Nepal earthquake: a sleepless night in the aftermath

Displaced families gather in an open field following the earthquake in Nepal. (C)UNICEF Nepal/2015/Rupa Joshi

Last night was a sleepless one for most people in Kathmandu. It was for me. Sleep does not come easily when the earth shakes violently every now and then. Sometimes it starts with a gentle rocking, followed by the strange noises that homes make when an earthquake rolls in.

UNICEF Interviews Dr Anne Lindboe, Norwegian Ombudsman for Children

Photo: UNICEF Viet Nam/2015/Truong Viet Hung

Dr Anne Lindboe is currently serving as the Norwegian Ombudsman for Children. A pediatric specialist in Norway, she was appointed by the Government of Norway as Ombudsman for Children for a six year term in 2012. Norway was the first country in the world to appoint in 1981 the first Ombudsman for Children - an office with statutory powers that seeks to incorporate the Convention on the Rights of the Child into all areas of society.  Dr. Lindboe visited Viet Nam last week to attend the 132nd International Parliamentarian Union Assembly during which she participated in two panel discussions organized by UNICEF and Alive & Thrive on the Convention of the Rights of the Child and the Role of Parliamentarians in the Fulfilment of Children’s Rights to Nutrition and Development. 

Tackling malnutrition and stunting in Viet Nam

Song A Chia was born in Viet Nam's northwest mountainous province of Dien Bien. Like nearly a third of the children in this very poor province, Chia was severely malnourished, weighing less than 5kg by the time he was eight months old.

"When Chia was born, his cleft palate meant he had trouble latching on to the breast. His mother didn't have enough breast milk, explained his father, Son A Phinh." A community health care worker came to check on him and told us he was not gaining enough weight."

Son A Phinh is holding his son Song A Chia, eight months old baby, born cleft palate, malnourished and weighing less than 5kg. They are queuing for their turn during a regular health check in the Commun Health Centre of Viet Nam's northwest mountainous province of Dien Bien. Photo: UNICEF Viet Nam\2014\Truong Viet Hung

Choose handwashing, choose health!

The practice of handwashing with soap tops the international hygiene agenda on October 15, with the celebration of Global Handwashing Day (GHWD). Since its inception in 2008 – which was designated as the International Year of Sanitation by the UN General Assembly – Global Handwashing Day has been echoing and reinforcing the call for improved hygiene practices worldwide.

Good hygiene practices must become a habit, which requires choosing to perform them on a regular basis. People should choose handwashing not only on Global Handwashing Day, but every day. Photo: UNICEF Viet Nam\2014\Truong Viet Hung

UNICEF joint mission reaches out to Dien Bien’s ethnic minority children

Dien Bien is the second poorest province in the country with child poverty rates at 64 percent, twice as high as the national average. Since 2012, UNICEF has focused its activities in Dien Bien to address high rates of maternal and infant mortality, malnutrition and stunting and poor access to education, water and sanitation. With support from the Embassy of Luxembourg for 2012-2016, UNICEF is implementing core health, education, sanitation and protection services that reach out to vulnerable ethnic minority children to improve their overall welfare. This week, UNICEF Representative Mr Youssouf Abdel Jelil, Vice Minister of Health Dr Nguyen Viet Tien and Ms Aurelie Klein from the Luxembourg Embassy in Viet Nam visited remote communes in Dien Bien province to monitor progress of UNICEF-led activities.