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	World failing to provide children with a healthy life and a climate fit for their future by WHO-UNICEF-Lancet Commission   No single country is adequately protecting children's health, their environment and their futures, finds a landmark report released by a Commission of over 40 child and adolescent health experts from around the world. The Commission was convened by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and The Lancet.   The report, A Future for the World's Children?, finds that the health and future of every child and adolescent worldwide is under immediate threat from ecological degradation, climate change and exploitative marketing practices that push heavily processed fast food, sugary drinks, alcohol and tobacco at children.   'Despite improvements in child and adolescent health over the past 20 years, progress has stalled, and is set to reverse', said former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Co-Chair of the Commission, Helen Clark.   It has been estimated that around 250 million children under five years old in low- and middle-income countries are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential, based on proxy measures of stunting and poverty. But of even greater concern, every child worldwide now faces existential threats from climate change and commercial pressures.   'Countries need to overhaul their approach to child and adolescent health, to ensure that we not only look after our children today but protect the world they will inherit in the future', Clark added.   Intensifying climate change threatens every child's future   The report includes a new global index of 180 countries, comparing performance on child flourishing, including measures of child survival and well-being, such as health, education, and nutrition; sustainability, with a proxy for greenhouse gas emissions, and equity, or income gaps.   According to the report, while the poorest countries need to do more to support their children's ability to live healthy lives, excessive carbon emissions disproportionately from wealthier countries threaten the future of all children.   If global warming exceeds 4C by the year 2100 in line with current projections, this would lead to devastating health consequences for children, due to rising ocean levels, heatwaves, proliferation of diseases like malaria and dengue, and malnutrition.   The index shows that children in Norway, the Republic of Korea, and the Netherlands have the best chance at survival and well-being, while children in Central African Republic, Chad, Somalia, Niger and Mali face the worst odds.   However, when authors took per capita CO2 emissions into account, the top countries trail behind: Norway ranked 156, the Republic of Korea 166, and the Netherlands 160. Each of the three emits 210% more CO2 per capita than their 2030 target. The United States of America (USA), Australia, and Saudi Arabia are among the ten worst emitters.   'More than 2 billion people live in countries where development is hampered by humanitarian crises, conflicts, and natural disasters, problems increasingly linked with climate change', said Minister Awa Coll-Seck from Senegal, Co-Chair of the Commission.   'While some of the poorest countries have among the lowest CO2 emissions, many are exposed to the harshest impacts of a rapidly changing climate. Promoting better conditions today for children to survive and thrive nationally does not have to come at the cost of eroding children's futures globally'.   The only countries on track to beat CO2 emission per capita targets by 2030, while also performing fairly (within the top 70) on child flourishing measures are: Albania, Armenia, Grenada, Jordan, Moldova, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Uruguay and Viet Nam.   Harmful commercial marketing preys on children - with childhood obesity increasing 11-fold   The report also highlights the distinct threat posed to children from harmful marketing. Evidence suggests that children in some countries see as many as 30,000 advertisements on television alone in a single year, while youth exposure to vaping (e-cigarettes) advertisements increased by more than 250% in the USA over two years, reaching more than 24 million young people.   Professor Anthony Costello, one of the Commission's authors, said: 'Industry self-regulation has failed. Studies in Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and the USA among many others have shown that self-regulation has not hampered commercial ability to advertise to children.   For example, despite industry signing up to self-regulation in Australia, children and adolescent viewers were still exposed to 51 million alcohol ads during just one year of televised football, cricket and rugby. And the reality could be much worse still: we have few facts and figures about the huge expansion of social media advertising and algorithms aimed at our children.   Children's exposure to commercial marketing of junk food and sugary beverages is associated with purchase of unhealthy foods and overweight and obesity, linking predatory marketing to the alarming rise in childhood obesity. The number of obese children and adolescents increased from 11 million in 1975 to 124 million in 2016 - an 11-fold increase, with dire individual and societal costs.   A manifesto for immediate action on child and adolescent health   To protect children, the independent Commission authors call for a new global movement driven by and for children. Specific recommendations include:   1. Stop CO2 emissions with the utmost urgency, to ensure children have a future on this planet;   2. Place children and adolescents at the centre of our efforts to achieve sustainable development;   3. New policies and investment in all sectors to work towards child health and rights;   4. Incorporate children's voices into policy decisions;   5. Tighten national regulation of harmful commercial marketing, supported by a new Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.   Dr. Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet family of journals, said: 'The opportunity is great. The evidence is available. The tools are at hand. From heads-of-state to local government, from UN leaders to children themselves, this Commission calls for the birth of a new era for child and adolescent health. It will take courage and commitment to deliver. It is the supreme test of our generation'.   'From the climate crisis to obesity and harmful commercial marketing, children around the world are having to contend with threats that were unimaginable just a few generations ago', said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. 'It is time for a rethink on child health, one which places children at the top of every government's development agenda and puts their well-being above all considerations'.   'This report shows that the world's decision makers are, too often, failing today's children and youth: failing to protect their health, failing to protect their rights, and failing to protect their planet', Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization said.   'This must be a wakeup call for countries to invest in child health and development, ensure their voices are heard, protect their rights, and build a future that is fit for children'.   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/world-failing-provide-children-healthy-life-and-climate-fit-their-future-who-unicef http://www.thelancet.com/commissions/future-child http://www.lancetcountdown.org/2019-report/ http://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/
	The urgent need to protect children living through conflict by Save the Children, UNICEF, agencies   Save the Children has launched a Charter setting out key points to ensure that children are protected during conflicts. The charter forms the basis for a safer future for the 420 million children currently living in conflict-affected areas.   Children in conflict face severe and multiple violations of their rights, like killing and maiming, sexual violence, recruitment and obstruction of humanitarian aid.   The Charter, was presented at the launch of the Stop the War on Children campaign, outlines what states and armed groups can and must do to ensure children are protected from war and supported in their recovery.   Worldwide, around one in five children live in conflict affected areas, where they run the risk of being killed or maimed, abducted, or see their schools and hospitals bombed. Violations against children have nearly tripled since 2010.   In its report on paedeiatric blast injuries, Save the Children revealed that explosive weapons account for 72% of child deaths and injuries across the five world's deadliest conflict zones in 2017.   United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said:   'It is absolutely critical to have this discussion now, as millions of children suffer in conflict every day. The rights and well-being of children - including in conflict - should be a priority for all of us, and we need stronger and more consistent systems to hold to account the perpetrators of crimes.   The ten points are an important reminder to all governments of the commitments they have made to children's rights. They reinforce the work being undertaken by many organisations to protect children in conflict situations.'   The Stop the War on Children Charter is based on three pillars: providing safety by making sure that parties to any conflict adhere to international law and standards, pursuing justice by holding perpetrators to account and taking measures on the ground to ensure children receive all practical help they need.   Save the Children International CEO Helle Thorning-Schmidt, said: '1 in 5 children are now growing up in areas affected by conflict, and those children are seeing and experiencing things that no child ever should. Homes, schools and playgrounds have become battlefields, and children end up trapped on the frontline. Explosive weapons kill and maim children indiscriminately, and aid is used as a weapon of war.   The world seems to be accepting an outrageous new normal of the conventions of war being treated with flagrant disregard, and children are paying the price. It is shocking that in the 21st Century we are retreating on a principle that is so simple - children should be protected.   The failure to protect children in conflict not only robs children, but also their countries and the entire world of a better future. All governments and warring parties can make a difference by backing up the charter to protect children in conflict'.   Joint Statement, The Hague, Peace Palace:   Some 420 million children are living in conflict-affected areas across the globe. Almost one in five children run a daily risk of being killed or maimed by armed violence, they live in the fear of being abducted, sexually abused or recruited by armed forces, they regularly witness their schools or hospitals being bombed or go hungry and uncared for because humanitarian aid is denied to them.   What is being done to children in conflicts all over the world, is unacceptable.   We call on every government and every armed group to affirm and adhere to international laws, human rights provisions, rules and standards designed to protect children. Individually and collectively, we are committed to working towards a world in which:   All children are protected against killing and maiming. Schools and health centres are treated as zones of peace and protection. Every child is protected from rape and sexual violence. No child is recruited into armed forces or groups. All children in conflict are safe from abduction, detention and displacement. No child is denied access to humanitarian aid in conflict.   Violations of the rights of children in conflict are rigorously monitored, reported and acted on. Those committing, overseeing and ordering violations against children in conflict are brought to justice and held accountable for their actions.   Every child harmed or affected by conflict receives practical help and support to cope, recover and rebuild their lives. All children affected by conflict, including refugees and those internally displaced, have access to a good-quality education.   http://www.stopwaronchildren.org/ http://www.stopwaronchildren.org/reports/   More than 29 million babies were born into conflict-affected areas in 2018, UNICEF said today.   Armed violence across countries including Afghanistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen meant that, throughout last year, more than 1 in 5 babies globally spent their earliest moments in communities affected by the chaos of conflict, often in deeply unsafe, and highly stressful environments.   'Every parent should be able to cherish their baby's first moments, but for the millions of families living through conflict, the reality is far bleaker', said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.   "In countries around the world, violent conflict has severely limited access to essential services for parents and their babies.   Millions of families lack access to nutritious food, safe water, sanitation, or a secure and healthy environment to grow and bond. Along with the immediate, obvious dangers, the long-term impacts of such a start in life are potentially catastrophic."   When young children experience prolonged or repeated adverse and traumatic events, the brain's stress management system is activated without relief causingtoxic stress. Over time, stress chemicals break down existing neural connections and inhibit new ones from forming, leading to lasting consequences for children's learning, behaviour, and physical and mental health.   Examples of the impact of conflict on babies and young children - given by UNICEF staff working in conflict zones include:   'Some of the young children we see shake with fear, uncontrollably, for hours on end. They don't sleep. You can hear them whimpering, it's not a usual cry but a cold, weak whimper. Others are so malnourished and traumatized they detach emotionally from the world and people around them, causing them to become vacant and making it impossible for them to interact with their families', UNICEF worker in Yemen.   'My son, five-year-old Heraab, finds himself in a community where he is constantly exposed to the sounds of explosions, smell of smoke, accompanied by the regular shrieking of sirens, be it police or ambulance, or the persistent honking of cars and motorbikes rushing the injured to hospital. He shudders and wakes up at night if a truck passes by with speed, sometimes shaking the windows of our house, thinking it must be another attack', UNICEF worker in Afghanistan.   'Some of the children are scared and look very anxious, others are very aggressive. They are frightened of visitors and flee when they see visiting vehicles coming. The cars remind them of fighting, war weaponry they need to flee from', UNICEF worker in Somalia.   'I've travelled to the hardest to reach areas of South Sudan to help provide humanitarian assistance to children who have been forced to flee their villages because of violence. With no basic services, no health facilities, poor sanitation, no food, and deep-set trauma, families struggle to survive. I see despair in the eyes of the children I meet. The conflict has taken away their childhood', UNICEF worker in South Sudan.   This year marks the 30th anniversary of the landmark Convention on the Rights of the Child, in which, among other things, governments pledged to protect and care for children affected by conflict.   Yet today, more countries are embroiled in internal or international conflict than at any other time in the past three decades, threatening the safety and wellbeing of millions of children. Hospitals, health centres and child-friendly spaces - all of which provide critical services to parents and babies - have come under attack in conflicts around the world in recent years.   Providing safe spaces for families and their young children living through conflict - where children can use play and early learning as outlets for some of the trauma they have experienced; and providing psychosocial support to children and their families are critical parts of UNICEF's humanitarian response.   When caregivers are given the support they need to cope with and process trauma, they have the best possible chance of providing their young children with the nurturing care needed for healthy brain development - acting as a 'buffer' from the chaos around them.   'Parents who interact with their babies can help shield them from the negative neurological effects of conflict. Yet, in times of conflict, parents are frequently overwhelmed', said Fore. Ultimately what these families need is peace, but until then they desperately need more support to help them and their children cope with the devastation they face - 29 million new lives and futures depend on it.   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/29-million-babies-born-conflict-2018 http://www.savethechildren.net/article/save-children-calls-perpetrators-violations-against-children-conflict-zones-across-world-be http://www.savethechildren.net/article/three-four-child-casualties-world-s-deadliest-conflicts-caused-explosive-weapons http://watchlist.org/wp-content/uploads/open-letter-to-sg-guterres-on-caac-20190524-final.pdf http://reliefweb.int/report/world/education-suffered-over-14000-armed-attacks-last-5-years http://www.hrw.org/news/2019/05/27/countries-act-protect-schools-wartime http://theirworld.org/news/safe-schools-conference-action-to-protect-education-from-attack http://www.unicef.org/education-under-attack http://www.unicef.org/end-violence http://news.un.org/en/story/2019/04/1035961 http://bit.ly/2JsIFiy Visit the related web page
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