HEADLINES

• The government of Mali established a Dialogue and Reconciliation Commission on 25 April to address security and governance in the North.

• The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted Resolution 2100, approving the establishment of MINUSMA, a 12,640 strong stabilisation force in Mali. The United Nations and humanitarian community are working to determine a path forward regarding integration and humanitarian space.

By Bob Coen

A new report by UNICEF reveals the high prevalence of stunting in children under 5, but also outlines the tremendous opportunities that exist to make it a problem of the past.

A factory in Niamey is transforming the way the Niger responds to the threat of malnutrition. It is also transforming the local economy.

Progress shows that stunting in children can be defeated – UNICEF

DUBLIN, 15 April 2013 – A new UNICEF report issued today offers evidence that real progress is being made in the fight against stunted growth – the hidden face of poverty for 165 million children under the age of five. The report shows that accelerated progress is both possible and necessary.

The long, perilous journey out of Mali exhausted Mariama and all of her children. But for little Ouda, 12 months old, it would prove unbearable.

27 February 2013: UNICEF correspondent Shushan Mebrahtu reports on how UNICEF is helping Malian refugees in the Niger.

By Shushan Mebrahtu

Highlights

1) As of 18 February 2013, figures released by the UNHCR Level 2 registration indicate 33,776 officially recorded refugees in camps, spontaneous sites and urban areas in Niger. This number does not include the 17,000 refugees in Agando and Chinewaren soon to be relocated from Tillia to Tahoua. Thus, so far maintaining the number of refugees at just over 50,000. Since early February, UNHCR, in collaboration with IOM, is carrying out a logistics-intensive operation to relocate refugees from Banibangou to safer sites further away from the border.

New report chronicles the scale-up of UNICEF operations in Mali, a country already struggling from poverty, inadequate education and a weakened health system

Prefacio del Director Ejecutivo

Acción Humanitaria para la Infancia 2013

A primera vista, Fatima aparentaba tener unos 4 o 5 meses. Pero, en realidad, acababa de cumplir su primer año de vida. Estaba entre los 126.000 niños con desnutrición aguda grave tratados en uno de los 425 centros nutricionales establecidos por el Ministerio de Salud de Chad en 2012 como parte de la expansión de la atención en todo el Sahel. Se llegó a cientos de miles de niños con la atención necesaria para salvar sus vidas. Tristemente, no se pudo llegar a otros muchos.

Partnering for the child’s well-being and equity in education

UNESCO, UNICEF and WFP today renew our commitment, and seek additional partners, to improve educational outcomes for the world’s most underserved children through “Nourishing Bodies, Nourishing Minds”, a three-year integrated approach.

Why a renewed partnership?

In the Niger, where more than 80 per cent of the total population live in rural villages, all children are expected to help with family work around the house and in the fields.