PROGRAMME ACTIVITIES
Sub-National Immunisation Days (NIDs)
in RUF areas
Results of the Sub-NIDs conducted in seven districts under RUF control on 16-17 February 2001 indicate that 289,777 children under age 5 were vaccinated against Polio, and that 221,079 of these children received Vitamin A supplements. The coverage attained for Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) was 87% while that for Vitamin A was 74%. UNICEF provided 483,000 doses of OPV, 186,743 Red Capsules, 34,336 Blue Capsules, cash and technical support to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MOH&S) for the Sub-NIDs. 1,100 vaccination teams and 148 supervisors took part in the exercise, which was conducted in collaboration with DHMT, WHO, NGOs, Community Based Organisations and volunteers. The next round of Sub-NIDs is planned for 16 -17 March in the same areas.
Child Protection
UNICEF and 4 of its partners (CCSL, Caritas Makeni, Save the Children Fund (SCF) and GOAL) attended a workshop organised by the NGO 'No Peace Without Justice' (NPWJ) on Accountability Mechanisms for Violations of International Humanitarian Law in Sierra Leone. The objective of the workshop was to determine key aspects of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Special Court, including the participation of the Sierra Leone legal community and NGOs. The contribution of UNICEF and its partners focused on the involvement and protection of children in the TRC and the Special Court.
UNICEF through the Community Education Investment Programme (CEIP) supplied educational materials to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and International Rescue Committee (IRC) as reintegration support to ex-child combatants in schools in the South and East, excluding Daru.
There are 195 children in Interim Care Centes of which the majority (81%) are males and over half of them (101) are demobilised children.
Water and Sanitation
UNICEF provided laboratory equipment for the Water quality labs at the Water Supply Division, Tower Hill. The equipment includes a special kit that can detect cholera bacteria in water. UNICEF also provided a good quantity of reagent to facilitate water quality monitoring exercise. This will serve as a start up for two field labs in Bo and Kenema and the referral lab in Freetown.
UNICEF used the cesspit emptier to empty pit latrines at National Workshop and the Amputee camps.
UNICEF took part in the Inter agency assessment mission in the Koya chiefdom, and attended the WATSAN technical Committee meeting at the Water Supply Division (WSD). This is a fortnightly exercise and is chaired by UNICEF.
Education
UNICEF participated in an inter-agency/multi-sectoral assessment, led by the Ministry of Youth Education and Sports (MYES) in Koya, York, Mountain and Waterloo Rural Districts last week. Others included PLAN International and Christian Children's Fund. The NCRRR and UNOCHA jointly co-ordinated the mission. The findings indicate a resumption of education activities in all of these areas. There is a general lack of teaching/learning materials, as the quantities provided by the Ministry of Youth, Education and Sports are inadequate. Furniture and Watsan facilities are also a major concern in most of the schools visited. A meeting to discuss follow-up action is planned for next week.
UNICEF provided both technical and financial support to the MYES last week to organise a three-day workshop to prepare test items for reading, writing and numeracy. The support was in furtherance of the setting up of a certification mechanism for the Non-Formal Education (NFE) programme. 20 participants drawn from teacher training colleges, schools, providers of literacy classes, the National Research and Curriculum Development Centre and the NFE Division in MYES attended. The certification mechanism is expected to have a positive impact on the quality of the NFE programme.
UNICEF completed the training of 80 Non-Formal Primary Education (NFPE) facilitators (40 in Bo and 40 in Kenema) last week. The newly trained facilitators are now equipped to reach about 2,000 10-14 year old out of school children in the two districts.
UNICEF met with Plan International officials. Plan indicated that current focus was on education in Moyamba District. However, there was a possibility of expanding to Pujehun and Bonthe. Contingency plans have also been drawn up to cater for education emergency needs of returnees from Liberia into Moyamba District.
For more information, visit the UNICEF website at http://www.unicef.org