PROGRAMME ISSUES
State of the Nation Symposium
The President, Dr. Alhaji Tejan Kabbah, inaugurated the second State of the Nation symposium last week during which each Minister presented their achievements during 2000 and their plans for 2001. The symposium was open to the public and was also broadcast on radio and television. UNICEF’s contribution and support for strengthening and expanding of various activities/programme in the field of Child Protection, Convention on Rights of the Child (CRC), Education, Health & Nutrition, Water & Sanitation and Information Dissemination was recognised and appreciated by the respective Ministers.
On 7 December, the Minister of Finance presented the Government Budget for 2001 to Parliament. In the budget, the Government has prioritized key sector programmes and activities to ensure that the "allocation of resources is optimal for economic growth and poverty reduction." Among the prioritized programmes are the following:
- Provide free medical consultation and drugs to all pregnant and suckling mothers as well as children under the age of five years and free basic primary health care to all school children under the existing school health programme.
- Expansion of current efforts to address the threat of HIV/AIDS through effective education, counselling and other social programmes to increase awareness of communities about the disease.
- Government will continue to provide free education for grades 1-3 during this academic year and will introduce universal free primary education for all children with effect from September 2001.
International Children’s Day of Broadcasting (ICDB)
The International Children’s Day of Broadcasting (ICDB) was successfully celebrated throughout Sierra Leone on Sunday 10th December. The annual event featured child broadcasters expressing their views on various issues and conducting interviews with prominent personalities in the country as well as with fellow children. Among those interviewed by the children were the President, Dr. Ahmed Tejan Kabbah, the Vice President, Dr. Joe Demby, Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs, Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the UNICEF Representative. Questions asked by the child broadcasters ranged from child rights issues, Global Movement for Children, HIV/AIDS, peace and street kids to alleged cases of corruption in Government and the President’s vision for children in the country. Other highlights of the Day were interviews with ex-child combatants and street kids, panel discussions on CRC and HIV/AIDS and phone-in requests involving children. In all, seven radio stations (4 in Freetown and 3 in the provinces) and the state-owned TV station were involved in the ICDB exercise. The theme for this year’s ICDB was "The Effects of HIV/AIDS on Children".
Child Protection
UNICEF supported the training of 70 Social Development Workers (SDWs) in Bo and Kenema districts to upgrade their knowledge on current child protection issues and challenges in the field. The SDWs will now be deployed in different chiefdoms to carry out their role. UNICEF will provide them with a package for their resettlement in their communities. The package will include pots, mattresses, beds, chairs and tables. The SDWs have also been sensitized on tracing, reunification and reintegration issues. The training was conducted by the NGO, Search for Common Ground.
Health and Nutrition
A Message development workshop for awareness creation on Anaemia Prevention and Control has been conducted in Bo. About 30 Participants from folk media, drama groups and the members of district Information, Education, Communication (IEC) teams put together songs, role plays, panel discussions, messages and action plans for the Anaemia Prevention and Control Project in Bo District. The messages have been pre-tested in local communities. The workshop is funded by UNICEF and conducted by Network Movement for Justice and Development.
Water and Sanitation
UNICEF in collaboration with MSF-B provided emergency water supply to 2,000 newly arrived returnees from Conakry. They have been lodged in the Jui Transit Camp.
AFRICARE has rehabilitated 90 traditional wells in Bo and Pujehun Districts with support from UNICEF. Fifteen new wells for schools and Primary Health Units (PHUs) in Kenema have been completed and fitted with hand pumps with funding from UNICEF.
Education
UNICEF has briefed the Education NGO Co-ordination Meeting on the Community Education Investment Programme for re-integrating child ex-combatants into the school system. The initiative has facilitated the enrolment of a number of demobilised ex-child combatants into the formal school system.
UNICEF has held discussions with its partners for emergency preparedness in the education sector, especially in areas that are perceived to be vulnerable.
In a bid to strengthen the Youth Division, UNICEF has held wide-ranging discussions with youth movements in the country. One such movement is the Youth Development Movement (YDM) at Calaba Town. UNICEF is exploring the possibilities for future collaboration with the Movement.
UNICEF supported the training of 40 facilitators and a supervisor for the expansion of the Non-Formal Primary Education (NFPE) programme in Taiama last week. This brings the total of facilitators now trained this year to 276. Meanwhile, UNICEF is distributing planks for the construction of desks and benches for beneficiary communities in the Western Area, Bo and Kenema. Over 12,000 children between the ages of 10 and 14 years will benefit from this initiative.
The Ministry of Youth, Education and Sports (MYES) and UNICEF conducted a joint mission to Lungi to monitor the implementation of the Complimentary Rapid Education for Primary School programme (CREPS). It was found that the supply of school materials had made a positive impact on the children, with enrolments having been increased by as much as 30% in some cases. Irregular payment of teachers' salaries was, however, affecting teachers' morale and hence pupil attendance in some schools.
For more information, visit the UNICEF website at http://www.unicef.org