Background
A year has passed since the start of
NATO action in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and the massive
humanitarian relief effort that followed. The ancient hostilities which
generated last year's intense violence have not abated. Today the struggle
to achieve normalcy and restore hope, particularly for the region's children,
continues. And for UNICEF, which was there at the start of the emergency,
it remains a compelling priority.
UNICEF operates from seven major offices in the Balkan region, including Belgrade, Podgorica, Pristina, Sarajevo, Skopje, Tirana and Zagreb. Its programmes focus on the health, development, protection and general welfare of children and women throughout the region. Following is a summary of UNICEF activities during the past year.
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (excluding Kosovo)
The UNICEF Office remained operational during the NATO campaign. After the NATO campaign, faced with massive internal displacement, UNICEF worked to meet the basic needs of internally displaced persons, as well as affected local children, by providing disinfectant, clothes, shoes and hygiene items. Special attention was paid to education. UNICEF funded the repair of more than 45 schools, provided classroom furniture, teaching aids, school kits and textbooks for some 55,000 internally displaced primary school children.
Both during the NATO action and in its aftermath, in response to the influx of displaced people, UNICEF assumed responsibilities when childcare institutions were largely paralysed. Child care professionals were assisted in coping with burn-out symptoms, while teachers were trained to cope with the demanding post-crisis school environment and provide psychosocial support to some 20,000 children. Full immunization of all internally displaced children was undertaken.
UN-administered province of Kosovo
One million Kosovars were affected by the upheaval, half of them children. Children and women who were exposed to direct violence suffered severe trauma and stress.
As part of its assistance, UNICEF has increased its material and training support for immunization, mother and child healthcare and safe motherhood. The agency has delivered some 60 metric tonnes of medical supplies, including basic health emergency kits, generators and essential drugs. UNICEF also established a Social Welfare team to counsel at-risk pregnant women in five key hospitals.
Disrupted primary education services have been reactivated through emergency rehabilitation of schools. Some 385 school buildings - more than a third of those damaged - have been repaired so far and 97 per cent of children returned to school in time for the new school year in September 1999.
UNICEF managed the caseload of abandoned babies in Pristina Hospital in cooperation with Save the Children. The agency also helped rehabilitate kindergartens, established monitoring systems for disabled children, trained facilitators and care providers, and delivered clothes and toys. UNICEF also counsels child casualties of mine accidents in Pristina hospital.
Albania
Some 3,000 refugees from Kosovo remain in the country. Although there are signs that Albania's economy has improved since last year's conflict, health and social indicators remain relatively poor. An estimated 30,000 young Albanian women are working as prostitutes in Western Europe, many having been forcibly trafficked. Up to 6,000 children may be in hiding as a result of traditional Albanian blood feuds. No separate criminal justice system serves young offenders and 270 minors are currently held in adult jails.
Widespread poverty, crime, violence, environmental degradation and community lethargy all affect children. Nonetheless, UNICEF has helped to carefully re-craft informal children's community services in some of the most vulnerable areas of the country. Timely mobilization of hitherto poorly organized civil society has helped avert epidemics and potential nutritional problems. UNICEF has also helped re-establish a secure, normalized environment for children in a number of primary schools and kindergartens.
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Refugee camps were closed in December 1999 but there remain some 20,000 refugees (of the 250,000 at the height of the crisis) who are living with host families and in ten collective centres.
UNICEF has made normalization a priority in its work with children. In one important and highly effective move, mobile playgroups were established in all camps. Also, 95 per cent of refugee children in camps and 63 per cent in host families were vaccinated. UNICEF set up the largest primary school in Europe in Cegrane camp, enrolling almost 5,000 children. The headmaster and 164 teachers were recruited from among the refugee population.
Today 85 per cent of refugee children of primary school age are enrolled and infrastructure assistance has been provided to numerous education facilities. Some 1 million mine awareness posters and leaflets have been produced and distributed. And 26,000 refugee children and women have received psychosocial support in the form of counselling and group work aimed at helping trauma victims get on with their lives.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
This area's own recovery was complicated by the influx of refugees from the Kosovo crisis. The new flood strained already weak infrastructures, and child services in Bosnia and Herzegovina are still struggling to accommodate the older caseload of IDPs, refugees and socially vulnerable groups. The problem has been exacerbated by a reduction in international aid. In addition, some 24,000 Kosovar refugees remain.
In response to this difficult situation, UNICEF very quickly established immunization for children, provided necessary basic drugs and hygiene items and addressed education and psychosocial needs of refugee children. UNICEF worked closely with its government counterparts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, both at the local and central level, and with local and international NGOs to provide targeted assistance to the most needy.
UNICEF also organized Schools for Pregnant Women in five centres in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where teams of paediatricians, gynaecologists and nurses provided health information and medical assistance to pregnant women and distributed valuable hygiene items.
Croatia
Most of the 6,000 Kosovar refugees hosted by Croatia have returned to Kosovo. UNICEF programmes continue to focus on the plight of children and families in areas of Croatia affected by the 1991-95 wars. With mines littering 11 per cent of the country, landmines awareness among children remains a priority. High levels of stress and trauma among war-affected children are addressed through education and psychosocial programmes. Some 98 per cent of children are enrolled in school. Other key UNICEF programmes focus on promoting healthy lifestyles and children's rights. Recent progress towards democratization offers promising signs of development for children.
UNICEF Plans for Coming Months
Below is a selected list of intended initiatives in the region:
- Programmes for the prevention, control and eradication of measles;
- Surveys relating to the prevention of HIV/AIDS; UNICEF will also run awareness activities for adolescents on the prevention of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS;
- Continued provision of psychosocial assistance to children;
- Continued child media projects to promote child rights issues and provide adequate educational and survival messages;
- Continued work to rehabilitate school buildings and improve the quality of education services; continued distribution of school furniture, teaching aids and school kits, and support to local authorities in the provision of textbooks;
- Continued support of health care services, provision of vaccines, essential drugs and disposable and basic medical supplies, and restoration of the vaccine cold chain; provision of health and hygiene education;
- Support the capacity of social welfare centres to provide social assistance;
- Access to health care services for all. Working in close cooperation with other agencies and partners, UNICEF is strengthening the operational capacity of primary health care facilities and maternity wards to make them baby and mother friendly.
For more information on UNICEF, visit its web site at http://www.unicef.org