United Methodists discuss children’s needs United Methodists discuss children’s needs with U.N. speakers
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A UMNS photo by Mary Beth Coudal Directors of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries visit the United Nations Oct. 11.
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Directors
of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries head to the United
Nations on Oct. 11 for a tour of the building. They also had discussions
with several U.N.-related speakers at the nearby Church Center for the
United Nations. A UMNS photo by Mary Beth Coudal. Photo #05-689.
Accompanies UMNS story #582. 10/17/05 |
Oct. 17, 2005
By Linda Bloom*
NEW YORK (UMNS) —
UNICEF needs to work in partnership with United Methodists and others to
end the threats to children in today’s world.
That was the message
delivered by Rima Salah, UNICEF’s deputy executive director, to
directors and staff of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries
during a forum at the Church Center for the United Nations
Board members traveled
to New York during their Oct. 10-13 annual meeting in Stamford, Conn.
They also heard from Maria Jose Alcala, author of “State of the World
Population” for the United Nations Population Fund, and Ruth Engo,
founder and president of Africa Action on AIDS.
Established in 1946 by
the United Nations, UNICEF works in 157 countries on issues of health,
education, equality and protection for all children.
Salah said she has
witnessed “many examples of the threats children face every day.” A
native of Jordan, she has worked with UNICEF in Pakistan, Burkina Faso,
Vietnam, and West and Central Africa.
Those threats include
being abducted into armies or militias, being trafficked to other
countries for cheap labor or prostitution purposes, and being subjected
to rape as a weapon of war. “Even in times of peace, the lives of
children are under threat,” she noted.
The United Nations has
responded to these threats through the Convention on the Rights of the
Child — ratified by all member states except Somalia and the United
States — and the Millennium Development Goals, which are “focused
largely on improving the lives of children.”
A key component
identified by UNICEF to help achieve those goals is recognizing the
benefits of education, especially for girls, Salah pointed out. Far too
often, she said, children are not in school because of violence,
trafficking, child labor or “merely because they are girls.”
In the Sudan, girls
sent out from camps to collect water or firewood often face the threat
of rape. To improve the situation, UNICEF is gathering girls into
centers where they can be safe and learn to read and write.
Discrimination against
girls and women in general, Salah said, “is the biggest anchor holding
back development around the world.”
Alcala has the same
opinion. “Economists agree education for girls is one of the most
powerful tools” for economic growth, she told board members.
Although primary school
education is important, “it’s when girls go through secondary schools
that there’s the highest payoff,” she said.
Beyond education,
gender equality also has economic and social implications for countries,
according to Alcala. Gender inequality and violence, for example, have
helped fuel the AIDS epidemic, with 75 percent of all new HIV cases
being sexually transmitted between men and women.
“Many of the women report that they were infected by their only partner, their husband,” she said.
Engo told directors
that her agency, Africa Action on AIDS, focuses on impacting the health
of those who aren’t yet infected through such measures as clean water
and sanitation and good nutrition. “Fighting AIDS is preventing AIDS,”
she noted.
UNICEF and UNAIDS will
launch a campaign, “Unite for Children, United Against AIDS,” on Oct.
25. During the next five years, the campaign will work to prevent
mother-to-child transmission of HIV, provide pediatric treatment,
prevent infection among adolescents and young people, and protect and
support children affected by AIDS.
Salah acknowledged that
UNICEF or any other organization alone cannot solve all the problems
that children experience. “Together, let us join hands and create a
world in which children can live in safety and with dignity.”
*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org. Audio Interview with Rima Salah
“We need partnerships to succeed.”
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Resources
UNICEF
Board of Global Ministries
Millennium Development Goals
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