Highlights

• On 10 March, in Ethiopia, the Government of Sudan and South Sudan agreed on an implementation matrix outlining timelines for the execution of the nine agreements signed in September 2012.

• A formal directive was issued by the Government of South Sudan to facilitate humanitarian assistance, particularly with regard to expediting clearance of relief cargo and removal of taxation on all relief supplies.

• The situation remains volatile in Jonglei State, with more than 23,000 people displaced

By Hiroyuki Saito

Twenty years after she spearheaded a fundraising campaign to build a trauma care centre for children associated with armed forces, beloved celebrity and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Tetsuko Kuroyanagi meets the ‘first child’ of the Totto-chan Centre, South Sudan.

JUBA, South Sudan, 1 April 2013 – It is a shelter of hope and survival she helped build 17 years ago. Since then, it has saved the lives of thousands of children in South Sudan and neighbouring countries.

Global acute malnutrition (GAM) levels for children under-five in Sudan stand at 16.4%, which is above the internationally accepted emergency “critical” threshold of 15%.

WHAT?

• Over 750,000 children are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition in 2013. Currently less than 15% of these children have access to treatment.

• One in three children in Sudan is stunted; over 2 million children are unlikely to ever reach their full potential in terms of physical and intellectual development.

Highlights

 An additional 4 outpatient therapeutic program (OTP) centres were opened in January 2013. UNICEF is currently supporting 450 centers in the Sahel belt of which there are 31 inpatient facilities (IPFs) for treatment of SAM with complications and 419 OTPs for outpatient treatment.

 UNICEF is currently conducted SMART survey in the Sahel Belt Region and Southern Chad; Survey results will be available on March 2013

** Il faut 1,4 milliard de dollars É.-U. maintenant pour les enfants qui vivent dans des situations de crise humanitaire, affirme l’UNICEF**

Significant achievements for children in a challenging year

By Chris Niles

NEW YORK, United States of America, 31 December 2012 – It’s been another challenging year for UNICEF and its partners – responding to a wide range of humanitarian needs under less-than-ideal financial circumstances.

But significant gains have been realized, particularly in the fight against disease and child mortality.

Sometimes soldiers take over a school entirely, but often they use just a part of the school or university and in doing so expose students to attacks and other violence.

Sudanese Children 2011 report, published jointly by the National Council of Child Welfare NCCW and UNICEF Sudan, shows Sudan’s progress in childhood indicators between 2006 and 2010, and outlines specific actions for every state that need to be taken in order to meet remaining challenges.

Sinnar, August 2012. When you ask thirteen-year-old Yaqeen about her dreams, she will consistently mention learning how to read and write. When she was a young child, Yaqeen would walk her sister to school every day and try to enter the classes with her, but the principal and teachers would invariably send her home. There was no place in school for a student with a hearing impairment.

All these years later, Yaqeen has not given up on her dream to pursue an education, but she has also not stopped at that.