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14 MN Children In Sudan In Need Of Humanitarian Support: UNICEF

By LokMarg 5th August 2023

Fourteen million children are in “dire need” of humanitarian support in Sudan, the United Nations children’s agency warned on Friday, as a deadly conflict in the country deepens its hunger crisis, CNN reported.

“The numbers are staggering. Almost 14 million children — a number roughly equivalent to every single child in Colombia, France, Germany, or Thailand — are in dire need of humanitarian support,” UNICEF deputy executive director Ted Chaiban said in a briefing on Friday.

Over 1.7 million children in Sudan have been forced out of their homes facing risks of hunger, disease, violence, and family separation, he said.

This is in addition to the 1.9 million children, who were already displaced in Sudan before the latest crisis, CNN reported.

“Three million children under five are malnourished with 700,000 at risk of severe acute malnutrition and mortality. 1.7 million children under the age of one are at risk of missing critical vaccinations, raising the risk of disease outbreaks,” Chaiban added.

Since the Sudan conflict began in mid-April, at least 435 children have been killed and more than 2,025 injured, according to UNICEF, CNN reported.

Over 20 million people in Sudan face severe hunger, a figure that has nearly doubled since last year, the UN warned on Thursday.

War broke out between the army and the Rapid Support Forces on April 15. The conflict has since forced some 3.5 million people to flee their homes, including 844,000 who have gone to neighboring countries in search of safety, according to the United Nations. (ANI)

Ayushmann Becomes UNICEF National Ambassador

By LokMarg 19th February 2023

Actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who has always been vocal about children’s rights, on Saturday joined hands with UNICEF to show his support towards ensuring the right of every child to survive, thrive, and be protected.

Today, UNICEF India announced the appointment of the ‘Dream Girl 2’ actor as a National Ambassador.
Speaking at the conferment Ayushmann said,” It is truly an honor to further my advocacy for children’s rights with UNICEF India as a National Ambassador. I am passionate about the issues facing children and adolescents in India. As UNICEF’s Celebrity Advocate, I have interacted with children and spoken on internet safety, cyberbullying, mental health, and gender equality. In this new role with UNICEF, I will keep up a strong voice for children’s rights, especially for the most vulnerable supporting solutions for issues that impact them the most.”

Welcoming Ayushman Khurrana as the National Ambassador for children’s rights, Cynthia McCaffrey, UNICEF India Representative said, “I am delighted to welcome Ayushmann Khurrana as UNICEF India’s National Ambassador. Ayushmann’s strong commitment over the last two years as UNICEF’s Celebrity Advocate has helped amplify and drive the work of protecting the rights of children. He is one of India’s biggest movie stars, and we are thrilled that he is using that powerful voice to stand with children and challenging harmful social norms and gender stereotypes. And it is a voice that resonates with UNICEF’s work and ethos in its sensitivity and passion. We look forward to working with him on the most critical child rights issues of our time – ending violence, mental well-being, and gender equality- and towards a better future for every child.”

Ayushmann was appointed UNICEF India’s Celebrity Advocate in September 2020 to advocate on ending violence against children and the broader child rights agenda.

His active participation in World Children’s Day, adding his voice and influence on International Women’s Day, International Day of the Girl Child, World Day Against Child Labour, and Safer Internet Day raised the profile of children’s causes and received wide public attention.

Most recently he focused attention on inclusion and non-discrimination through gender inclusive sports on World Children’s Day 2022 with Sachin Tendulkar, Regional Ambassador for UNICEF South Asia, and with girls and boys participating from across India.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Ayushmann will be seen in the sequel to his hit franchise Dream Girl 2. The film will also feature Ananya Panday. (ANI)

Around 28 MN Afghans Will Need Humanitarian Aid In 2023: UN

By LokMarg 3rd December 2022

The UN agency for the coordination of humanitarian affairs stated that Afghanistan continues to face one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with 28.3 million people expected to require aid in the upcoming year, TOLOnews reported.

“Afghanistan faces its third consecutive year of drought-like conditions and the second year of debilitating economic collapse,” TOLOnews reported citing the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
“It is estimated that a record 28.3 million people will need humanitarian and protection assistance in 2023, up from 24.4 million in 2022,” the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs added.

In the meantime, the UN requested USD 51 billion on Thursday for those in need in 70 different nations in 2023.

According to UN emergency assistance coordinator Martin Griffiths, the humanitarian needs of some countries are ‘alarmingly great’.

“Five countries are experiencing what we call a famine condition and we can confidently and unhappily say that people are dying,” Griffiths added.

Meanwhile, UNICEF said that the lives of over 8,000 children in Afghanistan are at risk due to food insecurity.

Children in Afghanistan require more humanitarian aid than in the past and hangers are a daily occurrence, TOLOnews reported citing Ezatullah Akbari, head of Human Rights Watch’s media department.

Afghanistan is currently grappling with a serious humanitarian crisis as according to international assessments, the country now has the highest number of people in emergency food insecurity in the world, with more than 23 million in need of assistance and approximately, 95 per cent of the population having insufficient food consumption.

Moreover, the situation of human rights in Afghanistan has worsened since the collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban’s return to power in August last year.

The Ukraine crisis has also had a significant impact on the rise in food prices, making it unaffordable for many Afghans.

Even as the war has ended in the nation, grave human rights violations–particularly against women and minorities–remain unabated. The fundamental rights to non-discrimination, education, employment, public engagement, and health are being denied to women and girls in Afghanistan, reported Khaama Press. (ANI)

Production Of Cervical Cancer To Start In 2023: Poonawala

By LokMarg 21st October 2022

The production of India’s first indigenously developed quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus (HPV) “CERVAVAC” vaccine, for the prevention of cervical cancer, by the Serum Institute of India will start in the first quarter of 2023 which got delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic, said SII CEO Adar Poonawala on Friday.

t indigenously developed vaccine, “CERVAVAC” was announced for the prevention of cervical cancer.
“The capacity got delayed by one year because we are using a new building to this. We use the original HPV vaccine building for Covovax. So, we have to, at that time, had no choice during the pandemic and you know, there are many vaccines like dengue and so many other developments that were deferred by two years for this,” Poonawala said.

On the export of HPV vaccines to other countries he said, “We have already submitted the files and once that is done, we can then export in 2024 to UNICEF, Gavi and the African countries also because there was a shortage of HPV vaccine for the last few years.”

He further said the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has already given a license to the vaccine.

“We will scale up beyond that to reach about 150 million doses or so because eventually I think the Indian immunisation programme will also take a substantial amount and that will also take time to scale up. So, we are matching our scale-up with the demand to satisfy India and its requirements. We are just one year later than what I would have wanted to be in terms of our capacity. We are already licensed by the DCGI,” he said.

On the production of HPV vaccine in 2023, the SII CEO further said that about one or 2 million doses per month will be supplied to the government.

“We will be making a very small quantity and launching it in the Indian government programme in first quarter of next year and followed by having a capacity of 70 million doses which can go up to 150 to 200 million doses the year after that, so to be clear, in 2023, will have a capacity of maybe around 20 million doses. So that’s about one or 2 million doses per month that will be supplied to the government followed by which we will get it who requalification hopefully with all the data that will present,” said Adar Poonawala on production of HPV vaccine in 2023.

Earlier, Adar Poonawala said that HPV vaccine will be available at an affordable price, “We will announce the price in a few months, it’ll be approx Rs 200-400. We will finalise after manufacturing and discussion with the Government of India.”

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh was present as a Chief guest on the occasion where India’s first indigenously developed vaccine, “CERVAVAC” was announced for the prevention of cervical cancer.

“India has come out with the first indigenously developed vaccine for cervical cancer, prevalent among women of the younger age group. Thanks to PM we can now afford to look for preventive healthcare. This vaccine will be affordable,” said Singh.

‘CERVAVAC’ is an outcome of a partnership of DBT and BIRAC with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, supported by Serum Institute of India Private Limited for the indigenous development of quadrivalent vaccine through its partnership program ‘Grand Challenges India’. (ANI)