UNICEF Estimates 5 Million Children
Have Been Affected; Signs of Trauma and Stress Emerging
The United Nations Children's Fund said
today that as many as 5 million children under the age of 14 may have been
impacted in some way by the earthquake in the Indian state of Gujarat,
including nearly 2.5 million who have been severely impacted - children
who have lost family members, homes, schools, and their sense of security.
The most significant figure is that of severely impacted children. UNICEF estimates that between 1.5 million and 2.5 million children under 14 have been severely impacted. These children lived in areas where the quake damaged or destroyed at least 60% of structures.
In addition, according to a UNICEF field assessment and preliminary figures from the state government, some 15,000 primary schools - half of the pre-quake total - have been damaged or destroyed across Gujarat. Millions of children are affected by this loss of schools.
In the hard hit districts of Jamnagar, Kutch, Rajkot and Surendranagar, more than 1,700 primary schools have been destroyed (55% of the total), leaving approximately 317,000 students without classrooms.
"Children are very vulnerable in this situation," said Maria Calivis, the head of UNICEF's India office. "They are vulnerable to illness, to malnutrition and to trauma, and the safe havens of their daily lives - their homes and schools - have been taken away from them."
Calivis, who returned to Delhi Monday after a three-day tour through the earthquake zone, said getting children back into an educational setting was crucial both to their emotional health and their long-term development. "Both children and teachers have suffered," Calivis said. "Getting back into classrooms - even in tents - will help restore normalcy for everyone. We mustn't wait," she said.
UNICEF's relief program for the next 12 weeks now exceeds $12 million, with an emphasis on education and trauma counselling in addition to family survival, restoration of basic health services, and provision of safe water.
On Monday, the first of 35 UNICEF water tankers began arriving in the worst affected areas to deliver safe water to the drought and quake-stricken region.
In addition to advocating with state officials for the quick establishment of makeshift classrooms, UNICEF will be providing large tents that can be used as schools, health centres, and "child-friendly spaces" - places where children can play in a safe environment while their mothers access basic health and social services. The child-friendly space concept was successfully spearheaded by UNICEF in Kosovo and was a crucial part of the quake-recovery effort in Turkey in 1999.
UNICEF will also be providing "school kits" containing teaching and learning supplies, and will train teachers so they can recognize and address trauma in children. UNICEF is already in advanced discussions with government counterparts and NGO partners on providing training programs in the hardest hit areas.
"We cannot overstate the value of a school in helping a community to recover," Calivis observed. "The first spaces cleared by the bulldozers should be set aside for classrooms."
Note: UNICEF's estimates of children impacted by the 26 January quake are based on damage assessment data and population statistics and patterns. Overlaid on maps, these data create a rough overview of the number of children affected by quake fallout from district to district. A total of nearly 25 million children lived in the State of Gujarat before the quake, representing about half the population.
UNICEF is working closely with the state government of Gujarat, the UN family of agencies, and local and international NGOs in the planning and provision of relief programs. In health, for example, UNICEF is working closely with WHO, while in nutrition its key UN partner is WFP.
The UNICEF relief program of $12.8 million has received voluntary funding support from a number of governments and donor agencies, including the governments of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Italy. Additional support comes from various National Committees for UNICEF, non-profit foundations that raise money and provide advocacy on behalf of UNICEF in the developed nations.
There are many ways you can support these important relief efforts. If you live in the US and wish to make a contribution, visit the US Fund for UNICEF website. If you live outside the US, please see our list of UNICEF National Committees in 37 countries. Or, if your country does not have a UNICEF National Committee, you can make a general contribution through this website at www.supportunicef.org.
For further information, please contact:
Alfred Ironside, UNICEF Media, New York
(212) 326-7261
aironside@unicef.org
Hans Olsen, UNICEF Media, Geneva
(41-22) 909-5517
holsen@unicef.org
Liza Barrie, UNICEF Media, New York
(212) 326-7593
lbarrie@unicef.org