African leaders assemble to write IDP covenant
Members assembling for a summit of African heads of state in Uganda seek to pass an African Convention on the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, a protocol that will serve as the first legally binding instrument regarding internally displaced people. Though the draft document has won praise from humanitarian groups such as Amnesty International and the International Federation for Human Rights, it has come up for criticism for language that is vague and inconsistent with other human-rights documents.

Global hunger crisis worsens
A record-breaking 1 billion people are going hungry thanks to increasing food prices, and 30 countries are in need of immediate emergency aid, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization says. Families in many African countries have cut expenditures on clothes, schooling and medical care but still are unable to provide their children one healthy meal a day.

Mobile computer labs to launch in Rwanda
A project of the Rwanda Development Board, the ICT Bus Project employs large buses equipped with computers and other infrastructure to serve as mobile Internet cafes. Both buses will come with a server and 20 networked laptops and will be deployed throughout rural areas to advance the government’s mission to transform the economy from a rural to a knowledge-based economy.

Rights groups warn UN over DRC civilian casualties
A United Nations-backed offensive in the Democratic Republic of Congo against Rwandan Hutu rebels is exacting a heavy toll on civilians and the UN should end its involvement if local populations cannot be protected, several dozen humanitarian and rights groups say. More than 800,000 people have been displaced and 1,000 civilians killed since the offensive began in January.

Vietnam’s AIDS orphans face hard road

Despite increased prevention and treatment programs in Vietnam for people infected with HIV/AIDS, prejudice and misinformation still hampers the ability of many with the disease to function in society — for children in particular. Though the law stipulates equal treatment, the 5,100 children living with HIV/AIDS are refused entry into Vietnamese schools by the parents of other schoolchildren. The New York Times (10/13)

Abortions decline worldwide; unsafe procedures still common
The number of abortions performed annually is dropping around the world, but about 70,000 women a year still die as a result of unsafe procedures, according to a report from the Guttmacher Institute. More than half the deaths are in sub-Saharan Africa, the region with the lowest rate of contraception use, highest rate of unintended pregnancies and patchy health care access.

UN, Council of Europe call to regulate organ transfers
An international convention is needed to regulate the transfer and prevent trafficking of human organs, tissues and cells, according to a joint report released by the United Nations and Council of Europe. Financial gain from the sale of organs should be banned, the report says, as the practice exploits poor donors.

Invest now to avoid mass famine by 2050
Global food production needs to increase by 70% during the next 40 years to keep pace with the world’s growing population, the Food and Agriculture Organization warns. Failure to expand agriculture in developing countries through investments in infrastructure improvements and increased access to irrigation systems could leave as many as 370 million people facing famine by 2050, FAO says.

Indonesian quake survivors face risk of disease
The United Nations has launched a $38 million appeal to pay for shelter, restoration of water facilities, the fight against disease and other urgent humanitarian needs in earthquake-ravaged Indonesia. But health workers who’ve been working around the clock since the quake hit the island nation Sept. 30 say that without specialized medical equipment, they soon could be overwhelmed by outbreaks of dengue fever and other life-threatening diseases.

I am a true believer in the old saying that “laughter is the best medicine”, when I am down or just having one of those high stress days I pull a face or just do a crazy dance and the world suddenly seems right again.  Laughter is truly a saving grace in many cases, and we all know the power behind a smile.  For children who are victims of severe trauma laughter is something they rarely hear, it is often the one simple aid item that is missed when organizations go into a country in conflict or post-conflict.

When submitting development proposals or packaging aid, one rarely finds ‘laughter’ or ‘clowns’ in the budget, however one international organization seeks to change the way we view development.  “Clowns without Borders aims to improve the condition of life for children and communities living crises, through laughter and humor.”

Clowns with out Borders in Sudan 2009

Children who are victims of, or witness, violent trauma and conflict, are especially vulnerable and affected by their experiences, often finding little support or solace in their time of recovery and healing.  Many children have witnessed their entire families and villages destroyed by war, others have been forced to fight in violent armed conflicts, children with debilitating disabilities, children with HIV/AIDS…children who have seen things that children where not meant to see.  These are children who have most often been victims of mental, physical or sexual abuse.

Thankfully Clowns without Borders has seen the gap in development and the value of laughter as therapy, and their commitment to travel to some of the most hostile and impoverished corners of the globe to spread happiness and laughter amongst children is one of the best investments I have seen.  The fun and the act of laughing is not just simply a right and passage of childhood, but laughing and engaging in the often physical activities, that the clowns provide in their acts, also aids children in their recovery by helping them deal with issues such as;  building self-esteem, developing relationships, provide children with positive role models and a moment of escape from the daily rigors of violent conflict.

One of the most violent and worst places in the world to be a child is the DRC, and thankfully with the aid of Clowns Without Borders, laughter was heard instead of cries.  This past week some 48,00o were the victimized by their red noised invaders, however the only wounds from this invasion where stomach pains caused by a rapidly spreading case of the extreme giggles.

“Even here, children need this kind of entertainment to overcome the suffering and the difficulties, to continue with their life,” he said. “Bringing a smile to an unfortunate kid, or even any normal kid, is a wonderful gift to give.”, said one such victim, Pascal, 42, from the Masisi region. (IRIN)

Laughter is rarely heard amid the sounds of rapid gunfire, but maybe if one could hear that simple sound and see a smiling face amidst the ciaos of death and destruction, they would find peace…they would see the that the enemy that stands before them really isn’t so different and that they too only want a life full of laughter.  I say then…”send in the troops”…”send in the clowns!”

Kenyans in refugee camps fear returning home
Many Kenyans remain reluctant to leave the tents they have called home since election violence displaced them a year and a half ago — despite a call by Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki to fully close the camps today. Many of the refugees said they feared returning to the villages from which they fled and were holding out to receive a large plot of land, which they could settle in numbers.

Study: India cholera vaccine provides 70% protection
Trials indicate a cholera vaccine developed in India was effective in providing nearly 70% protection to children and others living in the Kolkata region, where the disease is widespread. Subjects receiving the vaccine, which was given orally in two doses, experienced no adverse side effects, according to a report in The Lancet.

Carter calls for effort to beat Caribbean malaria
The fight against malaria gained support in the Caribbean as former President Jimmy Carter called on foundations, health organizations and the governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic to continue the work of a $200,000 pilot program launched by the Carter Center to combat the mosquito-borne disease. “One of the most important developments has been the new cooperation between the two countries,” Carter said. “A tiny bit of money can completely eradicate these diseases.”

Polio outbreaks prompts immunization of 8.5 million in Sudan
An outbreak of 45 polio cases in south Sudan has prompted the government and UN agencies to undertake the vaccination of 8.5 million children, the World Health Organization reports.

Pakistani officials condemn conditions of U.S. aid package
A five-year, $7.5 billion aid program proposed by the U.S. for Pakistan and praised by U.S. President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress has met with stiff resistance from Pakistan’s political opposition and military, who argue the aid package interferes with Pakistani sovereignty. Pakistani officials reject various conditions attached to the legislation, including U.S. oversight of the spending and direction of promotions within the Pakistani military.

Malarial nets a rare “magic bullet” in global health
The distribution of malaria nets has served to prevent the spread of malaria in Africa, where the malaria parasite often proves resistant to cheap anti-malarial drugs. Though the nets have curbed the spread of malaria in nations such as Zambia, fewer than one in four African children sleeps under a malaria net, according to the World Health Organization. People who are infected with malaria — in particular children and pregnant women, who lack the proper immune systems to respond to the disease — must receive treatment within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms to prevent damage to internal organs.

Artificial hymen infuriates Egyptian clerics
Conservatives in Egypt have expressed outrage over the advent of the Artificial Virginity Hymen Kit, a device that would allow a woman — for the price of $29.90 — to recreate a false hymen to deceive a new husband that her hymen is still intact. Members of the conservative Muslim Brotherhood have called on a ban on the product, while a cleric issued a fatwa against its makers.

Report: 2,000 die daily from armed violence
As a UN General Assembly committee began mulling a draft resolution for a treaty that would set international conditions for the sale and transfer of conventional weapons, a report estimated the number of people dying each day from armed violence at more than one per minute. Of the 2,000 average daily victims since 2006, when many governments first embraced the need for worldwide restrictions in the arms trade, nearly 700,000 died in political violence, according to the Oxfam report.

UN report: “Best” countries should improve opportunities for migration
Citizens of Norway, Australia and Iceland had the best standard of living, according to the 2009 UN Development Report, which also urged destination countries to improve opportunities for migration by amending restrictive policies. Migrants from the least advantaged countries, the war- and disease-ravaged sub-Saharan African nations, see their incomes increase by 15-fold, double their enrollment rates in school and see child mortality cut by 16-fold, according to the report.

A few years ago I brought you the inspiring story of William Kamkwamba, who at the age of 14, used the inquisitive nature of his youth to change the lives of both his family and village.   After being forced to drop out of school as his parents had no money,William  sought refuge in a tiny local library that (USAID) had built.  While there he saw a photo of a windmill in and decided to go home and took what he could find and began to build one.

The windmill took William only 3 months to build from various scraps and items he found, and it was in that moment that William stunned his skeptical village as he ‘harnessed the wind’ to bring his family and village power.   Four years later William would find himself in the international spotlight as news of his ambitious and inspiring story to bring an end to dire poverty in his village.

Now 22, William has achieved another amazing feet, he has  just published a book, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope. In the book you can read all about Williams amazing and inspiring story to triumph over poverty and adversity. William is not just an example of how small ideas can produce big and lasting, sustainable change, but that youth really does have the power to drive prosperity.

Recently The Future of Children, which is a collaboration between the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and the Brookings Institution, published the journal; Preventing Child Maltreatment, The Future of Children, vol. 19, no. 2, Fall 2009. The full journal can be found Here.

The report begins with the question; “Why Should We Care About Preventing Child Maltreatment?”. Maybe the answer to the question is obvious, maybe it isn’t as obvious as it seems. Simply we should care as they are children and they need our protection, but why we should care so much and place increased efforts is less obvious to most than it seems. Of course if I ask you if its ok to mistreat or abuse a child you will say “no”. When it comes to the issue of sexual or physical abuse the problems and answers are often easier to see, but in regards to maltreatment the areas often become confusing and gray. One I know many of you are already asking yourself what is “maltreatment”.

However the issue is not just about awareness, but its about when we care and who’s children we care about. We must care about not only our own, but all children, for the effects of their maltreatment is spread far and wide.

Therefore going back to the question, “Why Should We Care About Preventing Child Maltreatment?”, the reports summarized answer to the question is:

In 2006, 800,000 children were identified by state agencies as having been abused or neglected. More than 1,500 children died as a result of maltreatment. High rates of maltreatment are a cause for grave concern. Further, maltreatment often has profound adverse effects on children’s health and development. Maltreated children are more likely than others to suffer from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, and engage in criminal activity. They may very well enter the child welfare system, a complex web of social and legal services whose purpose is to ensure children’s safety. The child welfare system is expensive. Taking into account the costs of case management, administrative expenses, services to families and children, foster care, adoption services, administrative services, hospitalization, mental health care, and law enforcement that stem directly from maltreatment, the total for direct expenses is $33 billion. In light of the toll that maltreatment takes on child well-being, as well as its high financial costs, the expert contributors to this volume explore the vexing question of how to prevent child abuse and neglect.

What is maltreatment? The maltreatment of a child includes all forms of abuse and neglect. Often the signs of abuse seem clearer, and the issue of neglect is missed. However neglect is the most preventable form of child abuse. What is Neglect? Neglect can include;

• Not providing a child with adequate food, clothing, shelter or safety
• Leaving a child unattended or home alone
• Leaving, or placing, a child in an unsafe place
• Not getting proper or adequate medical attention for a child
• Keeping a child out of school

What is also often missed general dialog is the subject of verbal and emotional abuse, which often escalate over time and can turn into physical abuse. While this type of abuse is most often spoken it can also be carried out in written form, and other non-verbal actions. Verbal and emotional abuse can include;

• Ignoring, ridiculing, disrespecting, and criticizing a child
• Manipulating a child’s words
• Humiliation
• Manipulating a child in order to influence them to conduct in negative behaviors
• Making a child feel unwanted and unloved
• Threatening to leave or abandon a child
• Blaming a child for ones actions or abusive behavior
• Isolating the child from school, friends or family

In conclusion the report ends with, “What Approaches should be Implemented to Prevent Child Maltreatment?”

Prevention holds the key to reducing child maltreatment in the United States and to bringing down its well-documented long-term costs, both human and financial.

What can be done? The report addressed the following in regards to the child maltreatment prevention:

• Use Risk Factors to Create Accurate Risk Assessments.
• Invest in Proven Community-wide Interventions.
• Rethink the Approach to Families with Drug or Alcohol Abuse Parental addictions

The report in summary states that the first step in reducing maltreatment of children is to, “redouble efforts to collect evidence on the effectiveness of prevention programs, in part by constructing programs in ways that makes it possible to evaluate rigorously their effects.” Secondly the report stated that the second step, and most needed in my opinion, is to fund prevention programs, one such way as suggested is to increase and “strengthening early childhood programs by expanding home-visiting programs and improving the quality of child care.”

The report highlights that we need to place more focus and care on the issue of the maltreatment of our children, and all children. Children do deserve our undivided and devoted attention, however we continue to fail our children as we continue to provide inadequate protection and services to those children who are abused and neglected. Children’s rights are not just a battle to be won internationally, children’s rights is a battle that continues to be fought daily on our streets, in our schools and in our homes.

For more on child abuse and the strained welfare system in the US and what you can do to help in, Reducing child abuse and neglect here at home, please see the following article I posted on the DC Human Rights Examiner.

For additional information and resources see; Crisis Hotlines, Links for Abused Children and Parents and The Signs of Child Abuse

DRC band looks to raise awareness for disabled
A group of polio-stricken paraplegic singers and musicians have banded together to make music and fight against social stigma and grinding poverty faced by the disabled in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The group, Staff Benda Billi, has embarked on a European tour to promote their new album, which features songs on self-reliance, the importance of vaccines and other socially responsible topics.

UN assessment finds progress, challenges in HIV/AIDS battle
The number of people being tested for HIV/AIDS infection and receiving life-saving drug treatments soared last year, according to a United Nations 2009 progress report. The proportion of mothers and children with HIV/AIDS showed some of the most significant advances. While more than 1 million people began treatment

South African Children Push for Better Schools
Thousands of children marched to City Hall this week in sensible black shoes, a stream of boys and girls from township schools across this seaside city that extended for blocks, passing in a blur of pleated skirts, blazers and rep ties. Their polite demand: Give us libraries and librarians. The marchers in Cape Town, who numbered in the thousands. The marchers echoed a children’s uprising against apartheid in 1976. “We want more information and knowledge,” said a ninth grader, Abongile Ndesi.

New impetus in malaria battle
Twenty African countries have joined efforts in a bid to end all malaria-related deaths on the continent by 2015. The announcement came as the World Health Organization issued a warning that the parasite that causes malaria is demonstrating increased resistance to artemisinin — a drug used to treat multidrug-resistant strains of malaria.

UN, groups partner to target maternal HIV
UNAIDS will partner with several nongovernmental organizations to combat mother-to-child HIV/AIDS transmission. The program will look to prevent HIV/AIDS infections in women of child-bearing age, decrease the incidence of unwanted pregnancies and provide support to mothers living with HIV/AIDS.

Kenya to close largest refugee camp
Kenya will close the nation’s largest refugee camp, created by those who fled ethnic violence after the contentious election in 2008. Some of the camp’s 2,000 residents say they have no home to return to despite the government’s offer of approximately $460 in relocation costs. Tension is rising in the camps in advance of the arrival of special squads of police, who might be forced to carry out evictions