By Prensa Latina
United Nations : Some 100,000 Kenyan children have been displaced since the beginning of the ongoing crisis in that African state, and 75,000 are in camps, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund.
In a report circulating at the UN headquarters in New York, UNICEF said its efforts have focused on supplying potable water, blankets and food, providing medical care and sanitation services, and guaranteeing the children’s protection and access to education.
Although schools were reopened, the movement of families prevents children from attending classes, so UNICEF set up 30 schools in tents and supplied school materials to 7,000 children in Nairobi, Nakuru and Eldoret, added the report.
The UN agency is assisting the Kenyan Public Health Ministry to establish checkup centers in several camps to identify and treat undernourished children.
It added that children are being vaccinated against measles and poliomyelitis, and are taking pills against parasites and vitamin A to protect them from diseases and malnutrition.
UNICEF noted that protecting children is a major challenge, so it is working in conjunction with Kenyan nongovernmental organizations to set up a system to report cases of child abuse and identify risk groups.
The UN fund has also distributed 1,500 kits to prevent HIV infection, due to the increasing number of rapes that have been reported.
Today’s priorities are family reunification, playgrounds for children and protection of girls and women against violence.