Displaying 1 - 5 of 5
"Two rights groups want child welfare to receive priority [in Kenya] during the Covid-19 pandemic," says this article from the Daily Nation. "The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and Joining Forces Alliance for Children, the umbrella body for children’s rights organisations in the country, have faulted the government for the lack of guidelines for handling violence against minors," the article continues.
The organizations are calling on the government to enact the Children Bill 2019, among other actions. "The lobbies also note lack of information and reports to the…
"The Government of Uganda, through the World Bank-funded Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (DRDIP) project, is taking preventative action to combat violence against [refugee] children by creating an environment for children’s empowerment and participation," says this news release from the World Bank. The projest will "support investments in 14 refugee hosting districts through three types of subprojects: (i) social and economic services and infrastructures, including health, education and WASH services, (ii) sustainable environment and natural resources management; and…
Child's i Foundation in Uganda has donated bicycles, smartphones, face masks and bottles of sanitizer to volunteers in Makindye division, Kampala to support them in their work to "sensitize residents about the spread of COVID-19" and so that the volunteers can "reach places that are inaccessible" and give timely reports on the needs of the community, particularly vulnerable children and families, according to this article from the Daily Monitor. "Apart from bicycles and smartphones, Mr Mukholi [Child i Foundation’s country representative] also said that they will provide…
This article from the Thomson Reuters Foundation reports on the increase of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Somalia as a result of the lockdowns enacted to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Sadia Allin, Plan International’s head of mission in Somalia, "said families in Somalia were taking advantage of school closures to carry out FGM so that the girls had time to recover from the ritual, which can take weeks." Furthermore, "restrictions on movement during the lockdown were making it harder to raise awareness of the dangers of FGM in communities."
This blog post from the UN Sustainable Development Group notes the rise in cases of gender-based violence (GBV) and violence against children (VAC) in Kenya, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and calls for immediate action to address this "shadow pandemic." The United Nations (UN) and the Government of Kenya have launched an appeal "seeking $267 million to respond to the most immediate needs of over 10 million people during the pandemic. Of this, $4.2m is needed to provide lifesaving medical treatment, psycho-social support and legal representation in relation to violence against…