9,700 Children Displaced Since Start of Mosul Operation – UNICEF
NEW YORK (November 3, 2016) – 20,700 people have been displaced since the operation to retake Mosul started on October 17. UNICEF estimates that 9,700 of them are children in urgent need of assistance.
As these children and families arrive at the screening sites, UNICEF is there to meet them.
“I met mothers and children who were so relieved to have come out alive; it was clear that they had gone through so much,” said Pernille Ironside, UNICEF’s Chief of Field Operations in Iraq, following a visit to Nargizlia screening site.
Many of the new arrivals were coming in dusty, exhausted and uncertain about what was going to happen next. Some were barefoot.
UNICEF reached out to the families, checking on the condition of their children and finding out if any of them were missing.
Upon arrival, families receive clean drinking water and snacks that include a nutritional supplement for children.
Children aged 6 months to 15 years old are immediately immunized against polio and measles by a UNICEF-supported four-person local government team. For many, it was the first time they had been immunized in the past two years.
Families spend up to half a day in the screening site before being transferred to an emergency camp where they are assigned shelter.
There, UNICEF ensures that water, showers and clean latrines are available. Children are screened for malnutrition, and treated accordingly, and UNICEF supported mobile teams also provide psychological care for children.
UNICEF is also preparing temporary learning spaces and recreational activities for children in the camps.
While many people have fled and are staying in camps, others have chosen to remain in their newly retaken villages. UNICEF is adapting its response to reach all populations in need.
In October, UNICEF delivered bottled water and hygiene supplies for more than 1,500 families, and vaccinated children against polio in two newly retaken communities. Conditions for both displaced and local children and families in these communities are very poor, with families in desperate need of clean water and other essential supplies.
“As the situation continues to unfold, it is important that we remain nimble and that we adapt our response to best assist children and families who have been through so much over these past years,” Ironside said.
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About UNICEF
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) works in more than 190 countries and territories to put children first. UNICEF has helped save more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization, by providing health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF's work through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States. Together, we are working toward the day when no children die from preventable causes and every child has a safe and healthy childhood. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.
For more information, contact:
Sophie Aziakou, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, 917.720.1397, saziakou@unicefusa.org