Attachments
Highlights
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The emergence and spread of the omicron variant constituted a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Asia; while the omicron peak passed by mid-April, UNICEF continues to monitor developing disease outbreaks incl new COVID variants - and provide response to address negative impact on childrens’ lives.
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Children are disproportionately affected by the rapidly unfolding economic crisis in Sri Lanka. Rising food and fuel prices, frequent power cuts, shortages of life-saving medicine, are impacting the poorest and most marginalized. More than 5.7 million people, including 2.3 million children, require humanitarian assistance, and UNICEF has started support among others in Nutrition, Cash in Emergency and Education services.
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The month of June witnessed a series of natural disasters affecting millions of people in the region, including a 5.9 magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan, and flash floods in north-eastern Bangladesh as well as in the state of Assam, India.
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UNICEF continued to provide life-saving services to the populations affected in Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka: 20,306 people benefitted from access to UNICEF-supported primary healthcare facilities; 160,349 caregivers from infant and young child feeding counselling; 207,602 children and caregivers from mental health and psychosocial support; 1,085,582 children from access to education; UNICEF Regional Office provided timely technical support in emergency preparedness and assisted all country offices affected by various emergencies ensuring response.
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UNICEF thanks donors for contributions that amount to US$4.25 million. With a 74% funding gap, UNICEF is grateful for additional contributions to ensure timely preparedness and response to millions of children in this disaster prone region.
Situation in Numbers
1.8 million children in need of continued learning
814,806 children in need of access to WASH services
1.6 million children under the age of five malnourished
1.7 million children in need of access to primary healthcare
Regional Funding Overview & Partnerships
In 2022, UNICEF Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeal for South Asia Region, including appeals for Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka, requires US$16.1 million to respond to sudden-onset emergencies (e.g., natural disasters, public health emergencies and displacements), protracted conflict with cross-border dimensions, and to ensure preparedness for all forms of disasters and COVID-19 response requirements in the above-mentioned three countries.
UNICEF expresses its sincere gratitude to all public and private donors for their generous contributions, amounting to US$4.25 million (including US$1.74 million carried over from the year of 2021), 26 per cent of the total funding requirement. Nevertheless, a substantial funding gap for UNICEF to fully deliver its humanitarian assistance required under this appeal remains.
Regional Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
Since the emergence and spread of the omicron variant of the COVID-19, the region of South Asia experienced the third wave of the pandemic; sharp upward trends of infection were observed since the early January 2022. The peak of the infection passed in the mid-February, except for Bhutan, where the upward trend continued up to the mid-April. As of 30 June, there have been cumulatively 49,026,898 confirmed COVID-19 cases (of which 48,230,879 have been recovered) and 621,177 deaths in South Asia.
Substantial investment has been made in the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccines by governments and international community in the first half of 2022 in the region. Three countries—Bhutan, Maldives and Bangladesh—have met the global target of 70 per cent of the total population fully vaccinated by the mid-2022. In addition, Nepal has also achieved the same targeted on 10 July and India is expected to achieve it within 2022. Nonetheless, gaps remain in Pakistan, where only 53.9 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated and in Afghanistan, where only 12.7 per cent fully vaccinated. UNICEF continues to work with relevant authorities to support vaccination campaigns.
Children are disproportionately affected by the rapidly unfolding economic crisis in Sri Lanka. Rising food and fuel prices, along with frequent power cuts, shortages of life-saving medicine, are particularly impacting the poorest and most marginalized. More than 5.7 million people, including 2.3 million children5 , require humanitarian assistance. Sri Lanka is among the top ten countries with the highest number of malnourished children and the numbers are expected to rise further. Essential health and WASH services have been severely impacted by stockouts of essential commodities, and access to education and child protection services is severely constrained. Loss and precariousness of income means that children are being exposed to violence and stress, and increased school absenteeism/dropout due to the current crisis could further increase such risks.
In addition, more families are soliciting to institutionalize their children in face of aggravating poverty. In addition, South Asia continued to be affected by recurrent natural disasters and extreme weather conditions. In June, 7.2 million people (including 3.5 million children) were affected by one of the worst floods in north-eastern Bangladesh in the past 122 years. Similarly, as of 26 June, 2.2 million people including 530,000 million children and 790,000 women from 2,542 villages were affected by floods in Assam, India.
On 22 June, a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck south-eastern Afghanistan centred around Paktika and Khost Provinces. Barmal and Gayan districts in Paktika Province as well as Spera in Khost province were the most impacted. The earthquake led to wide-scale destruction in already vulnerable districts. The earthquake affected areas, cut off for decades from development and humanitarian assistance, were already “hotspots” for crisis levels of food insecurity and acute malnutrition with extremely low levels of hygiene/sanitation awareness and limited to no health facilities or schools.