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Monitoring The UN > The UN and Children's Rights Health One of the most tragic realities about the poor health of many of the
world's children is that the principal conditions from which they suffer
are either preventable or treatable. Acute respiratory infections, diarrhea,
measles, malaria, and the general deterioration of health caused by
malnutrition are responsible for the deaths of 70 percent of children
under five years of age. Every year, 11 million children die from "preventable
or easy-to-treat illnesses." Article 3 of The Convention on the
Rights of the Child asserts the obligation of States Parties
(states that have ratified the Convention) to "ensure the child such
protection and care as is necessary for his or her well-being." Article
27 recognizes "the right of every child to a standard of living adequate
for the child's physical … development." Despite the progress that has
been made since the introduction of these and other international agreements,
many children around the world are still denied their health- and nutrition-related
rights. NUTRITION Many of the illnesses affecting children in
war-torn regions result from the general deterioration of health caused
by malnutrition. When a region is beset by armed conflict, many of the
elements necessary for the provision of quality nutrition to children
are disrupted. Even if resources exist, they are often denied to children
and women (who are primarily responsible for feeding children). Because
military groups often loot food supplies, and more generally because
men are often in control of distributing available supplies, women and
children tend to be the most malnourished and the least healthy segment
of the population. Education Breastfeeding Many of the obstacles to good nutrition, including lack of education,
affect mothers of newborns as well as children. When mothers are undernourished,
they are less capable of providing nutrients to their children through
breastfeeding. Successful breastfeeding is also at risk when mothers
experience exhaustion or severe stress, both of which are abundantly
present in conflict situations. Psychological conditions also play a
part: "breastfeeding may be endangered by the mother's loss of confidence
in her ability to produce milk." Finally, whether because of abduction
or internal displacement, young children are often separated from their
mothers for long periods of time; when this disruption occurs, children
are deprived of the nutrients available in their mothers' milk, and
mothers may naturally stop producing milk. For these reasons, the nutrition
of mothers is important to the nutrition of children. Conclusion There are countless obstacles that stand between
many children and their right to enjoy clean water and healthy meals.
Lack of information and poverty affect children in industrialized and
developing nations. Many developing nations are also affected by extreme
poverty and poor governance. In many parts of the world, drought and
the resulting poor agricultural resources are extra burdens that hamper
efforts to provide nutrition to children. When conflict regions are
examined, more obstacles are apparent. These include unfair distribution
of resources, the inability of humanitarian organizations to enter certain
areas, and the need to use human and financial resources for military
efforts rather than agricultural ones. Governments, local non-governmental organizations,
and international non-governmental organizations such as Global
Water, Feed the
Children, and Bread for the
World, have greatly improved the situation of millions of children
around the world by providing clean water systems, food, and education.
In many of the regions where children are most in need of help, however,
conflict disrupts supply routes and stops humanitarian efforts. Nevertheless,
success has been achieved on numerous occasions when all parties involved
in various conflicts declared "days of tranquility" and "corridors of
peace" for the purpose of allowing humanitarian operations to proceed,
thereby defending the rights of children. [(For more on humanitarian
assistance, click here ' Health.Humanitarian
Assistance and the Obstacles Created By Confclit)]
Many diseases that are considered dangers of the past in industrialized
nations, such as tuberculosis (TB) and cholera, can cause widespread
health crises in less-developed countries. Though preventative measures,
cures, and treatments for numerous conditions are available in developed
nations, they are often too expensive or simply unheard of in non-developed
regions. Children are, by nature, the most vulnerable to most diseases;
also, particularly in situations where children are separated from their
families, they may have no access to the treatments and preventative
vaccines available. While TB can usually be combated by a healthy body's natural defences
(rendering the TB germs inactive), in some cases the germs become active
(causing "TB disease" rather than "TB infection".) When proper medications
are accessible, TB disease can be dealt with in a matter of days or
weeks; in many poor countries around the world, however, these medications
are unavailable. Left untreated in a weak body (often weakened by malnutrition),
TB can be fatal. The World Health Organization (WHO)
estimates that half the refugees in the world, many of whom are children,
are infected with tuberculosis. Cholera, which has been virtually eliminated in the United States and
many other industrialized countries since the 1800s, is transmitted
primarily through food and water in regions where there are inadequate
sanitation and sewage treatment systems in place. Cholera, a diarrheal
condition, can be treated easily if the person infected knows what to
do and has access to some basic supplies, including clean water. A rehydration
process to replace the salts and water lost through diarrhea can quickly
cure cholera. In many of the world's regions, however, clean water and
accurate information are not readily available; the result can be a
years-long cholera epidemic. Because of their poor sanitation systems,
refugee camps in Bangladesh, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal, Somalia, and the
Democratic Republic of Congo have been listed by the United Nations
(UN) as locations threatened
by cholera. Measles can serve as a final case study of the severe risks posed by
preventable and/or treatable conditions to children in poorly developed,
and particularly war-torn regions. In developed countries, a simple
and easy home treatment can remedy measles in as little as one week:
drink liquids, and get rest. A vaccine, administered at the ages of
15 months and 12 years, is an extremely reliable method of preventing
measles. Despite the easy, low-cost prevention and treatment measures
available, measles is frequently a fatal condition in the developing
world: during the "height of conflict" in Somalia, over 50 percent of
children's deaths were caused by measles. Tuberculosis, cholera, and measles are just a few of the many preventable,
easy-to-treat illnesses that pose a severe health risk for children
around the world. Largely because of a lack of educational opportunities,
families and communities in developing countries are unable to protect
the rights of children to a healthy physical development. When an area
becomes the site of conflict, the health predicament of children worsens:
hospitals are looted by military troops for supplies, hospital staff
and resources become devoted to helping soldiers (primarily adult males),
and curfews and fear prevent residents from accessing hospitals. HIV/AIDS Approximately 13 million youths between the ages of 15 and 24 are currently infected with HIV/AIDS; with every passing day, another 7000 young people become infected. The devastating impact of this epidemic is not merely felt by children suffering from the disease itself: by the beginning of the twenty-first century, 13.2 million children worldwide had been orphaned by HIV/AIDS. In countries suffering from HIV/AIDS epidemics, economies suffer because of health costs and high mortality rates among members of the workforce. One part of the HIV/AIDS problem revolves around health services with
inadequate funding and equipment. Blood transfusion services without
the benefit of HIV/AIDS screening contribute to the spread of the disease.
A lack of information about how to prevent, recognize, and treat HIV/AIDS
also contributes to the epidemic, as does the stigma of shame surrounding
the disease (which can lead to non-communication and denial.) The commercial sex trade has a significant effect on the spread of
the disease. Tragically, the female sex trade focuses largely on young
girls. Part of the reason for this can be explained by a series of misconceptions
that exist in some developing societies. It is believed that young children
are less likely than older ones to be infected with HIV/AIDS and that
female virginity has curative powers over HIV/AIDS. Thus, adult males
will seek to have sex with young females (and in particular, virgins)
in order to avoid the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. These misconceptions
have tragic repercussions for young females and for the older males
who believe them: children, who are "physically more prone to bleeding,
infection and disease … [and who are] rarely able to negotiate safe
sex," are more likely to contract and pass on the disease, furthering
the epidemic. Because of the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS pandemic (roughly 34 million
people are currently living with HIV/AIDS), seven UN agencies (United
Nations International Children's Fund, United
Nations Development Programme, United
Nations Population Fund, United
Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization, WHO,
World Bank, United
Nations Drug Control Programme) now work together under the
coordination of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS, to promote research of treatments
and cures, and to advocate a better social environment for those living
with HIV/AIDS. Despite the fact that approximately 5 million new people
are infected each year, "world leaders resolved [in their Millennium
Declaration] by 2015 to have halted and begun to reverse the
spread of HIV/AIDS and to provide special assistance to children orphaned
by the disease."
Wherever conflict occurs, humanitarian efforts,
whether delivering food or medicine, are disrupted. Military forces
sometimes block access to those who need assistance (children being
those most dependent on humanitarian aid) in the hopes of achieving
some strategic objective by limiting the ability of their opponents
to get essential resources, such as food and basic medical supplies.
Even in situations where warring parties do not intentionally block
humanitarian organizations, entire regions may simply be too dangerous
for aid workers to enter. With the goals of allowing humanitarian groups
to be more successful in protecting children and in delivering their
aid to those in need, UNICEF has urged opposing forces in conflicts
around the world to avoid targeting civilian institutions such as schools
and hospitals. UNICEF has also advocated protecting children from armed
conflict by asserting that schools are "zones of peace." The following
excerpt from the UN website describes several of the practical results
of aid delivery techniques, such as the "zones of peace" concept.
When political commitment, funding, and medical solutions are available,
great efforts can be made, and great goals achieved, in the fight against
diseases that threaten the right of children to good health. More than
two decades ago, an intensive humanitarian campaign that had lasted
12 years succeeded in eradicating smallpox around the world. Now, the
Global Polio Eradication
Initiative (begun in 1988, led by WHO,
UNICEF, the United
States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Rotary
International) is closer than ever to achieving the second complete
elimination of a disease in history. As in the examples mentioned above,
the ability of health and humanitarian relief organizations to be successful
in conflict countries is due largely to the political will of the parties
involved. In the case of polio, National Immunization Days (NIDs) have
been essential to the successes so far: between 1994 and 1999, two billion
children were immunized during NIDs (in one single day in India, 130
million children were immunized)! Polio has slowly been eliminated from
geographical regions around the world, and now remains in only ten countries:
India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Niger, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia,
Angola, and Egypt. A recent success serves as evidence that, if the
political and financial will exists, even children in areas of conflict
or political tension can be reached by relief organizations: in the
autumn of 2001, despite rising tensions in and around Afghanistan, approximately
35 million children were successfully immunized in two NIDs that focused
on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The near-eradication
of polio and the challenges that still lie ahead are proof of the obstacles
faced by humanitarian organizations (particularly in regions of conflict)
and of the ability of governments and organizations to overcome these
obstacles for the sake of children around the world. World Health Organization Website: Child and adolescent health and
development: http://www.who.int/m/topicgroups/child_adolescent_health_development/en/index.html
Basic Facts About the United Nations (New York: United Nations, 2000)
181. United Nations High Commission for Human Rights: Convention on
the Rights of the Child, Article 3.2: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm
United Nations High Commission for Human Rights: Convention on the
Rights of the Child, Article 27.1: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm
Basic Facts About the United Nations (New York: United Nations, 2000)
181. UN Website: Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, The Impact of
Armed Conflict on Child Development, Health and Nutrition: http://www.un.org/rights/impact.htm#health
Government of Canada's War-Affected Children Website: Canada's Approach
to Human Security: http://www.waraffectedchildren.gc.ca/humansecurity-e.asp
For landmine statistics, consult the UNICEF website on the "Impact
of Armed Conflict on Children" and the AustCare website for landmines
(or, more specifically, the AustCare website for Angola) Columbia University's
"Medical Informatics" Website, affiliated with the Columbia Presbyterian
Medical Center: http://www.cpmc.columbia.edu/tbcpp/
UN Website: Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, The Impact of Armed
Conflict on Child Development, Health and Nutrition: http://www.un.org/rights/impact.htm#health
Ibid. The Nemours Foundation's Website on "KidsHealth": KidsHealth, Parents,
Infections, Bacterial & Viral Infectinos, Rubeola (Measles): http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/measles.html
UN Website: Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, The Impact of Armed
Conflict on Child Development, Health and Nutrition: http://www.un.org/rights/impact.htm#health
UNICEF Press Release: UNICEF Warns: Demand for Child Sex is Linked
to Spread of HIV/AIDS: http://www.unicef.org/newsline/01pr93.html
Ibid. Basic Facts About the United Nations (New York: United Nations, 2000)
183. UN Website: Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, The Impact of
Armed Conflict on Child Development, Health and Nutrition: http://www.un.org/rights/impact.htm#health
UNICEF Press Release: UNICEF Warns: Demand for Child Sex is Linked
to Spread of HIV/AIDS: http://www.unicef.org/newsline/01pr93.html
Ibid. Basic Facts About the United Nations (New York: United Nations, 2000)
167. Ibid. UN Website: Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, The Impact
of Armed Conflict on Child Development, Health and Nutrition: http://www.un.org/rights/impact.htm#health
Basic Facts About the United Nations (New York: United Nations, 2000)
166. UNICEF Website: Polio: http://www.unicef.org/polio/abouteradication.htm
UNICEF Website: Poliio: http://www.unicef.org/polio/
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