aged 15 and over. Of the deaths reported by May 2024, 62% were children under 5 years old, the same data shows.

The WHO will meet on Wednesday to discuss whether the mpox outbreak in Africa is a global public health emergency.

The latest mpox variant, clade 1b, was detected in DRC in September 2023 and has now been traced in neighbouring Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and Burundi.

The Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is also considering if the virus’s rapid spread in DRC and across borders constitutes a public health emergency.

Mpox causes fever, rash and lesions all over the body, severe headaches and fatigue. Some children also develop respiratory problems and have difficulty swallowing​, and are at higher risk for secondary bacterial infections.  In severe cases, mpox can lead to sepsis, a life-threatening response to infection that requires immediate specialist medical attention.

Save the Children said the close resemblance of some of the signs and symptoms of mpox to other common childhood illnesses – such as scabies and chickenpox – might be leading to late recognition and treatment, contributing to transmission and worse outcomes due to delayed diagnosis and treatment.

Additionally caregivers have to fight socio-cultural stigma around the virus due to a widespread belief that it is spread only through sexual contact. In fact, the virus can spread by any skin-to-skin contact, airborne contact in proximity – like COVID-19 – and even from contaminated surfaces and objects such as bedding, clothing, and cooking utensils.

Greg Ramm, Save the Children Country Director in DRC, said:

“Children and families in the eastern DRC are in shock. Their lives have already been blighted by years of conflict, displacement, and some of the highest rates of hunger in the world. The health system is already collapsing under the strain of soaring rates of malnutrition, measles and cholera coupled with the residual impacts of past Ebola and COVID-19 outbreaks.

“To add a new deadly virus that is aggressively attacking children to the mix is a cruel stroke of fate. As we’ve seen time and again, it’s the already disadvantaged children who are most at risk. Surrounding Goma in eastern DRC are three IDP camps where some 354,000 children are crammed into tents in unsanitary conditions, with limited access to clean water, healthcare and adequate nutrition. The deadly mpox can zip from tent to tent.

“With the humanitarian response in the country already woefully underfunded [6], this is the critical hour for international donors to step up to curb the spread of this disease, support health services and prevent more deaths of innocent people. We need to see a rapid ramp-up of vaccines and capacity increase to do this locally. We have just a few weeks before children go back to school – we must stop the spread now.”

In DRC, Save the Children is responding to the mpox outbreak in North Kivu and South Kivu through water, sanitation and health services support, including providing PPE and training leaders in engagement, communication, and community alert systems for identifying and reporting suspected cases.

Save the Children is also working with the national government in Burundi on a national response plan to the rising number of infections.

Save the Children has worked in DRC since 1994 to meet humanitarian needs linked to the arrival of refugees and the displacement of populations due to armed conflict in eastern provinces. Save the Children has scaled up its humanitarian response to support existing care systems, training local leaders and communities to prevent and respond to exploitation and abuse, and ensuring access to healthcare through mobile clinics. It is also helping children access basic education by building classrooms, training teachers, and distributing learning materials. 

ENDS

[1] According to data from the national Mpox working group (SGI-Mpox) there have been 14,901 suspected cases with 511 deaths so far in 2024, already surpassing the total number of cases in 2023. The total number of M-pox cases in the DRC in 2023 was 14,626, with 654 deaths, according to data from the national Mpox working group (SGI-Mpox).

[2] CDC Mpox Rapid Risk Assessment (cdc.gov)

[3] According to data from the national Mpox working group (SGI-Mpox) there have been 14,901 suspected cases with 511 deaths so far in 2024, already surpassing the total number of cases in 2023. The total number of M-pox cases in the DRC in 2023 was 14,626, with 654 deaths, according to data from the national Mpox working group (SGI-Mpox).

[4] World Health Organisation Mpox – Democratic Republic of the Congo (who.int)

[5] Rapport de Situation sur l’epidemie de la variole du singe, Sitrep no. 015, WHO Burundi, 8 August 2024

[6] As of mid-June, the UN Humanitarian Response Plan 2024 for DRC was just 26% funded Military Group’s Expansion in Democratic Republic of Congo ‘Carries Very Real Risk of Provoking Wider Regional Conflict’, Mission Head Tells Security Council | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases

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For further enquiries please contact:

Belinda Goldsmith Belinda.goldsmith@savethechildren.org

Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409

Source: Save The Children

Source: Save The Children

Source: Save The Children

GENEVA/LONDON, 7 August 2024 – After two months of no contact, CARE International, Oxfam and Save the Children are repeating their calls for immediate access to staff detained by authorities in northern Yemen and call for their immediate and unconditional release. 

At least 18 staff members of UN entities and International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) and many others associated with civil society organisations, national and international NGOs, and other entities supporting humanitarian activities, were taken into detention two months ago.  

The whereabouts of the detained staff remain unknown, and neither their families nor the organisations have been able to speak to them or see them. Some of those detained have pre-existing medical conditions.  

These kinds of detentions are unprecedented and directly impede the organisations’ ability to reach 18.2 million people in Yemen who need humanitarian aid and protection, which is about half the population and includes 14 million women and children.  

All detained staff members were working as part of the agencies’ life-saving responses to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises which continues to deteriorate after almost a decade of conflict. An uptick in violence and severe weather events have seen further displacement of 75,600 people since the beginning of 2024. Yemen continues to have one of the world’s highest numbers of internally displaced people – at least 4.5 million people – many of whom have been displaced multiple times.    

The three INGOs said in a joint statement: 

“We are extremely concerned for the wellbeing of our colleagues who have now been held in detention for almost two months. We have had no contact with them and we still do not know where they are held despite repeated calls to authorities. Their families have also been kept in the dark. We call for access to our colleagues and their immediate release.  

“Every day the situation for millions of Yemenis gets worse due to the collision of conflict and displacement, protection concerns, climate change, and economic deterioration. It is vital that our teams have unhindered access and the ability to carry out their duties without the threat of arbitrary arrest and intimidation so that they can make a positive impact on the lives of the people of Yemen. As humanitarian agencies, we have been supporting communities in Yemen for many decades preceding the latest conflict that began in 2015. Our commitment and engagement have been longstanding and we remain determined to address the humanitarian needs of Yemenis. Increasing restrictions and threats against the safety of humanitarian aid workers will impact the community members who have suffered the brunt of this conflict. We remind authorities in northern Yemen that humanitarian organisations and aid workers operate in line with the humanitarian principles of independence, neutrality, impartiality and humanity 

“International Humanitarian Law requires all parties to armed conflict to respect and protect humanitarian personnel, including against harassment, mistreatment, and unlawful arrest or detention. More  broadly, the targeting of humanitarian, human rights, and development workers in Yemen must stop. All those detained must be immediately released.”  

CARE International has been present in Yemen since 1992 and operates across 14 governorates. Last year, CARE reached approximately 2.8 million people with food security and livelihoods, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), reproductive health, women’s economic empowerment, and education programmes. 

Oxfam has been working in Yemen for more than 40 years and maintains an impartial approach to ensure delivery of humanitarian assistance to those most in need including in hard-to-reach areas of the country. Since July 2015, Oxfam has helped more than three million people in nine governorates of Yemen with clean water and sanitation, cash assistance and food vouchers. 

Save the Children, an independent and impartial child rights organisation, has been working Yemen since 1963 and is currently active in 11 governorates, focusing on food security, health, nutrition, child protection, education, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) initiatives. Last year Save the Children reached about 2.3. million people in Yemen.   

ENDS 

For Media Inquiries please contact: 

David Moore, Humanitarian Communications Coordinator, CARE International – Email: dmoore@careinternational.org 

Belinda Goldsmith, Director of Global Media Unit, Save the Children International: belinda.goldsmith@savethechildren.org 

Tricia O’Rourke, Head of News, Oxfam GB: Email torouke1@oxfam.org.uk

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Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409

Please also check our Twitter account @Save_GlobalNews for news alerts, quotes, statements and location Vlogs.

Source: Save The Children

Source: Save The Children

Source: Save The Children

Emergency Health Unit Nurse Becky Platt attends to Ahmed* (10) at a hospital in the Gaza Strip. Sacha Myers / Save the Children

Becky Platt is a British paediatric nurse from The Royal London Hospital and a senior lecturer in Paediatric Emergency Medicine at Queen Mary University in London. She has recently returned from a deployment in a field hospital in Gaza for Save the Children, where she treated severely injured children for over a month. She has also been recognised for her overseas humanitarian work with a British Empire Medal in 2021. 

{cta | The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. Children have nowhere safe to go. Your support is urgently needed. | https://donate.savethechildren.org/en/donate/children-crisis-donate-child-emergency-fund| Donate now}

“When I first arrived in Gaza, I was completely blown away by what I saw. I thought I had been prepared for it by watching the news and looking at photos and so on. But nothing prepares you for what it’s actually like to be in Gaza. There were decimated buildings all around me and rubble everywhere. Multiple children were crawling over that on their own, hunting through the piles of rubbish, finding things to eat. It’s really difficult to get hold of anything at all in Gaza.  

One of the things that we really, really needed was stronger pain relief for children. We had paracetamol and ibuprofen that you might take for a headache, but we were using that to treat the pain of children who’d had their limbs blown off. I think that’s when it really hit. It’s just not fair. It is not fair that we’ve got children with devastating injuries who don’t have access to pain relief. 

One of the children that I met while I was there was a young lady. She’s 13 years old and was sheltering in her aunt’s home when the house got bombed. She lost several of her brothers and her right leg in that blast. Eventually she got out and she was taken to al-Shifa hospital. While she was there, the hospital was also bombed, so the wounds became infected, and she was moved to the field hospital where I was working. She was in agony; she couldn’t look at her stump or touch it. It was just too distressing for her.  

Save the Children’s paediatric nurse, Becky, provides Solave* (13) with pain relief while her leg wounds are cleaned and bandaged at a fiel hospital run by our Emergency Health Unit in Gaza. Sacha Myers / Save the Children

In Gaza, I saw multiple children who’d been injured in bomb blasts. Many of these children had lost one or more limbs. It just feels like your hands are tied when you can’t do what could easily be done at home or in another context.  

One story that gave me hope while I was there was the first baby born in the maternity field hospital. Little girl, we’ll call her Lana. She was absolutely gorgeous and it brought a huge amount of joy to the whole of the field hospital. 

She was a great morale booster. I think we knew that the maternity hospital was very much needed because there’s such a young population in Gaza and the multiple pregnant women who need to deliver. 

Eileen* (49) holds her one-day-old granddaughter Lana* at a Save the Children maternity unit, Gaza. Sacha Myers / Save the Children

Children are different in the way that they sustain injuries during conflict. So, it’s really important that people who are looking after children are specialists in looking after children. They need to be able to manage blood loss and tourniquet application, and to be able to do the kind of damage control trauma surgery that is required in that setting.  

We drove past shelters where people had made some kind of home out of pieces of wood, maybe pieces of fabric, occasionally a piece of carpet or tarpaulin to just provide some kind of shelter. 

There’s no floor – people are living on the dirt or the sand. Children don’t have a bed to sleep in. Most of them don’t have a cover over them. Children don’t have access to a reliable source of nutrition. We saw people eating very basic food in very short supply. Children have not been in education since October. Save the Children are doing a lot to address those needs, but there’s so much more to be done. 

The psychological distress that I witnessed among children and young people is like nothing I’d ever seen before. They need a huge amount of mental health support. These children have had their lives completely changed. Life today is unrecognisable from what it was before. Every day you hear bombs falling and machinegun fire. Often you can feel it because the ground shakes, particularly in the evening and overnight. Bombs were coming over and those moments were terrifying.  

I’ve worked in several other humanitarian contexts, and I’ve also deployed to Ukraine, which was another conflict zone. But Gaza was like nothing I’ve ever seen before, both in terms of healthcare needs and in terms of the whole humanitarian context. Seeing homes and landscapes completely devastated and just the absolute level of human suffering and need was absolutely mind blowing. 

It’s very easy to be overwhelmed by the numbers when we watch the news or read about what’s happening in Gaza. Remember that each one of those numbers is one person, a child who has been forever changed by what’s happened. Then multiply that one child by thousands. That’s the work that needs to be done.”