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United Methodists discuss children's needs with U.N. speakers

Oct. 17, 2005

NOTE: A photograph and audio are available at http://umns.umc.org.

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.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org

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