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UNICEF reaches children fleeing to Angola from violence in the DRC

May 30, 2017
UNICEF reaches children fleeing to Angola from violence in the DRC

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More than 9,000 children who have arrived at two temporary reception centres in Dundo, northern Angola, from the Democratic Republic of Congo need urgent support. To date, more than 25,000 people have arrived in Angola, having fled violence in the Kasai province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

UNICEF, together with provincial authorities and other partners, is providing assistance to children and their families who arrive at the camps after days, often weeks of travelling on foot. Many children have witnessed violent attacks, others have sustained severe wounds caused by bullets or crude weapons.

“The protection of children, nutrition, access to safe drinking water and sanitation, as well as prevention of disease, have been UNICEF’s immediate concerns – and actions – since the arrival of refugees in Lunda Norte,” UNICEF’s Representative in Angola, Abubacar Sultan.

Children in the Mussungue reception centre for refugees in Dundo, Angola.
Children in the Mussungue reception centre for refugees in Dundo, Angola.

UNICEF and partners are working around the clock to provide affected children with life-saving interventions in health, water and adequate sanitation services. Reaching children with immunisation against viruses such as measles is vital to reduce the risk of outbreaks.

In addition to the immediate life-saving interventions, UNICEF is taking action to protect 200 children who have arrived at the camps in Angola without their families. UNICEF has trained social welfare workers to register children who arrive in the camps unaccompanied or separated from their families. Registration is critical to ensure the safety of children and protect them from trafficking, abuse and exploitation. By registering children, there is also a greater chance that they can be reunited with their families.

“Reuniting these children with their families is a priority. UNICEF and partners have identified temporary placement of the unaccompanied children in a friendly and protective environment while efforts are made to trace their biological families. UNICEF remains committed to ensuring that the rights of children are realized and protected under all circumstances,” UNICEF’s Abubacar Sultan.

Source: reliefweb. Read full article here.
30 May, 2017