Tag:UNICEF

Violence against children emerged as another pressing issue. The committee raised alarms over sexual violence, particularly against boys, gender-based violence, corporal punishment, and online abuse.

As of mid-December, authorities reported 643 deaths and 183 people still missing. More than 107,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, making shelter one of the most urgent needs.

Many experts emphasise the need for conditional cash transfer programmes, improved rural schooling, transportation support for students, and vocational training initiatives to ensure that families are not forced to choose between survival and education.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that floods significantly raise the risk of vector-borne, food-borne and water-borne diseases, urging communities to prevent mosquito bites, ensure food safety and use safe drinking water wherever possible.

The rising child labour rate signals a regression: children are being diverted from education into work, simply because of economic precarity.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement this week that the continued exclusion of girls from classrooms was “a tragic violation of their fundamental rights.” She warned that the ban is denying an entire generation the opportunity to learn and jeopardizing Afghanistan’s future.

The launch, done together with the Ministry of Health and UNICEF in Bhutan,  coincides with UNICEF’s new global child nutrition report, which finds that overweight and obesity are rising fast among children, including in Bhutan.

UNICEF also called for more humanitarian aid and commercial traffic to come in to stabilise the situation and reduce the desperation of the population.