PRESS RELEASE: I would like to go to school and become a pilot' - Children in Somalia Speak Out for Peace

I would like to go to school and become a pilot’

Children in Somalia Speak Out for Peace

Nairobi: Tuesday, 11 December 2007 -- At the launch of the 2008 Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) for Somalia, a video highlighting the voices of children, particularly that of a young girl who wants to be a pilot, reminded those present about the impact of conflict on children.

“I would like to go to school and become a pilot,” said Fartoun Ibrahim, aged 14 “I am asking the world to help us. I want my missing brother back. I want to leave this place with my family and live elsewhere.”

Somalia has seen a drastic deterioration in the humanitarian situation since the start of 2007 with over 1.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.

The Consolidated Appeals Process is a mechanism for the humanitarian community to outline their plans for action in 2008.

“Children like Fartoun live in one of the most vulnerable protection environments in the world,” said UNICEF’s Representative to Somalia, Christian Balslev-Olesen. “Women and children in the centre and south of the country are the worst-affected, with thousands of families displaced, livelihoods disrupted, and an estimated 83,000 children suffering from severe malnutrition,” he added.

Less than a fourth of Somalia’s population can access basic health services and only 29% use a safe water source. Preventable or easily treated diseases remain the main killers of children and women.

The 2008 CAP aims to address the most urgent needs of the 1.5 million people affected. As one of the leading agencies providing emergency assistance to the children and women of Somalia, UNICEF has appealed for US$ 47 million for 2008. This amount will enable UNICEF and its partners to provide critical life saving interventions to 350,000 children under the age of five; vaccinate 1.4 million children against polio; and treat up to 90,000 malnourished children.

UNICEF will also provide 1.2 million displaced or vulnerable persons with access to safe water and sanitation; enable 120,000 children to resume their schooling and equip 20,000 girls and women with knowledge and skills to prevent HIV, while also mobilising communities to reunite families, end the recruitment of child soldiers and prevent injuries from mines and unexploded ordinance.

In 2007, with generous funding against the 2007 CAP, UNICEF and its partners were able to ensure, amongst other results, that half a million people had access to basic health care; 1.6 million children were immunized against polio and 883,000 against measles; some 200,000 people had access to safe drinking water, nearly 60,000 displaced children were able to resume their schooling, over 240,000 displaced and vulnerable households received essential shelter and survival items, and 28,000 young girls and women learned skills to protect themselves and others from HIV, sexual violence and abuse.

For interviews, please call:

• Christian Balslev-Olesen, UNICEF Representative, Tel: +254-20-7623952 / +254-20-350420 Mobile: +254 722 514 569 or +254 733 629 933

For further information, contact:

• Denise Shepherd-Johnson, Chief of Communication, UNICEF Somalia: Tel: +254-20-7623958. Mobile: +254-722-719-867, Email: dshepherdjohnson@unicef.org.