July 2010
World Cup fever takes Aids message to young fans
Jul 01, 2010 10:09 AM
With the World Cup in full swing and schools closed for a month, HIV/Aids groups are grabbing the opportunity to reach out to South Africa's youngest and least privileged football fans. The government’s move to shut down schools during the month-long games, sparked worries that a lack of adult supervision could put children at risk of HIV, hunger, and even trafficking.
Romania seeks EU emergency aid after floods
Jul 01, 2010 02:07 PM
Following torrential rain, floods in Romania have left 24 people dead and forced 7,000 people to evacuate their homes and farms in the north and east of the country. Footage taken in the north from the worst affected regions shows fields, roads and houses still submerged and children struggling to rescue stranded animals.
Reconstruction in Gaza
Jul 01, 2010 02:10 PM
The IRIN news service draws attention to a paper just published by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) on the rebuilding needed in Gaza after Israel’s 23-day offensive in December 2008 and January 2009.
Floods in Brazil
Jul 02, 2010 11:10 AM
Since 19 June, the Northeastern region of Brazil has been experiencing unrelenting torrential rains, mainly in the provinces of Alagoas and Pernambuco, where SOS Children's Villages Brazil runs three facilities: the SOS Social Centre Recife, the SOS Social Centre Igarassu and the SOS Children's Village Igarassu.
International assistance for Kyrgyzstan
Jul 02, 2010 02:38 PM
Human Rights Watch has urged the Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to deploy international police in southern Kyrgyszstan. This follows a similar request made last week by the Kyrgyzstan government itself for police support.
Progress in Haiti
Jul 02, 2010 02:40 PM
Five months after the earthquake on January 12th, which killed more than 300,000 people and left 1.5 million homeless, essential life-preserving services are in place for the Haitians. However, the huge task of reconstruction has yet to begin in earnest and more than 1 million Haitians are still living in makeshift tent cities, which are extremely congested. With the rainy season now starting, some international observers are concerned that the overcrowded conditions and overstretched toilet facilities could lead to outbreaks of cholera.
School destroyed in Rwanda genocide thrives as country marks liberation day
Jul 05, 2010 08:11 AM
As the US celebrated the 4th of July with hotdogs, barbecues and fireworks, Rwanda also celebrated with a national holiday. That date marked the end of the Rwandan Genocide, and it was16 years ago yesterday since the central African country’s liberation.
Unwanted baby boom South Africa’s World Cup legacy
Jul 05, 2010 08:13 AM
South Africa is bracing itself for a baby boom in March next year, nine months after it hosts the World Cup football tournament. Huge numbers of these children will be unplanned and end up abandoned, experts predict, because many of them will be born to prostitutes who don’t have the means to support them.
Scores of children killed in Congo tanker blast
Jul 05, 2010 08:15 AM
Children and women were among the 235 killed when fire ripped through a town in Congo. It started late on Friday when a fuel tanker toppled over in the town of Sange and the gushing fuel the caught fire, setting alight dozens of earth and straw homes. More than a quarter of the victims were children who had rushed to scoop up leaking oil after the crash.
Aids scientists call for month’s sex ban
Jul 05, 2010 09:47 AM
Aids scientists have called for a month-long sex ban, saying it could almost halve the spread of the virus. Researchers working on the frontline in the fight against the world's worst Aids epidemic want African leaders to head up a month of sexual abstinence. They say the campaign, could cut new infections by 45 per cent and break the cycle of infection – a huge step in countries such as South Africa, Zimbabwe and Swaziland.
Bangladesh faces tough times ahead
Jul 05, 2010 03:22 PM
The capsizing of a ferry on the River Shitalakkhya this week near the capital Dhaka, resulting in dozens of passengers missing, is just the latest in a series of distressing news reports coming from Bangladesh.After two years of relative peace under the Awami League (AL) government, the country has again witnessed violent street protests in the last few days.
Rwanda’s children of rape
Jul 06, 2010 10:06 AM
Sixteen years later, another new generation is bearing the scars of the Rwandan genocide. Like 20,000 other Rwandan teenagers, Diane Kayirangwa was born in the midst of the chaos that killed so many in her country in 1994. Her father was a member of the Interahamwe − the ethnic Hutu militia ordered by the extremist government to wipe out the Tutsi minority. Her mother, Anastasie, was one of the countless women raped by the Hutu militia. She was raped three times by three different people and barely escaped alive.
Sweden tops list of European countries for refugees
Jul 06, 2010 02:36 PM
The UNHCR estimates that over the next three to five years more than 800,000 refugees will need resettling in third countries. Many of these refugees are currently living in developing countries where they cannot live safely or integrate into the local communities.
Turkish children jailed in new upsurge of violence
Jul 06, 2010 02:40 PM
According to Kurdish lawyers, hundreds of Turkish teenagers, some as young as 11, are in prison on terrorism charges. These children are often held in high-security adult prisons where conditions are harsh, accused of stone-throwing or chanting nationalist slogans at rallies held by the PKK Kurdish separatist movement.
Naomi Campbell called to blood diamond trial
Jul 06, 2010 03:40 PM
Supermodel Naomi Campbell was this week holidaying in the south of France, just a couple of days after she was called to testify in a war crime tribunal about allegedly accepting a blood diamond.
Cancer test offers new hope for women in Africa
Jul 07, 2010 10:10 AM
Every two minutes, somewhere in the world, a woman somewhere in the world dies of cervical cancer. It is the number one killer disease for women. It is an infection of the womb (cervix) and is not easy to find until it gets worse, but it can be cured if diagnosed early and treated.
Cheryl Cole in intensive care with malaria
Jul 07, 2010 11:00 AM
Cheryl Cole has been moved to a specialist intensive care unit after she caught malaria while on holiday in Africa.
Twenty years of SOS Children's Villages in Armenia
Jul 07, 2010 12:55 PM
Twenty years of SOS Children's Villages in Armenia
Armenia opens second SOS Children's Village
Jul 07, 2010 12:59 PM
On 4 July the second Armenian SOS Children's Village was officially inaugurated
Dangers for poor mothers in Mexico
Jul 07, 2010 03:13 PM
Despite the impression there are teeming masses of Mexicans waiting to pour across the border into the United States, the birth rate in Mexico, once among the world’s highest, has taken a sharp nose dive. Four decades ago, Mexican mothers typically had seven children, whereas the average today is just over two and this is predicted to fall lower than the US average by 2040.
Flooding affects thousands in India
Jul 07, 2010 03:15 PM
More than 50 people have been killed and almost half a million displaced following heavy monsoon rains in the south and north east of India.
Women and girls paralysed by fear of rape
Jul 08, 2010 09:04 AM
Women and girls in Nairobi’s shanty towns live in constant fear of rape, says a new report by a human rights group. The threat of sexual violence makes women in the Kenyan capital’s poorest areas prisoners in their own homes, leaving them often too scared to leave their houses to use communal toilets and bathrooms. A
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Hojai, India
Jul 08, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Hojai in India. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Jul 08, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Rajshahi in Bangladesh. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Lavrovo, Russia
Jul 08, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Lavrovo in Russia. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Kolkata, India
Jul 08, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Kolkata in India. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Jul 08, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Addis Abeba in Ethiopia. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from San Miguel, Ecuador
Jul 08, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from San Miguel in Ecuador. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Tiquipaya, Bolivia
Jul 08, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Tiquipaya in Bolivia. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Tela, Honduras
Jul 08, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Tela in Honduras. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Obera, Argentina
Jul 08, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Obera in Argentina. Written in 2009.
Children killed by lead poisoning in Nigeria
Jul 09, 2010 08:01 AM
More than 100 children are suffering serious lead poisoning in northern Nigeria.
Land conservation for Cambodia’s rural poor
Jul 09, 2010 08:04 AM
When the leader of the Khmer Rouge movement, Pol Pot, embarked on his reforming policies in the 1970s, which lead to millions being ejected from the cities and dying in the ‘killing fields’, he was striving to achieve the dream of an agrarian utopia, where peasants would live happily, without the need for money or possessions.
Man arrested in Nigeria carrying bag of dead babies
Jul 09, 2010 09:09 AM
A man has been arrested in Nigeria after he was found carrying bags containing more than 70 babies’ bodies.
SOS helps families affected by Brazil floods
Jul 09, 2010 01:46 PM
The Brazilian regions of Pernambuco and Alagoas have been suffering the effects of heavy rains and flooding for almost three weeks now. The children and staff of SOS Children's Villages are safe. But in the vicinity of SOS programmes, children and their families have been evacuated from their towns and require immediate support. Some cities have literally been washed away by the rains and thousands have lost their homes to the floods.
Melamine-laced products resurface to threaten babies in China
Jul 09, 2010 02:12 PM
The Xinhua news agency in China last week reported that the Chinese authorities have seized another batch of milk powder laced with the toxic melamine. The 38 tonnes of milk product were found in the northwest of China, in the Gansu and Qinghai provinces.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Retalhuleu, Guatemala
Jul 11, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Retalhuleu in Guatemala. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Samneua, Laos
Jul 11, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Samneua in Laos. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Bhuj, India
Jul 11, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Bhuj in India. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Visakhapatnam, India
Jul 11, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Visakhapatnam in India. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Meru, Kenya
Jul 11, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Meru in Kenya. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Matagalpa, Nicaragua
Jul 11, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Matgalpa in Nicargua. Written in 2009.
Malaria victim, Cheryl’s out of intensive care
Jul 12, 2010 07:39 AM
Singer Cheryl Cole has come out of the intensive care ward where she was being treated for Malaria and has been moved to a private clinic. Despite taking Malaria tablets, the X-Factor judge, 27, caught malaria last month while on a trip to Tanzania - home to one of the most dangerous strains of malaria.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Iloilo, Philippines
Jul 12, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Iloilo in the Philippines. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Latur, India
Jul 12, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Latur in India. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Santa Maria, Brazil
Jul 12, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship repotr from Santa Maria in Brazil. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Puerto Varas, Chile
Jul 12, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Puerto Varas in Chile. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Jul 12, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from San Pedro Sula in Honduras. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from El Alto, Bolivia
Jul 12, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship Report from El Alto in Bolivia. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Pokhara, Nepal
Jul 12, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Pokhara in Nepal. Written in 2009.
Charities report on their work 6 months after the earthquake in Haiti
Jul 13, 2010 08:22 AM
Six months after the earthquake brought devastation to Haiti, many international charities last week published reports and press releases to summarise their work over the half-year and discuss the future needs of the country.
The Plight of Displaced People in Columbia
Jul 13, 2010 08:24 AM
The UNHCR’s regional public information officer has recently interviewed the director and stars of a new film in Columbia, called ‘Portraits in a Sea of Lies’. The film tackles the issue of displaced people within the country, by depicting a child who is forced to move from a rural area to Bogota and who returns fifteen years later to her former village. The director of the film, Carlos Gaviria, was eager to present the huge tragedy this represents for many poor Columbians, who struggle to build a new life in the towns and cities.
Suicide belt found at scene of Uganda World Cup blasts
Jul 13, 2010 09:15 AM
Ugandan police have found an unexploded suicide bomber’s belt and arrested several people after two bomb attacks killed 74 football fans while they watched the World Cup final.
Talks to control weapons trade
Jul 13, 2010 02:56 PM
Talks started this week on an arms trade treaty to control the £36bn global weapons market and prevent guns from pouring into conflict zones, fuelling wars and atrocities. More than 190 nations are taking part at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Armed violence kills one person every minute according to the international campaign group, Control Arms Campaign. Supporters of the treaty say it would save thousands of lives every year.
India’s number of poor larger than thought
Jul 13, 2010 03:42 PM
In April this year, the Indian government revised its own estimates for the number of its citizens living below the poverty line.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Chaimavida, Chile
Jul 13, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Chaimavida in Chile. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Monaragala, Sri Lanka
Jul 13, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Monaragala in Sri Lanka. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Lipa, Philippines
Jul 13, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Lipa in the Philippines. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Qiqihar, China
Jul 13, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Qiqihar in China. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Chennai, India
Jul 13, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Chennai in India. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Mai Dich, Vietnam
Jul 13, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Mai Dich in Vietnam. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Comitan, Mexico
Jul 13, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Comitan in Mexico. Written in 2009.
HIV rates drop as young Africans change sex habits
Jul 14, 2010 12:44 PM
Rates of HIV in young Africans are falling as they start having sex later, new research shows. The prevalence of HIV among young people in the world’s Aids hotspots, mainly Africa, have gone down by as much as 25 per cent as people aged between15 and 24 alter their sexual behaviour.
Getting more children in school a World Cup legacy
Jul 14, 2010 12:50 PM
World Cup legacy campaigners have welcomed a call by African heads of state to make education an urgent priority. In the first ever political talks called because of a sporting event, world leaders answered campaigners’ calls for political action to make sure every child can go to school before the next World Cup in 2014.
Second-chance exam for Darfur schoolchildren
Jul 15, 2010 12:30 PM
Schoolchildren whose lives have been upset by fighting in Sudan’s south Darfur region have been given another chance at a crucial exam. Because of fighting, primary school pupils in Jabel Marra lost out on a chance to take a test that can allow them to move up to high school.
Children sharing prison cells with adults in Swaziland
Jul 15, 2010 02:47 PM
Children in Swaziland are still being forced to share jail cells with adult criminals. The issue was highlighted on Friday when a High Court Judge hearing bail applications found out that children awaiting trail would share the same cells as adults at Pigg’s Peak prison.
The heatwave in Russia
Jul 15, 2010 03:21 PM
As many countries struggle with flooding from unusually high levels of rainfall, Russia is experiencing a severe heatwave.
Edgbarrow School publishes book for SOS Children
Jul 15, 2010 03:29 PM
Edgbarrow School in Berkshire has a very special relationship with the SOS Children’s Village in Asiakwa, Ghana. After a friend of one of the teachers visited the Children’s Village in 2008 and returned to tell about the need for IT equipment, the school decided to embark on a fundraising mission to raise the money necessary to equip an IT suite at the Children’s Village.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Leon, Nicaragua
Jul 15, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Leon in Nicaragua. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Rourkela, India
Jul 15, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Rourkela in India. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Luque, Paraguay
Jul 15, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Luque in Paraguay. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Ibague, Colombia
Jul 15, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Ibague in Colombia. Written in 2009.
Child Sponsorship Report 2009, from Da Lat, Vietnam
Jul 15, 2010 11:00 PM
A child sponsorship report from Da Lat in Vietnam. Written in 2009.
A Focus on Children’s Rights in Brazil
Jul 16, 2010 09:17 AM
The UNHCR has issued a report on a programme underway in Brazil which promotes access to education by ensuring the children of refugees are integrated into local schools and receiving a good education.
Health issues and poverty in Egypt
Jul 16, 2010 09:20 AM
Since the 1970s, when needles were reused during a campaign to combat the illness of bilharzia, Egypt has often recorded the highest infection rates of hepatitis C. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that up to 3 percent of the world’s population is infected with the virus, but whereas rates in many countries are as low as 0.1 percent of the population, in Egypt the incidence is as high as 18.1 percent.
Sudan throws out aid workers
Jul 16, 2010 09:21 AM
Aid efforts could suffer in Sudan after the country yesterday threw out two foreign relief workers.
Tens of thousands flee Congo fighting
Jul 16, 2010 01:12 PM
Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in the Democratic Republic of Congo after an army attack on Ugandan rebels
Football for Peace in Israel
Jul 21, 2010 09:48 AM
As the World Cup took place in South Africa, a football tournament of a much smaller size but of perhaps greater importance, was being played out in Israel.
Migrant mothers in Russia
Jul 21, 2010 09:56 AM
An increasing number of migrant workers from the former Soviet states of Central Asia are moving to Russia to seek work and these women face two growing problems.
Gel can halve HIV-infections, say scientists
Jul 21, 2010 10:02 AM
A major step forward in testing a vaginal gel to protect women against HIV renewed optimism at the world Aids conference today after two days of rows over funding.
Albania’s youth help tackle the threat of AIDS
Jul 21, 2010 10:06 AM
UNICEF has just published a new report on the growing HIV epidemic in the regions of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Courts in Bangladesh get tough
Jul 21, 2010 10:09 AM
Last week, a ten year-old boy committed suicide, after saying he’d been beaten by his teacher. This tragic case is only one of many which have drawn new attention to the issue of corporal punishment in Bangladesh.
Cash handouts delay HIV risk in girls
Jul 21, 2010 10:15 AM
Regular cash payments can help delay the spread of HIV/Aids by preventing poor girls being forced into sex with older and richer men, according to new research.
Clinics to sell affordable malaria drugs
Jul 21, 2010 10:17 AM
The best malaria treatments are now within easier reach for parents of children suffering from the diseases after subsidies from charities.
Charities urge Guinea-Bissau to protect children from trafficking
Jul 21, 2010 01:48 PM
Guinea-Bissau must move fast to pass a law banning human trafficking, urge aid groups.
Darfur rebels’ deal to stop child soldiers
Jul 21, 2010 03:48 PM
Rebel fighters in Sudan have signed a breakthough deal to let the United Nations into its bases, to check it isn’t using child soldiers.
Niger on the brink of catastrophe
Jul 22, 2010 08:43 AM
Drought stricken Niger is on the edge of catastrophe, warn aid groups as the United Nations ‘massively scales up’ its food hand outs.
Shelter and security still needed in Kyrgyzstan
Jul 22, 2010 09:06 AM
One month after ethnic clashes in June left over 300 people dead, the UNHCR estimates that up to 75,000 refugees in southern Kyrgyzstan are still homeless or in need of shelter.
Storms brings more woe to China
Jul 22, 2010 09:17 AM
Last week, typhoon Conson skirted southern China and hit the island of Hainan with wind speeds of 126 km/h (78 mph), killing two people.
Babies need better HIV protection in Africa
Jul 22, 2010 09:25 AM
Only about half the babies born to mothers with HIV are getting the prevention drugs they need to stay HIV/Aids free, a new study reveals.
Cash hand-out promised for poor families in the Philippines
Jul 25, 2010 03:38 PM
A recent survey carried out in the Philippines estimates that four million households have suffered from hunger over the past three months.
Growing hunger in Bangladesh
Jul 25, 2010 03:45 PM
A newly-released report by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies highlights how the country will struggle to feed its population of 158 million and growing, unless the country’s agricultural system can be improved.
Firm fined for Africa waste dump that made thousands sick
Jul 25, 2010 03:51 PM
An oil company has been fined £840,000 for illegally exporting hazardous waste to west Africa, where thousands of people got sick.
Congo gold mine forces thousands from homes
Jul 25, 2010 03:55 PM
As many as 15,000 people will have to be rehoused in the Democratic Republic of Congo, when a huge new gold mine starts up.
Stigma makes pregnant teens avoid HIV tests
Jul 25, 2010 04:02 PM
In Zimbabwe’s second largest city, Bulawayo, every pregnant woman is tested for HIV as part of a drive to prevent mothers passing on the virus to their babies.
Children perish in Peru big freeze
Jul 26, 2010 02:27 PM
Children aged under five have made up most of the hundreds of victims of a severe snap of cold weather sweeping southern Peru.
Home visits help families in Kyrgyzstan
Jul 26, 2010 02:37 PM
Families whose houses were ruined in last month’s ethnic fighting in Kyrgyzstan are being visited at home to help them tap into social services support.
Thousands of families evacuated as floods devastate China
Jul 26, 2010 02:51 PM
China is today stepping up its flood control efforts after 11 days of flooding left 111 people dead and 167 others missing in the north west.
Botched abortions a major killer in Ghana
Jul 27, 2010 08:26 AM
More than one out of every 10 women who die from pregnancy linked conditions in Ghana has had unsafe abortions. And 13 per cent of Ghanaian women who have had an abortion suffer complications brought on by unsafe procedures, new research reveals.
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