| United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) |
Head of the Agency
Name: Mr. Timothy Schaffter
Job title: Representative
E-mail: tschaffter@unicef.org
Global website: www.unicef.org/
Agency's local website: www.unicef.org/kyrgyzstan/
Mission statement
UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.
UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children's rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children.
UNICEF insists that the survival, protection and development of children are universal development imperatives that are integral to human progress.
UNICEF mobilizes political will and material resources to help countries, particularly developing countries, ensure a "first call for children" and to build their capacity to form appropriate policies and deliver services for children and their families.
UNICEF is committed to ensuring special protection for the most disadvantaged children - victims of war, disasters, extreme poverty, all forms of violence and exploitation and those with disabilities.
UNICEF responds in emergencies to protect the rights of children. In coordination with United Nations partners and humanitarian agencies, UNICEF makes its unique facilities for rapid response available to its partners to relieve the suffering of children and those who provide their care.
UNICEF is non-partisan and its cooperation is free of discrimination. In everything it does, the most disadvantaged children and the countries in greatest need have priority.
UNICEF aims, through its country programmes, to promote the equal rights of women and girls and to support their full participation in the political, social, and economic development of their communities.
UNICEF works with all its partners towards the attainment of the sustainable human development goals adopted by the world community and the realization of the vision of peace and social progress enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.
Agency’s major interventions (practice areas): UNICEF supports activities in the areas of:
* Mother and child health and nutrition
* Early childhood development and education
* Protection of children from violence, exploitation, neglect and abuse
* Social policy
* Help for children in emergencies
Budget:
Total Budget: the UNICEF-Government of Kyrgyzstan Country Programme of Cooperation 2005-2010 envisages a minimum total funding requirement of US $8.562 million.
Major ongoing Projects
MOTHER AND CHILD HEALTH, AND NUTRITION
UNICEF is assisting the Ministry of Health in developing and implementing a National Perinatal Care Strategy specifically focusing on reducing the neonatal mortality which accounts for 60% of infant mortality. UNICEF advocates for the introduction of a Newborns Register, based on WHO rules. UNICEF also supports training in neonatal resuscitation and essential neonatal care. Its purpose is to equip health workers with basic knowledge and simple, yet essential techniques to save lives. Undergraduate and graduate medical students are taught in accordance with new curricula updated with technical assistance from UNICEF.
Real Life story: Maternal and Infant Mortality on the Agenda http://www.unicef.org/kyrgyzstan/media_11675.html
IMMUNIZATION: It is estimated that $1 spent on immunization saves the state $10 in treating vaccine preventable diseases. With support from UNICEF and other partners in the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), Kyrgyzstan has eliminated polio and through campaigns in 2000-2003 the country reduced the incidence of measles and rubella. UNICEF continues to provide support to the Government to ensure timely supply of vaccinations and ensures their quality.
Real Life story: ‘Double Protection’ http://www.unicef.org/kyrgyzstan/reallives_5920.html
HIV/AIDS: Following the outbreak of HIV AIDS in the southern part of the country in 2007 and the infection of more than 100 children, UNICEF was very active in training pediatricians, monitoring of care, and promoting the Integration of Pediatrics AIDS services into general medical services in order to ensure optimal health care to infected children. In addition, psychological and social counseling were provided to families and mothers in order to combat stigma and discrimination.
Real Life story: A Mission to Live and Help Others Live a Full Life http://www.unicef.org/kyrgyzstan/reallives_13511.html
PARASITIC INFECTIONS: Following a study carried out in 2007 in Batken region, on parasite infection prevalence among children aged 2 to 12 years, UNICEF together with Swiss Red Cross, the Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation assisted the Ministry of Health in conducting of a survey and mass deworming campaign.
Real Life story: Kyrgyzstan consolidates efforts against soil-transmitted helminthes http://www.unicef.org/kyrgyzstan/reallives_13803.html
BREASTFEEDING AND COMPLEMENTARY FEEDING PRACTICES: With UNICEF’s assistance, half of all maternity hospitals are certified as ‘Baby Friendly’. This means that the hospitals follow the ‘10 steps towards successful breastfeeding’, promoted by UNICEF and WHO. In these hospitals, the mother applies her child to the breast in the first minutes after birth. The first breast milk is vital for a child’s development and it is rich in antibodies, which protect newborn’s health. One key result of UNICEF support is the approval in 2008 of the Law on Breastfeeding and Marketing of Milk Substitutes. The law is likely to increase breastfeeding of young children, and thus reduce child mortality and morbidity.
FOOD FORTIFICATION: In 2009, the Government developed and approved the law ‘On Flour Fortification’. This law supports enrichment of flour with minerals and vitamins and promotes nutrition education. UNICEF has also supported the Ministry of health to develop an effective community-based strategy for improving infant and young child nutrition and maternal nutrition through the utilization of home based fortification in Talas region. Plans are under way for national scale up. Children who eat food fortified with micronutrients and vitamins are better protected against iron deficiency, anemia and other diseases. Communication materials, including a children’s book, explain to parents, caregivers and children, why ‘Gulazyk’(a sachet with powdered minerals) is important for good health and a child’s development.
Real Life stories: on Gulazyk http://www.unicef.org/kyrgyzstan/media_12696.html, http://www.unicef.org/kyrgyzstan/media_12609.html
The most efficient way to prevent iodine deficiency and mental retardation is to ensure that all people consume iodised salt in their daily diet. With the help of UNICEF and other international organisations, Kyrgyzstan has made remarkable progress towards achieving Universal Salt Iodization. Over the last ten years, the use of iodized salt has tripled.
Real Life stories: on food fortification http://www.unicef.org/kyrgyzstan/reallives_5873.html, http://www.unicef.org/kyrgyzstan/media_7008.html
VITAMIN A: UNICEF also provides assistance to National Immunization Centre to ensure that children aged 6-59 months and mothers during the first eight weeks after delivery receive vitamin A twice a year.
SUPPORTING THE BEST START IN LIFE FOR A CHILD
UNICEF research, monitoring, evaluations and reviews are widely used by the Government in developing national policies for early childhood development and increasing knowledge of caregivers on the importance of the first years for a child’s development. In 2009, a law on preschool education was adopted. The law, achieved through UNICEF lobbying, provides for a mandatory programme to prepare children for school and the legalization of new forms of preschool education. Thirty-one centres and preschool classes have been opened with UNICEF assistance in remote areas to provide early childhood development services for 1,500 of the most vulnerable children and serve as a model for potential scale-up countrywide. UNICEF advocates for ‘shift-based’ models of preschool education, which allows increasing the educational coverage by four times. In this programme children attend half a day and receive a quality education programme, based on innovative teaching methods. UNICEF expands on-going efforts in early childhood development through various media for young children and their caregivers. The ‘Keremet Koch’ cartoons help children to develop basic life skills. They also awaken children’s imaginations and build their self-confidence. Children write letters to their cartoon heroes and send drawings, which are used during the preparation of the next series. Another TV programme aims to help parents be more responsive with a focus on parent to child reading, which creates an emotional family bond and cultivates children’s love for learning.
Real life stories: ‘Shift’ model for preschool education helps address issues of access http://www.unicef.org/kyrgyzstan/reallives_12793.html
Metamorphosis of the Most Popular Children’s Cartoon in Kyrgyzstan http://www.unicef.org/kyrgyzstan/reallives_11079.html
REFORMING THE CHILD PROTECTION SYSTEM
UNICEF advocates for the reform of the Child Protection System through activities that include: development of legislation and policies, technical support for institutional reform, assists monitoring and evaluation, enhances the skills of Government staff and establishes social services at the community level. The aim is to make social support available to vulnerable children and families in local communities all over the country through an accountable and coordinated system of child protection. A special focus is made on the introduction of gate-keeping mechanisms to prevent the placement of children in residential care institutions. To provide an alternative to these closed residential institution for children left without parental care, UNICEF has supported a number of services, such as returning to the family, guardianship or adoption, foster families, and family-type homes.
Videos: A Kyrgyz local hero fights to protect the rights of street children in Bishkek http://www.unicef.org/videoaudio/ramfiles/8400h_kyrgyzhero.ram
Sold for $12,000: Tackling child trafficking in Kyrgyzstan http://www.unicef.org/videoaudio/ramfiles/7999h_kyrgyzstanhumantrafficking.ram
DEVELOPING SOCIAL SERVICES: UNICEF assists the Government in developing social services for children and families living in difficult conditions and in achieving the Country Development Strategy 2009-2011 goals. Financial management analysis and assessment of service costs for children and their families, as well as the monitoring and evaluation of the decentralization process of existing child care services, contribute to reduce the number of children in the residential institutions, form child-oriented budgets in local administrations, and develop cost-effective services.
Real life story: ‘Nur’ – A Ray of Change http://www.unicef.org/kyrgyzstan/reallives_11078.html
IMPROVING INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL ADOPTION REGULATIONS: In the line with its policy to give the privilege of adoption to families from the child’s country of birth, UNICEF is helping the Government to develop a state strategy on national and international adoption that protects ‘the best interests of the child’. These measures will ensure that children adopted by families from other countries can be monitored in accordance with international norms and standards and have guarantees about the child’s future.
PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS: UNICEF advocates practices that move away from the ‘medical model’ to a ‘right based approach’, which does not exclude children with disabilities from society and gives them an opportunity to have an active life. With this shift in care, children with mild disabilities can go to regular schools, kindergartens and cultural events, without fear of discrimination.
JUVENILE JUSTICE: FROM PUNISHMENT TO PREVENTION AND SUPPORT: UNICEF works with the Government to reform the juvenile justice system according to international standards as called for in the Code on Children. UNICEF has provided technical assistance in drafting a law on juvenile justice and revision of related legislation. The Agency has also supported the development of a training programme for law enforcement bodies on judicial and social services standards. The reforms provide for alternative measures for children, who are in conflict with the law, including conciliation procedures, social support during detention, investigation and sentencing, and to ensure their successful reintegration into society. Enforcement of international standards will make deprivation of liberty the measure of last resort and for the shortest possible period of time. A pilot project on the application of alternative measures of punishment is being implemented in the Sverdlov and Oktaybr districts in Bishkek. It promotes alternatives to detention, such as compulsory community service, vocational training and, when appropriate, provides legal support to a child in conflict with the law and his/her family.
REDUCING CHILD POVERTY: UNICEF contributes to the reduction of child poverty in Kyrgyzstan through analyses and recommendations to improve effectiveness of existing anti-poverty policy frameworks. A UNICEF-commissioned National Study on Child Poverty and Disparities provides a comprehensive understanding of the phenomena of child poverty. It guides development and implementation of child-centred policies and programmes, which seek to break the vicious circle of poverty and provide better opportunities for vulnerable children. At the local level, UNICEF continues to equip local authorities with ‘know-how’ and skills for participatory decision-making and strategic planning aimed at improving child and family welfare.
Video: Families in Kyrgyzstan hit hard by the global recession http://www.unicef.org/videoaudio/ramfiles/8399h_kyrgyzbread.ram
REFORMING STATE SUPPORT TO THE MOST VULNERABLE: UNICEF assists the State Agency for Social Welfare, in partnership with European Commission and the World Bank, to reform the national social protection system in order to better support to the most vulnerable groups of population. Through analytical and modeling activities, the proposed reforms resulted in a set of recommendations to improve effectiveness of the benefit system to reduce child poverty. The recommendations have been tested in seven areas with different levels of socio-economic development throughout the country. The results of this work have shaped a new law governing social assistance in the Kyrgyz Republic.
MONITORING CHILDREN’S ENVIRONMENT
Monitoring and evaluation has a strategic role to play in informing the policy making process. Thus, UNICEF constantly supports research, studies, monitoring and evaluations. UNICEF supports the fourth Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey to be conducted in 2010. The survey is conducted every five years to analyse important health and development indicators for children and women, and evaluate potential risks, violence and extreme poverty. UNICEF pays special attention to making statistical information user-friendly and simple. The DevInfo database system is has been specially designed to search for information and generate tables, graphs and maps.
SUPPORTING RIGHTS OF CHILDREN IN EMERGENCIES
In emergencies, UNICEF coordinates its work with other UN Agencies and helps to ensure access to quality services, organize vaccinations and supply of food supplements. It also helps to ensure water supply to maintain sanitary and hygienic standards. Special attention is paid to protect children from neglect, cruel treatment and exploitation in crisis situations. Throughout its work in Kyrgyzstan, UNICEF has been among the first to help children and families in need. In 2009, with the help of the Centralized Emergency Revolving Fund (CERF) and the Dutch National UNICEF Committee, UNICEF provided warm clothing and underwear, blankets, toiletries and first-aid kits, as well as coal, gas canisters, generators with fuel to children centres and shelters.
Real life stories: Hope on the verge of existence http://www.unicef.org/kyrgyzstan/reallives_11354.html
A long way to school http://www.unicef.org/kyrgyzstan/reallives_11347.html
Supporting the fragile ties of a family http://www.unicef.org/kyrgyzstan/reallives_11346.html
DEVELOPING ON-LINE RESOURCES ON CHILDREN
UNICEF supports the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Migration of the Kyrgyz Republic in creating a hub of child rights expertise in Internet space: www.baldar.kg. It is a unique consolidated resource in Kyrgyz and Russian languages for parents and professionals - physicians, teachers, kindergarten teachers, and government representatives. Individuals and organizations have a place for their interesting and useful resources on children in Kyrgyzstan and take part in on-line forums and discussions. The web-portal highlights the aspiration of UNICEF to use the newest technologies and to open new opportunities for knowledge management and development of partnership for the sake of children.
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