UNICEF East Asia and Pacific

"Indonesia has shown the world how to build back better after disasters to strengthen children's protection from the impact of humanitarian emergencies," said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake during his visit to some of the areas hit hardest by the 2004 tsunami.

By Michael Klaus

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, 6 March 2014– Cut Adelia had not even been born, when the Indian Ocean tsunami hit Aceh province in Indonesia’s far west. But to meet Cut Adelia is to catch a glimpse of the long-term outcomes of the massive relief effort that followed – after the tsunami devastated large parts of Aceh, including her home of Sabang island, on 26 December 2004.

In 2011, Cut Adelia had malaria. It would be the last indigenous case in Sabang, which had once had one of the highest rates of the disease in Aceh.

On 28 February, a student welcomes UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake to Nurul Huda early childhood development centre in Banda Aceh. UNICEF built this facility as a temporary school during the early post-tsunami response. © UNICEF Indonesia/2014/Estey

After devastation, ‘building back better’
The Indian Ocean tsunami was one of the worst disasters in living memory. It affected nine countries. It killed about 170,000 people in Aceh province, alone.

The tsunami triggered one of UNICEF’s largest emergency operations, funded by a variety of donors. UNICEF National Committees contributed US$328 million.

UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake recently visited Banda Aceh and Sabang to learn about the results of recovery and reconstruction based on the principle of ‘building back better’, as well as the province’s investment in disaster risk reduction (DRR)*. Mr. Lake was joined by Chair of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF Peter Lamm and Vice-Chair of the Japanese Committee for UNICEF Yoshihisa Togo. Both Committees had been among the biggest donors after the tsunami.

With support from UNICEF and other partners, Indonesia invested heavily in emergency preparedness and DRR. The goal was to reduce risks that stem from the natural hazards that affect the archipelago of more than 17,500 islands on a regular basis. Programmes included strengthening the country’s health system by integrating immunization, antenatal care, malaria control and other health interventions that build the resilience of children and their families.

Mr. Lake participates in a malaria test during his visit to Sabang island. “Thanks to these programmes, children are no longer lost to malaria in Sabang. We need to build on these lessons and replicate the Sabang success story in other malaria-prone areas in Indonesia and beyond,” he said. © UNICEF Indonesia/2014/Estey

Eliminating malaria
The elimination of malaria in Sabang is an enormous achievement made possible thanks to an integrated health programme that includes highly effective malaria control. The programme was originally financed through tsunami relief funds.

UNICEF and partners selected Sabang island as the starting point for a targeted programme whose ultimate aim is to eliminate malaria in Indonesia. Activities included extensive indoor residual spraying, large-scale distribution of nets treated with long-lasting insecticide, mapping of confirmed malaria cases, and a change in policy towards artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) as first-line treatment for uncomplicated cases.

The aim was to eliminate the danger of malaria outbreaks by eradicating the parasite, itself. A combination of high-level political commitment, effective surveillance through systematic blood screening, and community involvement made the success possible.

The incidence decreased from almost 88 infections per 1,000 inhabitants in 2004 to less than 1 case per 1,000 in 2011.

“Thanks to these programmes, children are no longer lost to malaria in Sabang. We need to build on these lessons and replicate the Sabang success story in other malaria-prone areas in Indonesia and beyond,” said Mr. Lake, who visited Cut Adelia and her family.

Reintroduction of the parasite remains a constant threat. Just two days before Mr. Lake’s trip to the island, a visitor from Banda Aceh had been diagnosed with malaria in one of Sabang’s health centres. Going door to door to collect blood samples, volunteer health workers or ‘kaders’ continue to play an important role in ensuring Sabang, with its 30,000 inhabitants, remain malaria free.

Building schools built to last
Meanwhile, the government’s investment in DRR includes emergency education and the construction of hundreds of earthquake-resistant schools. About 300 of these schools, in Aceh province and on the North Sumatran island of Nias, which was hit by a major earthquake three months after the tsunami, have been built with support from UNICEF.

Muhammadiyah primary school, in Banda Aceh, was completely destroyed by the tsunami. Only 17 pupils survived the disaster of the some 300 who had attended the school. Muhammadiyah was the first permanent school rebuilt in Banda Aceh, based on safety standards to withstand earthquakes of up to 8.0 on the Richter scale. The new schools have well-ventilated classrooms with wide exit doors. The buildings are built on an elevated platform to prevent flooding during the rainy season.

In 2013, an earthquake of 6.7 on the Richter scale left hardly a scar on the school walls.

Mr. Lake witnessed one of the regular emergency drills at Muhammadiyah school, which include training in first aid and songs to remember what needs to be done when the earth starts to shake. “Some of the children here probably wouldn’t be alive today if their school hadn’t been rebuilt that way,” he said.

Children at the heart of DRR
One key topic of Mr. Lake’s discussions with the Government of Indonesia, in Jakarta, was lessons learned from the tsunami. He congratulated Foreign Minister Raden Mohammad Marty Muliana Natalegawa for the country’s investment in DRR, stressing that UNICEF will continue to work with the Government to leverage knowledge gained from the post-tsunami reconstruction work, in Indonesia and other countries. “Indonesia has shown the world how to build back better after disasters to strengthen children’s protection from the impact of humanitarian emergencies,” he said.

Referring to Indonesia’s strong economic growth in the years after the tsunami, he highlighted the need to put children at the heart of the DRR and development agenda and to ensure that all children benefit from the progress.

“Investment in children, in their education, health and protection, should not just be seen as a dividend of economic growth,” he said. “It is a driver of growth. If the next generation of children, especially the most disadvantaged, are not well educated and healthy, how will you have a healthy economy and society?”

*Following the premise that there are no ‘natural’ disasters, only natural hazards, DRR aims to reduce the damage caused by such natural hazards as earthquakes, floods, droughts and cyclones through an ethic of prevention.

By Sandar Linn

- Gale Paulette O Macosa, 12, student at Quinapundan elementary school (Eastern Samar)
I am Gale and I am twelve. I grew up here in Eastern Samar.

November 8 of last year is a day I don’t want to remember. I had never experienced anything like this before. I was so scared.

My parents, my sister and I were at the evacuation centre. Around us, people were crying and praying. I was hungry but only one thought went through my head, “Are we going to get through this alive?”
When the storm stopped, my father and other men went to our houses. But nothing was left. Our house was completely destroyed. All we were left with was the clothes we wore that morning. I lost my school books, I remember thinking to myself.

Now we live in a tent. Even though I miss our home I thank God we are alive. Many people had lost their loved ones. Compared to theirs, my loss is bearable. And I’m sure my parents will find a way to rebuild our home soon.

I wanted to know how everyone from the school was. I found out the Typhoon had damaged my school, too. All trees were uprooted and where our classrooms used to be was now a pile of debris. It felt so empty.

Afterwards, when they told us that school would resume on November 19, I couldn’t believe it. At first, I wasn’t sure if I felt strong enough to go back after all that I’d gone through, and now that I was homeless. But our school principal and teachers had all worked hard so that we could go back to school, and I learnt that we received help from all around the world. When I saw my classmates again, I found myself believing our normal life was coming back. We all shared our stories with each other, with our friends and teachers.

Now, I am again a sixth-grader at Quinapundan Central Elementary School. I really enjoy going to school and I want to learn more. English is my favourite subject. When I grow up, I want to become a flight attendant and travel around the world. I believe anything is possible, if we’ve even survived Typhoon Yolanda.

- Rhea Macawili Milado, 24 (Barangay 48-A, Tacloban)
I have a loving husband, Lumar, and a lovely four-year-old daughter, Althea. My husband is a fish vendor and he goes around on a bicycle to sell fish. We lives in a bunk house in Barangay 48 in Tacloban, which is on the coast of Can Cabato Bay. We had been living here since we got married.

I was four-month pregnant when Yolanda hit. At about 5 a.m. my husband sent me and Althea to a house we thought was far enough from the coast. But it wasn’t far enough. When the big waves came, the house was instantly flooded. Althea and I struggled to get out but a big fridge blocked the door. Thankfully, one of the neighbours kicked the door in from outside, and we all fled to another, stronger and larger house.

I saw waves 20-feet high, one after another. Inside, the water level kept rising. It was ice-cold. I took my daughter’s hand, held it tightly and with all my energy I swam to the second floor. We stayed there nearly 10 hours. People around us were crying, praying, begging for help… I don’t know how I found the strength, but I remember telling myself, “Yolanda, you may be strong! But a mother’s love is stronger.”

When the water receded, I found my husband. We were cold, our clothes were soaked. Children were crying, hungry and scared. My husband went to find some food and clothes. When he came back, he told me that our house had been washed away. We were left with nothing. But what more could I ask for when we were all alive?

It’s been nearly four months since Yolanda. We now receive a cash grant from UNICEF with which we buy essential food and goods for our daily life so we can send Althea to school. This allows us to use our savings for the rebuilding of our house. I am also putting aside some money from the cash grant to help me safely deliver my baby in April. Salamat UNICEF! (Thank you, UNICEF!).

There are times when I worry about our future. But a mother’s job is never done. I want to rise up again for my children. I want to help them get education and a decent job, so they are not poor and don’t have to go through hardships like we did.

- Valentina Son, 41, District Nurse (South Guiuan)
I have been working as a District Nurse at Department of Education for nine years. I monitor students’ heights and weights, administer deworming pills, and provide health education. I am responsible for 17 elementary schools, of which eight are located on islands. I visit each school six times per year. Typhoon Yolanda destroyed most of those schools.

My house was washed away as well. Never in my life did I think I’d be homeless. But I was thankful that all my family survived. So instead of grieving, I resumed my work immediately because I knew that children needed my help now more than ever before.

Most families here depend on fishing and small menial jobs to earn their livelihood. So when Yolanda washed away their boats and houses, of course the first thing they focused on was rebuilding their houses and finding jobs. Children’s hygiene was neglected. Thankfully, UNICEF provided us with hygiene kits for children so we can make sure at least basic hygiene standards are kept.

Transportation is difficult here in south Guiuan. Yolanda destroyed most of the boats. But this doesn’t stop me from reaching children in need to make sure they maintain good hygiene in this critical time. Good hygiene is essential to protect them from disease.

Sometimes I’m worried, not knowing when I’ll be able to rebuild my own house. But I don’t want to be just a victim of Yolanda. I want to help. I want to help make sure our children are well and healthy, especially in a critical time like this. Yolanda destroyed my house and all my belongings but it also made the love I have for my family and my work stronger.

4 months after Super Typhoon Haiyan hit Philippines on 8 November 2013, UNICEF continues to respond to the needs of affected children and their families.

On this occasion, UNICEF also launched the report "Four Months After Typhoon Haiyan", which documents the work the organization has accomplished alongside its partners since the disaster struck the Philippines on 8 November 2013.

A girl smiles in a class in Ensino Basico Filial Nuno-Sacari School in Ermera District, Timor Leste
© UNICEF/NYHQ2012-1515/James Alcock

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Equality for women is progress for all’. Eun Woo Kim spoke to UNICEF’s gender expert for East Asia and the Pacific, Chemba Raghavan, and asked her what the theme meant to her.

Chemba recounted a story from her village in India, of Ms. Bhargavi, a mother who was only educated until high school. “She realized the value of education and was determined to give her children the opportunities she didn’t have."

"She always told us that she was just 'taking small steps': working to empower herself and to help pay for her children’s education, ensuring they had food and nutrition and were cared for, helping her children with their homework, and meeting with their teachers. Her daughter is now applying for a master’s degree.

"This is one way a woman can impact a generation. And today, I salute the hundreds of women like her who are making these and other efforts in their personal and their professional lives towards big changes in the world."

Gender equality is a basic human right. It also has enormous socio-economic impact. Educated and empowered girls grow up to be women who have fewer and healthier children. They take better care of themselves and are less likely to die in child-birth. According to the Girl Effect, an extra year of primary education boosts girls’ future wages by 10-20 per cent. An extra year of secondary school adds 15-25 per cent.

“Giving girls and boys equal educational opportunities benefits national economies,” added Chemba. “We know that every additional year of girls’ education brings a three per cent increase in the country’s GDP, even if only 10 per cent more girls go to schools.” Closing the unemployment gap between women and men would yield an increase in GDP of up to 1.2 per cent in a single year.

However, unequal treatment is part of too many women and girls’ daily lives. They are too often denied access to basic education and decent work. They suffer violence and discrimination. Their voice is often ignored in decision-making processes.

As the story of Ms. Bhargavi shows, change is possible. It is possible when families support girls to continue their education. It is possible when poor women are empowered to make that change, including through grants or bank loans. Big changes are possible when appropriate policies and laws are designed, for example, to protect women in the home and work place.

“Gender equality is emphasized in everything UNICEF does,” stressed Chemba. In education, we work to ensure that girls and boys have equal access to education; that curricula promote gender equality; and that gender perspectives are taken into account when designing Child-Friendly Schools.

At the policy level, UNICEF works with governments to strengthen national policies and budgets and use these as tools to promote gender equality. “We do all this because we know that equality for women and girls does mean progress for all,” Chemba concluded.

UNICEF’s East Asia and Pacific regional office co-hosts the UN Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) Regional Secretariat and supports two working groups on School-Related-Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV) and marginalization with UNGEI partners in the region.

Trang practices hand washing with soap in Viet Nam
© UNICEF Viet Nam/2013/Matthew Dakin

Thi Trang, 12, lives in the mountainous Tuan Giao district, in northern Viet Nam. Just a few months ago, her commune had the lowest number of toilets in the whole province, as the community did not fully understand the value of sanitation facilities. Only four per cent of the families had hygienic latrines meeting Ministry of Health standards, and open defecation was widely practiced.

“I used to poop in the river”, Thi Trang says, giggling. “We had had no toilet and did not even know what it was. We used to go down the hill to the river. Everyone in the village was doing the same. During the rainy season, it was a bit scary as it became slippery and we had to watch our steps.”

Basic latrines are relatively rare in rural areas, where about 70 per cent of the country’s population live. It is estimated that close to 9 per cent of rural families in Viet Nam practice open defecation. This hinders the country’s efforts to reach the UN Millennium Development Goal of reducing by half the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015.

“It’s all about changing old habits”, explains UNICEF Viet Nam Water and Sanitation Specialist Nguyen Thanh Hien. “We focus our efforts on getting communities themselves to understand how open defecation links up with common diseases like diarrhoea and worm infection, so they can see for themselves the importance of latrines.”

Bottleneck analysis

Very intense small group discussion in Nha Trang, Viet Nam
© UNICEF EAPRO/2013/ Chander Badloe

In order to ensure that projects like this are successful, and meet the needs of local communities, UNICEF has developed a new bottleneck analysis tool to help identifying the main barriers and to develop appropriate actions to overcome these critical barriers. Viet Nam is the first country in the East Asia and Pacific region to test this out.

I took the photo above at a three-day application workshop in Nha Trang, Viet Nam, organized by the Department of Environmental Health and UNICEF. ‘Very intense small group discussion’ may be an obvious caption for the picture, but what are they discussing? Is it the increasing traffic congestion? ...the annual work plan? ...the ever changing weather? …or why the poorest, remote rural families still cannot be reached with needed basic water, sanitation and hygiene services?

As you can guess, the latter is correct. It shows officials from the Department of Environmental Health, National Center for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation, Ministries of Education and Planning from central and provincial levels, together with colleagues from the World Bank Water and Sanitation Program, Viet Nam Women’s Union and UNICEF, during one of the group discussions on the application of the tool.

What is the tool?

The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Bottleneck Analysis Tool (BAT) was developed as part of more stringent evidence-based planning and policy support to accelerate WASH progress globally. Its purpose is to facilitate detailed and comprehensive assessment of the enabling environment in the water, sanitation and hygiene sub-sectors, and thereby allow users to develop costed and prioritized plans to remove the bottlenecks that limit progress.

The tool can be used at national, sub-national, service provider or communal/household level, and be used focus on urban water, rural water, urban sanitation or rural sanitation. Each sub-sector enabling environment is characterized by 18 enabling factors, with each enabling factor further broken down into six criteria, resulting in 108 criteria in total. This indicates the level of detail that is covered and the opportunity to pinpoint barriers.

Originally developed in 2011 by UNICEF, the tool has since been tested in Ghana and Sierra Leone. In May 2013, a workshop was held in Bangkok to develop a global rollout strategy. The refinement of the BAT is an ongoing process, and UNICEF staff from selected countries around the world attended the May 2013 workshop to contribute to this process. Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia and Viet Nam participated from East Asia and Pacific region.

Students wash their hands at Ban Pho Primary School in Viet Nam
© UNICEF/NYHQ2009-0225/Josh Estey

Taking the initiative

Following the global workshop, UNICEF Viet Nam took this initiative forward and in November, I participated in the first country roll-out of the BAT in this region. Prior to the Nha Trang consultation, colleagues in Viet Nam translated the tool and shared it with their government counterparts. They agreed to initially focus the application of the tool on rural sanitation and hygiene. The Viet Nam team held a three day consultation with national government partners, participants from seven focus provinces, and other stakeholders in Viet Nam.

The discussion during the workshop was very interesting. Of particular interest was the discussion to agree a common score for specific indicators and criteria, as it revealed widely varying views through sometimes very intense discussion. For example, as the group looked at each of the indicators around one particular enabling factor, it became clear that, although the overall impression on a particular enabling environment factor or indicators might be positive (green), there still are some critical issues around some of the criteria, which provides the next level of detail of barriers that need to be addressed in order to assure progress.

Through the discussions, participants recognized clearly the usefulness of the BAT for developing an action plan focused on addressing identified bottlenecks. The outcome of this consultation will be feed into a separate report to be prepared by UNICEF Viet Nam for wider sharing.

Based on the results of the first exercise, WASH stakeholders in Viet Nam will consider applying the tool in other sub-sectors and at other levels, in order to have a more comprehensive. There are also plans to undertake this similar exercise at the provincial level, looking at the sanitation enabling environment in seven provinces.

Viet Nam is the first country in East Asia and the Pacific to use this new tool, but I hope that others will follow. The experience and lessons learnt by UNICEF Viet Nam will be valuable for further roll-out of the tool in other countries in this region. The intent is that we use this tool and the methodology to identify and address critical persisting bottlenecks in the programming of WASH interventions more widely throughout the region, thereby increasing access to safe water and improved sanitation for millions of children.

Find out more
For more information on the WASH Bottleneck Analysis Tool, contact Andrew Trevett at UNICEF headquarters or myself, Chander Badloe. For additional information on Viet Nam, contact Lalit Patra.

Resources

The author
Chander Badloe, Regional WASH Advisor, UNICEF East Asia and Pacific

An interactive session during the workshop helped participants to understand the importance of early essential newborn care. © UNICEF/Nabila Zaka

The first three days of life are the most critical in ensuring the survival of new born babies. And although there have been significant improvements in maternal and child health in the last two decades in Mongolia, survival rates of new-born babies are not improving as fast as they must.

Forty-two per cent of the 2,000 deaths annually of children under the age of five in this land-locked and sparsely populated country occur during a child’s first 28 days of life. Even though today nearly 98% of all births in Mongolia take place in health facilities, even here there is room for real improvements in the quality of care and adoption of best care practices by health workers.

So it was with great delight and much optimism that UNICEF and our partners welcomed the Government of Mongolia’s declaration that 2014 will be “the year of Maternal and Child Health”. The declaration came in the lead up to special expert meeting aimed at improving newborn health care, organized by the Mongolian Ministry of Health, WHO and UNICEF, and it added weight and additional urgency to this important meeting.

Reflecting the Government’s determination to use 2014 to make changes to save infant lives, at the opening session, Mongolia’s Minister for Health Dr.Udval called on the participants to come up with creative and home grown solutions to improve the health system and engage communities.

My colleague from the World Health Organization Regional Office, Dr. Howard Sobel, and I shared our experiences of how things are working in other countries in the region, and a new research report on maternal and neonatal health in Mongolia, supported by UNICEF, provided evidence about the household practices and perceptions around care of the newborn and quality of services at health facilities. This helped us understand the kind of changes that are most likely to be effective, and the best way to introduce them.

A whole range of health-care partners from national and sub-national levels participated in discussions, and the back and forth about prioritization of activities was quite intense. But we are confident the outcome – a firm commitment to new long-term plan (based on the joint Regional Action Plan by WHO and UNICEF for Healthy Newborns 2014-2020) will save children’s lives.

A detailed and costed implementation plan is now being prepared to kick start the establishment of a centre of excellence to train health workers to look after newborns using team-based learning approaches, and to ensure supportive supervision that fosters best practices. UNICEF and WHO will work with Government and other partners to update the clinical guidelines and put these into comprehensive facility packages, which will also seek to guarantee financial protection for poorest families and ensure health facilities receive sustainable levels of essential supplies.

Because the first three days are the most critical in saving the life a newborn, the action plan focuses on “early essential newborn care.” Simple practices like immediate drying, delayed cord clamping, skin-to-skin contact and early exclusive breast feeding for all newborns can help avoid many life-threatening complications.

Group work sessions were intense debates especially for the prioritization of the activities.
© UNICEF/Nabila Zaka

Using Kangaroo Mother Care - a method of care for stable pre-term and low-birth weight babies that involves infants being carried, usually by the mother, with skin-to-skin contact - can limit reliance on expensive newborn intensive care units and make more space in these facilities for babies in greater need of help.

Maternal and newborn health is inseparable. Attention to quality intra-partum care, cutting down on un-necessary C-sections and timely management of prolonged and obstructed labour are an integral part of the plan.

“This newborn action plan is the best gift for children of Mongolia in this year” remarked Mohamed Malick Fall, UNICEF’s Representative in Mongolia, and he promised full support for the development and implementation of the action plan.

* The author: Nabila Zaka is Maternal and Child Health Specialist for UNICEF East Asia and Pacific.

Cold chain monitoring devices to protect vaccines. ©UNICEF/Daniel Toole

Last week I visited a great set of health site in Laos — from a peri-urban clinic, to the district hospital, to the provincial and national medical stores. What I saw was a new and exciting system to digitally track how we get results to children!. With GAVI’s financial support, UNICEF, PATH, University of Oslo, and the University of Washington partnered to support the Lao Ministry of Health to develop a real-time digital monitoring system to protect vaccines and ensure they get to those who need them.

The digital system monitors the cold chain and logistics at service delivery points along the health care chain. The aim is to generate actionable data that can be easily reported by health providers and accessed by the national, provincial and district level managers. And better still, it’s linked to clear, appropriate responses to the issues identified.

The new system employs a web-based information management system, cold chain monitoring devices (see the photo), and an SMS-based reporting and response system to monitor, report, compile, and present information on cold chain functioning and vaccine stocks at service delivery points.

In 2014, all provincial immunization stores nationwide will use the system, as well as one district in each province. In 3 trial provinces, all districts and all primary health centers will also be linked. The web-based system will go live in March 2014, and evaluated after a month. It will then be expanded to cover all remaining districts and primary health centers in 2015.

In the field, the new technology is clearly exciting and motivating feature – staff were thrilled to show me what they were doing. More important, technology serves as a catalyst to clarify department and individual functions, responsibilities and accountabilities. It thus helps the Ministry of Health decide how to respond to the real time assessment of the situation on the ground.

The innovation will initially cover immunization and monitor the cold chain and supplies. Once it’s successful, it can be expanded to cover child survival and other health supplies.

By Daniel Toole, Regional Director, UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific Regional Office

Children are taking part in an earthquake evacuation drill with much excitement.
© UNICEF EAPRO/2014/Vilasa Phongsathorn

I recently visited Manila to find out how school communities were preparing for future natural disasters. With memories of Typhoon Haiyan still fresh, it couldn’t have been timelier. It has also been over 10 years since I last visited Manila. Being half Filipina, learning that I was invited to visit the city with UNICEF was very exciting news.

We visited local schools that have won awards for their child-friendly school initiatives and disaster preparedness and environmental education programmes. The school I visited was the Commonwealth Elementary School, located in Quezon City, the largest city in Metro Manila, with a population of nearly 2.7 million people.

As we drove to the school, we saw contrasting scenes. On the one hand, bustling business centres with tall modern skyscrapers, nicely paved road and beautifully planted trees, showcased the city’s economic growth. On the other hand, there were shanty towns where people live in makeshift homes built from scraps and used cardboards. In fact, the Commonwealth Elementary School was located in the middle of the shantytown area.

At the school gate, street vendors lined the pavement selling various types of food, and jeepneys (a unique vehicle used for public transportation in the Philippines) congested the road. We had already heard that for 9,600 students there were merely 120 teachers. My initial thought was, can this school really be considered child-friendly?

To my surprise, the school premises was a completely different scene. There were child-friendly campaigns, for example in anti-bullying, as well as many examples of eco-friendly initiatives. Recycled plastic bottles were used as lanterns and plant pots. There were very innovative improvised water filtration systems that recycled rain water for watering plants and cleaning the school areas.

Recycling baskets at the Commonwealth Elementary School’s entrance.
© UNICEF EAPRO/2014/Vilasa Phongsathorn

Earthquake evacuation

After a brief introduction, we were presented with the highlight of the visit – an earthquake evacuation drill. When the signal alarm went off, the students remained in their classrooms sheltering themselves under their desks and chairs. As soon as the signal went silent, one by one they lined up to make their way to the designated evacuation areas, covering their heads with an improvised head protection made from rugs and thick cloths.

One of the teachers told me that the head protection could help protect the children from shattered glasses and debris. Children with special needs also took part in the drill and were closely escorted by several teachers.

Although it took almost 20 minutes before all students made it to the evacuation area, the drill went smoothly, especially given the number of students who participated. I was told that these were the children who attended the school’s afternoon shift. The school has to operate in two shifts – morning and afternoon – due to its large student enrolment and the shortage of teachers.

After the drill, the school principal gave a presentation on the systematic disaster preparedness developed by the school. They had made an emergency bag, which includes water, biscuits and a flashlight, for students to carry in an emergency. The school had also developed an evacuation map and placed this in front of every classroom.

Everyone was left very inspired by the school’s commitment and innovative approaches to ensuring children’s safety. Personally, I was very excited to see disaster risk reduction (DRR) in action in a country where the impacts of extreme weather events have become a constant reality.

First Grade students sheltered under desks as the alarm went off
© UNICEF EAPRO/2014/Vilasa Phongsathorn

Expert meeting

As well as visiting the school, I attended an Expert Meeting on Climate Change Education for Sustainable Development in Asia-Pacific. This was co-organised by UNESCO and SEAMEO INNOTECH, an organisation of Southeast Asian Ministers of Education dedicated to developing technology-based solutions to education problems and needs in the region. The meeting was supposed to be held last November in Cebu. But then typhoon Haiyan hit, so it had to be postponed and moved to Manila.

As demonstrated by the typhoon’s devastating impacts, especially on the most vulnerable and marginalised communities, the issues of climate change and disaster risk reduction are becoming more and more pertinent. This is true not just in the Philippines, but in the entire Asia-Pacific region.

As you might expect following a super typhoon, the discussions that took place during the three-day meeting were heated and filled with passion. But everyone agreed that education played an essential role in strengthening the capacity of children and young people, along with their families and communities, in regard to climate change.

It was also stressed that in order to ensure a climate-safe school environment, entire school communities – including local education authorities, administrative staff, teachers and parents – must be prepared. We need to mainstream disaster risk reduction measures in their work, while also integrating local and indigenous knowledge.

UNICEF is now working with partners – including Save the Children, Plan International, World Vision, IFRC and the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center – to promote the Comprehensive School Safety Framework. The aim is to protect students and teachers from death, injury, and harm in schools, and to strengthen climate-smart disaster resilience through education.

Although there is still a long and difficult road ahead, we must keep reminding ourselves that children have inalienable rights in all circumstances – including disasters when they are at their most vulnerable – and it is our collective duty as global citizens to do all we can to protect our future generations.

The author
Vilasa 'Audrey' Phongsathorn is Education Consultant, Peacebuilding and Emergencies, at UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office.

Schools Students from MaloMalo Primary School in Nadroga Navosa, Practicing handwashing washing. ©UNICEF Pacific/2013

Charlie (Description of a real boy but not his real name) doesn’t care much about washing his hands. In fact, he never thinks about it because he has no water supply, no soap, and no knowledge about its importance in preventing disease. He is a ten year old Solomon Islander going to a school that has no toilets or water.

Almost every day a Solomon Islander dies from a water, sanitation and hygiene related illness: Results from a recent survey show that 1 out of every 5 children under the age of five have had a skin or eye infection in the previous two weeks due to poor hygiene practices and lack of access to safe, clean water and a toilet.

Parents, schools and governments in the Pacific share a common interest in quality education particularly on water, sanitation and hygiene practices for our children. New data from the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation reveal that our children’s health and education are at a high risk through unsafe drinking water and substandard sanitation facilities in both homes and schools.

World Water Day on 22nd March is an opportunity to ask whether our schools are providing a healthy learning environment for our children.

Sanitation coverage in the Pacific has shown only limited improvement since 1990 and open defecation is still widely practised in Kiribati (37%) and the Solomon Islands (18%). The Pacific region as a whole is off track to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target on sanitation.

The related health risks of unsafe water and poor sanitation include nutritional deficiencies, diarrhoea, worm infestations, respiratory infections, skin and eye infections. These preventable conditions and diseases can lead to poor attendance or attention at school, hindering their ability to learn and develop. Furthermore, lack of adequate water and toilets at schools de-motivate teachers and children from regular attendance. Female teachers and adolescent girls in particular need safe, private facilities.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is working with parents, schools, governments and development partners through its Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme, aiming to provide all schools with safe drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities along with hygiene education. The Programme focuses on the design and implementation of sustainable, safe water access points and toilets, development of hygiene education and the responsible involvement of parents, students, teachers, headmasters and headmistresses and their communities and governments.

Primary School Students Celebrating Global Handwashing Day ©UNICEF Pacific/2013

Hygiene education and behaviour change are just as important as the “hardware” (toilets and water) and cannot be taken for granted. While some people believe, “Build it and they will come”, the reality is quite different. There are numerous examples of nice facilities that have not been properly maintained and have fallen into an unsanitary, unusable state. Furthermore, regular hand-washing with soap is the only way to prevent many diseases – just splashing with water will not work! Good hygiene and sanitary practices taught and re-enforced by teachers and peers at school will often have a ripple effect at home, and will lay the foundation for a lifetime of good practices. When children grow and become parents, they pass on these good practices to their children.

The Three Star Approach is an initiatives to help schools and communities support water, sanitation and hygiene in schools. In the Three Star Approach, schools are guided to take simple steps to make sure that all students wash their hands with soap, have access to clean drinking water, and are provided with clean, gender-segregated and child-friendly toilets at school every day.

The Approach is very participatory and includes group activities that help children to build good hygiene habits that last a lifetime. By prioritizing the most essential actions for achieving water, sanitation and hygiene goals, the Three Star Approach helps schools focus on key, affordable interventions. At the same time, it provides a clear pathway for all schools to meet national standards, and for all children to have hygiene-promoting and healthy schools.

The Three Star Approach is being tried at schools in Fiji. The aim is that at least 95% of all children attending the participating schools will wash their hands with soap and water, minimum twice a day, before eating at recess and lunch in schools, 5 days a week. Private sector partners are encouraged to contribute in various ways: An example is the recent partnership by Fiji Airways, the Ministry of Education and UNICEF, where waer and toilet facilities at the Lautoka Primary School and Ratu Saimoni Memorial in Fiji were improved; and at the same time hygiene education and practices are taught and supervised.

Please get involved! Think about what you can do to promote and sustain clean water, clean toilets and good hygiene practices in the home and at schools. These three things will lead to healthier children and also a better learning environment in which children can achieve more.

Author: Dr. Karen Allen, UNICEF Pacific Representative

Chander Badloe, UNICEF Regional Adviser on Water and Sanitation, explains the importance of improving children's access to clean water and proper sanitation in East Asia and the Pacific, where more than 180 million people still live without access to safe water.

Students in Thailand. Social policy can have a big impact on children’s education
© UNICEF/0075 Jirada 10/Kritsada Jirathun

Lena Nguyen interviews Gaspar Fajth, UNICEF regional adviser for social policy and economic analysis

The last few decades have brought enormous economic growth to the East Asia and Pacific region, along with social achievements. Children have benefitted from both but progress has been unequal, with children in urban areas, for example, benefitting more than their rural counterparts.

UNICEF is working to translate this new-found wealth into improvements in children’s lives that are lasting and equitable. One way we do this is through our economic and social policy work, which focuses on helping governments develop and implement policies to realise the rights of all children.

Gaspar Fajth is UNICEF EAPRO’s new regional adviser for social policy and economic analysis. He has moved to Bangkok from UNICEF’s regional office for Eastern and Southern Africa.

A serious-looking man, he tries to convince me that as a young boy he dreamt of becoming a rock-star. Instead, he became an economist, working first in his native Hungary and then around the world with UNICEF. He has spent the past 22 years working to improve children’s well-being through national economic and social and policies.

“Our work on economic and social policies is about having a bigger impact,” he says, stressing that this approach can make improvements in education, health and child protection more sustainable.

“Governments around the world have the means to take care of their children, in both low- and middle-income countries. They operate with far bigger budgets than UNICEF.” He goes on to explain that the best way to harness those resources to benefit millions of children is by influencing the policy making process.

“Childhood is that window of opportunity, a person’s only chance to develop,” Gaspar says explaining how economic and social policies affect children differently than adults. Lack of nutrition, education or health care can have irreversible impact on a child’s development into adulthood.

Global experience

A toddler clings to his mother as they queue for a food distribution during the crisis in the Horn of Africa
© UNICEF/NYHQ2011-1181/Kate Holt

Gaspar was in Nairobi when the Horn of Africa crisis unfolded in 2011-2012, following one of the worst droughts in recent history. As UNICEF’s regional adviser for social policy, he helped affected countries put in place social welfare programmes to protect the most vulnerable families and children.

Gaspar first joined UNICEF in the early 1990s, when sweeping political and economic changes were taking place in Central and Eastern Europe. At that time, UNICEF advised governments on how to protect families and their children in the midst of rapidly changing social conditions. As this work was being taken up by the highest levels, he moved to UNICEF headquarters in New York to guide our global work on social and economic policies for children.

With all of these experiences he has now arrived in Bangkok, ready for a new set of challenges. “Sukhumvit looks like Manhattan,” he remarks, adding that as government revenues have risen on the back of strong economic growth, donor aid is less important in East Asia and the Pacific than in other regions. How governments manage public finances determine how this growth and wealth will benefit society and whether it carries over to future generations.

“I’m very happy to join East Asia and the Pacific. It’s an engine of global economy. Much of the growth I saw in Africa originated in Asia. So working on economic and social policies for children here can have a worldwide impact,” Gaspar concludes.

Isiah Andrew at West Kola-Ridge. © UNICEF Pacific/2014/ATahu

Isiah Andrew, 8 years old, may be one of the youngest to survive the dreadful flash floods that swept hundreds of homes away, leaving 17 dead, 30 missing and an estimated 12,000 people homeless as of yesterday.

Isiah lives with his parents in Wagina, a settlement in Choiseul province. A week before the floods, he came to Honiara to spend his one week school break with his sister as he always does. But little did he know, this holiday would be a haunting one for the rest of his life.

His sister lives with her husband’s family 3-4 kilometres upstream from the Matanikau River bank. In the afternoon of the 3rd of April, Isiah said he was sitting on a ladder into the river when all of a sudden the water level increased.

“I was shocked to see how fast the river rose. I could not run anywhere because the house was now surrounded with water and there were pieces of metal and scraps all over the place crushing against each other.”

Isiah who is still in shock said everything happened so fast that the next thing he remembered was holding on tightly to a coconut tree trunk with the flood rising rapidly around him.

“I was trying my best to hold on to the coconut tree trunk but the current was so strong, pieces of metal, grass, mud, and plastics were all over me. I could also see our house collapsing. It was then that I decided to let go because the house might collapse on me.”

An eye witness who has a house a few meters inland on high ground said that as much as they wanted to help the boy, they could not rescue him because the flood came in very fast and rose very rapidly.

“We stood there helpless and the worst part was seeing the boy letting go of the coconut tree and disappearing into the water.”

Isiah explained he felt helpless and for the very first time in his life felt alone and afraid as he was being cruelly tossed by the flood rage.

“All that time, I kept thinking of my mom and dad and that’s why I regained my strength.”

In a split of a second Isiah made the decision to be strong and instead of fighting against the current he swam along with it as fast as he could. He then struggled to surface. Taking three to four deep breaths, then diving down into the raging river, swimming downstream with all the debris. “I kept on saying in my mind swim, swim, swim, and don’t stop.”

When Isiah came up to catch his breath he was surprised to see that the water was level with the old bridge.

“The bridge was right in front of me so I had no other option but to quickly dive again because if I didn’t the flood would have smashed me into the bridge.”

The flood was so severe that when he came up for air the second time he was under the new bridge. He then swam towards a log and drifted out to sea.

“I looked back and I could see both ends of Honiara from White River to Lungga. I then tried as much as possible to stay alive.”

After floating for several hours on the log, out at sea, a fishing boat came to his rescue.

Later that day Isiah found out that three of his younger nieces and nephew, together with their grandfather were still missing.

Today their bodies have been recovered and families and friends have gathered to provide support and comfort. Brave Isiah said that he would have traded his life for his little nieces and nephew, describing how much he will miss them.

All that is left Isiah sister’s house after the flash floods. © UNICEF Pacific/2014/ATahu

All that is left of the family’s house which was built with modern material is its cement foundation. Survivors of his family are taking refuge at their relative’s home.

Honiara Township and the whole of Guadalcanal was declared a disaster area by the Minister of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology. Food, water clothing and cooking utensils are urgently needed in the evacuation centres. Relief efforts are currently underway.

UNICEF is supporting the Government of Solomon Islands to respond to the pressing needs of more than 50,000 people, of which about 24,000 are children, affected by the flash flooding on 3-5 April 2014. More than 12,000 people are camping in evacuation centres and are in need of shelter, food, water, clean sanitation facilities, health care and stress counselling. Schools were also damaged or are in use as evacuation centres, and UNICEF aims to help to bring children back to school and normalcy as soon as possible.

By Atenia Tahu, Communication for Development Officer, Solomon Islands

Sometimes you just get lucky. And so I found myself in a labyrinth of scaffolding and plastic sheeting, underneath the stage at the Beijing Workers’ Stadium, listening the roar of 18,000 fans. They were there to see the cream of China’s modern musicians, supported by K-pop and J-pop superstars, and to celebrate the birthday of UNICEF’s fabulous Goodwill Ambassador Jackie Chan.

Since 2004, Jackie has travelled the world with UNICEF supporting children in need. In his first year as a UNICEF Ambassador, Jackie visited Cambodia and helped children learn about HIV/AIDS prevention and landmines. In Viet Nam, he fought to end stigma and discrimination against children with AIDS, and helped mothers learn how to prevent passing the disease to their children.

As well as his more famous movies, Jackie has starred in TV spots that have helped change children's lives, like ‘Paper Bird’ which helped make children safe from bird flu. He raised money to help children suffering after the Sichuan earthquake, and inspired young people in Timor Leste to use martial arts not for fighting but for peace.

When, last year, Jackie went to Myanmar we learnt a lot about the power of his voice. He visited children who had been trafficked – and struck fear into the hearts of traffickers, telling them "Children are not for sale".

The crowds of fans in Myanmar almost derailed his plans to meet with trafficked children. Almost, but not quite, because he is also a consummate professional, and he used all his movie-star and ambassadorial skills to calm the crowds and make sure he actually met the children who were waiting for him.

Mr Nice Guy

Jackie Chan is truly a superstar, whose name is recognized as far afield as Ethiopia and the Pacific Islands. And his charm and his confidence are infectious.

This year, Jackie’s birthday concert was something different. He was in China – his homeland. His people were there to celebrate, and celebrate they did. And because of Jackie’s commitment to children, he saw his birthday and this concert as an opportunity to focus some of that excitement towards solving problems that children face.

So, I stood under the stage, in a makeshift elevator, as nervous as I have ever been, and found myself gently rising up to the stage level. As I emerged from the darkness into the bright stage lights and saw the crowd, my heart skipped a beat. But I managed to gather my wits, and talk about UNICEF’s work and our mandate, and about the wonderful support children have received from Jackie. And of course I wished him happy birthday.

In a matter of minutes I was sinking back into the darkness and the bustle of back stage.

The celebrations of Jackie Chan’s birthday are still going on. At a charity dinner the next night – once again I felt truly out of my depth – he raised more than 70 million Yuan (over $10 million USD) for children and to help protect the environment. Today he is off to Shanghai for another round of events and more awareness raising.

My own one minute of rock-star fame – probably the only minute of stardom I will ever experience – is over. But Jackie’s work, both as an entertainer and an advocate for children, continues. UNICEF and the children who we help clearly benefit from both.

Thank you Jackie Chan, and Happy Birthday!

There’s a chill in the air and the sun is barely up when 8-year-old Tolaka and her sister Lima, 7, leave home for school at 6am. It takes them an hour to walk to class from the thatched hut they share with their mother, close to the banks of the River Baliem, in Papua’s Kurima sub district.

The route takes them over flooded grassland and along woodland tracks sticky with mud to SD Advent Maima primary school. “I’m used to walking so I don’t get tired at all,” says Tolaka. “I’m happy to come to school. I have a lot of friends here and we like playing and skipping together.”

Tolaka’s mother, Dimika Satai, knows how important it is that her two daughters get a good education. She attended the same school as a child but was forced to leave when her parents told her it was time for her to marry. Now her husband has left and she grows vegetables like corn, potatoes and cabbage for the family to eat, selling the surplus in the market.

“If the girls go to school, they’ll be able to do anything they want in the future. I’d like them both to work in an office. It’s not good for them to work like me as a farmer. I don’t want them to regret not getting an education, like I do,” she says.

Nevertheless, sometimes it can be hard to motivate the children for the long walk to school. The 121 children at SD Advent Maima School live in the highland Baliem valley, accessible from provincial capital Jayapura only by plane or a 21 day walk.

Development has been slow to reach this part of Papua province with many families still living in traditional thatched houses known as honais, cooking on open fires and farming pigs, fish and vegetables. Some of the pupils have to walk for as much as two hours to reach the school.

Inspiring learning

UNICEF Indonesia is working with District Education offices in Papua and West Papua to ensure children in the provinces get a good quality primary education. The aim is to create safe, healthy and inspiring environments for the children to learn in.

UNICEF has supported the strengthening of the school system by training teachers in early and multi grade learning and teaching, and in participatory education, using the ‘child friendly schools’ approach. The concept aims to provide a safe and well-equipped learning environment for girls and boys, children with disabilities or from ethnic minorities and builds partnerships between schools and the community.

Further to this, UNICEF supports the training of head teachers in school management and leadership. “The illiteracy rate in Papua and West Papua remains high,” says UNICEF Education Specialist Sri Rezki Widuri, “around 30 per cent overall and up to 90 per cent in highland districts. Even some teachers don’t have good literacy and numeracy skills.”

At SD Advent Maima, UNICEF training has encouraged the teachers to introduce a number of changes. Now, every teacher formally greets every child at morning assembly, shaking hands and saying hello. The children are taught to wash their hands and faces and comb their hair at the start of the day.

In the lower grades, the teachers use singing and games as teaching methods. This is more fun and participatory for young children. The older children line up outside their classrooms each morning and the teacher quizzes them about the previous day’s lessons before they are allowed into the classroom. Their classes are also more interactive.

“The new approach has encouraged the children to come to school,” says head teacher Anie Joyce Nirupu. “There has been a real improvement in attendance. When they have to work with a new teacher who is not yet used to these methods, the children don’t have the same relationship with them.”

Tolaka used to skip school a lot but her teacher spoke to her mother about the importance of regular attendance and she now comes to class most days. “I like singing and drawing most, and I want to be a teacher when I grow up,” she says.

With funding from AusAID, UNICEF is partnering with the Indonesian Government to implement the child friendly schools programme in Papua and West Papua. This has already brought positive changes in the learning experience of children in urban and semi-urban schools. The partnership has now been extended to schools in rural and remote areas.

Thanks to this programme, children like Tolaka and Lima are already receiving greater opportunities for education than their parents. But Papua is not the only province where illiteracy rates are high, and there are many more children throughout Indonesia who need help, particularly in remote areas.

The author
Sarah Grainger is Communication and Knowledge Management Officer at UNICEF Indonesia

Read more stories from UNICEF Indonesia »

Neena Sasaki’s home was destroyed in the Tohoku tsunami. Children are key to building resilient communities. © UNICEF/2011/Adam Dean

“I lost my grandparents in the Tohoku tsunami. But I don’t want other children to lose their relatives in future tsunamis,” said 12-year-old Ryusei.

These simple but strong words struck the audience at a symposium commemorating the three-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami on 27 March 2014. The Tohoku earthquake was one of the most powerful ever recorded. “For me, this feeling is the foundation of disaster risk reduction,” Ryusei continued. “That is why I decided to get involved in the community rebuilding project in my town.”

Ryusei comes from Sendai City in the Tohoku region. He was one of the 12 child participants at the symposium, which was hosted by UNICEF Japan. The event, under the theme ‘Rebuilding Communities Together With Children’ highlighted the importance of listening to children’s voices in preparing communities for future disasters.

I am a UNICEF emergency specialist for East Asia and the Pacific. Listening to Ryusei, I thought about my recent mission to the Philippines to help affected communities recover from Typhoon Haiyan. The Philippines is now tackling the long and challenging process of rebuilding, and UNICEF is helping to ensure that communities become more resilient. The aim is to help them be less prone to suffering and destruction, even when the next disaster strikes.

Building resilient communities has to involve children. Globally, 50-60 per cent of people affected by disasters are children. Poor communities are particularly vulnerable as disasters exacerbate existing poverty and inequality. Listening to children’s voices is important because disasters affect them disproportionately, with potentially detrimental impact on their long-term development.

In Tohoku, the local government consulted communities and, importantly, children during reconstruction process. Special conferences and meetings were organized to gather children’s opinions, for example about school constructions. This is precisely what UNICEF has been emphasizing at the country level as the key to building resilience of people and the institutions that serve them.

The UN estimates that 175 million children are affected by natural hazards every year. Eleven out of the 20 most disaster-prone countries are in the Asia and Pacific region. Ryusei’s words reminded me yet again why reducing disaster risks for children is, and should be, everyone’s business.

At the meeting in Tokyo, I was asked to talk about UNICEF’s strategies and approaches to disaster risk reduction. My main message to the audience was that listening to children’s perspectives and addressing their needs and vulnerabilities should be at the heart of preparing for disasters. But Ryusei’s words expressed everything – and more – that I wanted to describe, which is “Disaster Risk Reduction FOR Children, and WITH Children.”

I still remember my first work mission from over 20 years ago, to follow up a two-year polio case in a remote village in China. When I entered the house, I was shocked to find that it was not only the boy who was unable to walk, but also his parents. They were both polio survivors.

Tears rolled down my face when I saw that the mother could only move her arms, while the father ‘walked’ with one arm and one leg on one side of body. I could never forget that tragic moment. From that moment on, immunization has changed from being my job to a lifetime duty.

Today, children in the East Asia and Pacific region live free from polio, and in many places the disease is just a distant memory. This year, the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) is celebrating its 40th birthday. The programme has made tremendous achievements globally since its establishment in 1974.

Thanks to this, many millions of people who would have lost their health, or even lives, without access to immunization services can instead enjoy a healthy and happy life. The EPI is recognized by many national governments as being one of the top public health achievements in recent decades.

More work to do

However, we should not forget that there are still many children who have not yet been reached with immunization services. In 2012, 21 million infants globally missed their first dose of measles vaccine. Among the ten countries with the highest number of children unimmunized against measles, two are in this region: Indonesia and the Philippines, at fourth and seventh place respectively.

Even when vaccinations are provided as part of national immunization programmes, these do not always get all the way to health facilities or communities in the hardest-to-reach remote rural areas. Furthermore, while some diseases such as polio and measles can by totally prevented with vaccines, others such as pneumonia and diarrhoea cannot be prevented in 100 per cent of cases through vaccination alone.

In recent years, I have had the opportunity to visit many vulnerable communities, including in urban slums, poor rural villages, remote mountainous areas, and isolated islands. Sometimes I felt like I had travelled back to that moment over 20 years ago when I stood in front of the two-year boy with polio.

In certain countries, I was still seeing children suffering from vaccine-preventable diseases such as pertussis, measles, and even diphtheria. Some died from severe pneumonia and diarrhoea. Many of these tragedies could have been prevented through vaccination. In some cases, life-saving vaccines might even have been available at the national or district level.

Unreached children like these are anxiously waiting for needed services to arrive regularly. Health workers in hard-to-reach areas or working for hard-to-reach communities are also anxiously waiting for adequate support to help them deliver services to children.

There is a Chinese saying that ‘ninety miles is only half of a hundred-mile journey’. The last part of an endeavour is often the hardest to finish, demanding stronger commitment and additional resources.

However, many development organisations are moving away from this region. They see the economic growth that countries here have enjoyed, while not recognizing growing disparities between the rich and the poor in accessing basic health care services such as immunization.

In reality, immunization programmes in many less-developed areas in this region are short of adequate resources to bring services to the hardest-to-reach communities and children.

Our shared responsibility

Promoting equity in basic health care services is a high priority for UNICEF. To reduce inequalities in immunization, we are working throughout the Asia Pacific region to develop and implement effective strategies to ensure immunization services can ‘reach every community’ and family, including the hardest-to-reach.

Reaching every community, and sustaining these gains, will call for stronger commitment from political leaders and more active engagement from communities. It will also need more resources, from both governments and development partners, to help make outreach health services more accessible and reliable for the most vulnerable communities and families.

As one of the leading immunization agencies in the region, UNICEF has been tirelessly working towards reaching every child with life-saving vaccines. It is our firm commitment, working much harder in the last 10-miles of the journey, to reach every last child.

The world has changed significantly in the last decade. Roads are built in places that had none in the past, and mobile phones have reached even very remote rural villages. However, there is still much distance – geographically and socially – between immunization services and the last child to be reached.

It should not be like this. The sun should warm all children, no matter where they live, or who they are. Reaching these unreached children is our shared responsibility, no matter who we are, and where we stand.

The author
Xiaojun Wang, Immunization Specialist for UNICEF East Asia and Pacific

“I have been promoted to grade four with good grades,” says Janene while holding up her results sheet. Her sparkling eyes and glowing face reflect her happiness and pride in her achievement.

Janene Mae Gahi, 10, is a student at Manlurip Elementary School in Tacloban. As she mingles with her friends at their graduation ceremony, Janene seems to be making her way out of the haunting memory of Typhoon Haiyan.

“I would like to be a teacher, and to teach students Maths and English. I will teach them how to spell correctly and write sentences as my teachers have taught me,” Janene says.

“Today’s graduation ceremony is a different event compared to any other I have attended as the school principal. Children and parents came together and celebrated the day in spite of their heavy heart from losing parents, siblings and friends,” says Elenita Montalban, principal of Manlurip Elementary School.

“We had 382 students before Typhoon Haiyan Some 80 children did not return to school after the disaster. Many have moved to other places with their families,” Ms. Montalban adds. Located close to the shore, Manlurip Elementary School is one of the schools hardest-hit by Typhoon Yolanda, as Haiyan is known locally.

Classes were held in tents and makeshift classrooms after the typhoon. “We are grateful to UNICEF for their immediate assistance that enabled us to resume classes in January. Today we are able to complete our school calendar successfully in spite of huge challenges,” says Ms. Montalban.

UNICEF and partners provided 470,000 children in the affected areas with learning materials. Some 135,000 children benefitted from over 1,300 UNICEF-supported temporary learning spaces equipped with school-in-a-box, recreational, and early childhood and development kits.

Difficult memories

Janene used to live with her parents and ten siblings in Barangay 89. Like countless others, their house was wiped away by the typhoon.

“My house was made of brick and concrete. We did not expect it to collapse. We thought we were safe,” says Gion Gahi, Janene’s father.

Janene recalls the day that the typhoon hit: “There was a strong wind. All of a sudden, a powerful surge came and washed everything away. All I remember was being pushed up by the wave to the roof of Saint Patrick. Someone held my hand and lifted me to the top of the roof, then my father found me as he managed to take shelter on the rooftop of the next building.” Saint Patrick is a government office building located half a kilometre away from Janene’s house.

Janene cannot fight back the tears while talking about her loss. “My mother, one of my sisters and four brothers died. We were unable to find their bodies. My sister Jeain was a year older than me and my playmate. I miss her all the time," she says.

Starting anew

Janene and the remaining members of her family took shelter in their grandfather’s house in San Jose after the typhoon. “We don’t have anything left. Our house, with all our possessions, is washed away. We now have to set up our old place in Barangay 89 from scratch,” Mr. Gahi says.

Six months after Typhoon Haiyan, Janene returned to her home. Where their family’s house used to be now stands a tent that Mr. Gahi managed to set up. Like many others in their community, Janene and her family live in this temporary shelter until her father is able to build a new house.

“I used to work as a jeepney driver before the storm. I have decided to stay at home and take care of my children as nobody is available to make food for them, do the laundry or do household chores. It is a hard choice because I have no income,” Mr. Gahi says. “With the school now closed for two months in summer, the children stay together at home and I can go to work. I want to invest all my efforts to ensure education for my children. I want them to be educated no matter what.”

Janene’s face reflects the turmoil of emotions she feels as she tries to move on from the disaster without half of her family. “I miss my mother while walking alone on the shore. I used to take walks with her along with my younger brothers on the shore every afternoon. But I am strong. I’ll work hard to achieve my dream," she says. The song that Janene and her friends sang in their graduation ceremony seems to tell the story of her life, giving her the courage to adapt and start anew:

“So when it begins, get all that you can;
You must befriend the will of the wind..."

Story by Arifa S. Sharmin

Michelle Postrero Lao, 22, lost her six-year-old child when Typhoon Yolanda hit her hometown of Barangay Victoria, Dagami, Leyte province. Currently eight months pregnant with her fourth child, she was injured during the typhoon when a concrete wall damaged her family’s modest hut.

Michelle and her family did not know that Typhoon Yolanda, as Haiyan is known locally, was coming. They did not own a television or radio. The remoteness of her house, located in one of the hardest-hit areas, makes it even more difficult for them.

Her husband Roy, 32, rides a motorcycle every day to fetch drinking water from the next barangay, a kilometre away. Without access to electricity, Michelle and her family rely on solar flashlights at night.

A coconut farmer, Roy is now unable to support his family after the typhoon destroyed the coconut crop. They became dependent on relief goods provided by the municipal government and humanitarian organisations.

Today, six months after the typhoon, Michelle’s family is among the 10,000 households in Tacloban City and other municipalities in the upland areas who are receiving cash grants from UNICEF to help them recover and meet their most immediate needs.

The unconditional cash transfer programme is implemented through a partnership between the Government of the Philippines, UNICEF, and Action Contre la Faim. The cash grant goes towards ensuring that children receive proper nutrition and helps the families plan for their long-term recovery.

The programme covers households with pregnant and lactating women, the elderly, orphans, persons with chronic illnesses, persons with disabilities, children with severe and moderate acute malnutrition, single female- and child-headed households, as well as households hosting separated children. Households with pregnant and lactating women, such as Michelle’s, comprise most of the beneficiaries, around 68 per cent.

The beneficiary households receive a monthly grant of USD100 (approximately PHP4,370) for six months. The grant allows Michelle to buy fresh food from the market as well as non-food items, including clothes for her two-year-old daughter Mary Grace and four-year-old son Neil. Michelle saved PHP2,500 to pay a woodcutter to cut the coconut tree that fell near their house to use for repairs.

At the end of the cash grant programme, each beneficiary household will be evaluated for potential inclusion in Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, the Government’s largest social protection scheme run by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The unconditional cash transfer programme is part of UNICEF’s strategy to help the Government deliver its social protection programmes. The grant makes a big difference for cash-strapped families struggling to recover from Typhoon Yolanda. By providing opportunities for them to meet their immediate recovery needs, the programme enables vulnerable households to rebuild their lives.

While memories of the disaster will not fade easily, the programme increases the opportunities for these families to recover. Michelle plans to use the subsequent cash grants to buy food for her family, medicines and new clothes for her soon-to-be-born baby, and iron sheets to repair the damaged roof before rainy season.

“Thank you to UNICEF for helping us,” she says.

By Anne Ong Lopez and Sandar Linn

This week, over 1,500 young people from around the world have gathered at the World Conference on Youth 2014 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to lend their voices to the post-2015 agenda.

My name is Hyunjeong Lee and I recently joined UNICEF’s Adolescent Development and Participation team as an education consultant. I am attending the conference to hear the perspectives of young people from East Asia and the Pacific, in the hope that sharing this information can help them become more proactive and eventually make positive changes in their lives.

Yesterday, I interviewed Marina Matsui, a 25-year-old Japanese student who is studying geography, sustainable development and urban development planning in Vancouver, Canada.

Marina told me she was interested in improving youth leadership and participation in education policies. Her interest was sparked in 2012 when she joined the Japanese 'Ship of World Youth' programme, which provides young people from all over the globe the opportunity to discuss youth-related issues, while living together on a ship for one month.

Her interest deepened the following year. “In 2013, I attended a youth forum in Africa,” Marina told me. “I was shocked to see young people from Japan saying that they did not have many youth-related issues to share, because they thought that they did not have problems, while participants from other countries discussed their own stories openly.

“Many people wrongly believe that we do not have problems because Japan is a developed country with a strong economy. The trouble is that most young Japanese are not active or passionate about learning and speaking about themselves.”

Marina believes that one of the reasons young Japanese are not proactive is that youth policies are not inclusive. In Japan, the elderly population is growing and the youth population shrinking, so she says the country needs to develop and implement better-designed, more inclusive policies for young people.

“But in Japan, young people are not passionate about voicing their concerns,” Marina continued. “The fact that youth voting rates in Japan are really low implies that young people do not take their rights seriously and feel that speaking out cannot make a difference.”

The education system is another reason for young people’s apparent apathy in Japan, according to Marina. “Education is supposed to help young people improve their lives, but sometimes it causes problems such as bullying, cyber-bullying or even suicide,” she said.

Although she agreed that an educational system based on competition and a results-driven approach motivates people to work harder, Marina maintained that it also puts enormous stress on students, preventing them from opening their minds and learning about societal issues.

This problem is compounded by the fact that the traditional Japanese education system does not allow students to challenge their teachers. In Marina’s view, this makes it extremely difficult for young people to express themselves and become active learners.

When I asked her how this issue could be resolved, her answer was simple and short: “The government must be more open-minded. The government’s educational vision is very old. It needs to change to reflect the needs of young people today. It needs to encourage young people to actively participate in society.”

I really enjoyed my conversation with Marina, and I took away three messages. Firstly, young people need to speak out more. Secondly, they need to be part of something that changes their lives. And thirdly, education must teach young people to become active learners and agents of change.

The author
Hyunjeong Lee is an education consultant on adolescent development and participantion at UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific

Despite having access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) programs, many young people are often unaware of the risks of HIV, sexual violence and unwanted pregnancy. Increasing numbers of young people living in disadvantaged communities which usually lack sufficient services and support have made the problem worse.

I talked to Yang Yu about his experience and perspective on SRH. Yang, a 22-year-old student currently pursuing his Master’s degree in Communication at Renmin University in Beijing, China, plans on continuing his study in public health, focusing on SRH. Yang works as a national coordinator at China Youth Network to improve SRH for young people in China. He and I discussed what SRH-related issues young people face and how we can help them speak up for their rights.

Yang was surprised how few East Asian participants came to the World Conference on Youth compared with participants from other regions. He pointed out that youth participation in addressing SRH-related issues and promoting SRH rights is very low in East Asia. “This is a problem. Many people do not speak out enough about sensitive issues like SRH unless their work is related to it. Even then, they do not receive much support. This makes it challenging for people like me to continue the work.”

Insufficient support for young people’s health and development, according to Yang, is the biggest challenge facing young Chinese today. According to Yang, schools only focus on students’ academic achievement.

Yang said people did not openly talk about sex or related issues. This lack of openness makes it difficult for both young and older generations to understand and respond to young people’s needs. This is especially difficult for marginalized groups, such as young people from rural areas, ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities, who are often harder to reach because China is so vast and resources are often scarce.

Yang also brought up the problem of abortion. “In China, girls do not have access to SRH information and services. They think of abortion as a means of contraception without knowing how badly it can affect their health.”

I asked him what action he would like to see the government and others take. He said that young people needed age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education for both boys and girls. “A common misbelief about SRH is that it is only girls’ problem. But both boys and girls are decision-makers, so both should be involved.”

Yang would also like to see SRH training programs for young people that provide manuals and guidance, and monitor and assess existing SRH programs. He believes that technical and financial support from international organizations and civil society groups would help young people and marginalized groups more directly and effectively.

Lastly, I asked Yang why youth are so important to his work. “Whenever I am asked this question, I always think about one of the UN’s slogans: Nothing for Us Without Us. Young people are important because the future belongs to them.”

Speaking to Yang who is passionate about youth and their issues has reminded me of how important it is for organizations like UNICEF to listen to young people. It allows us to understand their perspectives and build on their insights to help all young people develop into healthy adults.

The author
Hyunjeong Lee is an education consultant on adolescent development and participation at UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific.

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