Children are often the predominant casualties of emergency situations, yet globally they are too often neglected or considered secondary in humanitarian emergency response. World Vision is committed to speaking in a timely fashion, with one voice, in times of crisis.
Protecting children is a legal obligation, not an optional addition to humanitarian action. A child rights-based response requires that:
- Non-discrimination (ALL situations at ALL times -- including the most disadvantaged, – the hard to access, displaced, refugees, minorities etc)
- Superior interest of the Child - children are a priority in the emergency actions
- Right to Life, Survival and Development - the survival and development of the child should be ensured to the maximum extent possible
- Right to Participation - children capable of forming their own views to participate must be consulted in decision-making on issues which affect them.
Lack of infrastructure, water, food, medical attention, and other critical supplies….We know there are widespread outages of water and food, many of the hospitals are in a state of total disrepair. Children are of course amongst the wounded, and children are much more likely to suffer from these kinds of deprivations. The lack of water and medical services may also result in outbreaks of epidemics to which children would also be more susceptible.
Children separated from their parents and caregivers….The earthquake struck at the end of the workday, so many children were not with their primary caregivers at the time. We’ve also heard reports on the news of children just outside their homes or apartments looking for family members trapped inside. Children separated from their parents are then much more at risk to have their rights violated, and to be taken advantage of.
Many children are also likely to be very distressed by this event...They may not know the whereabouts of their families or friends, they’ve likely seen scenes of devastation that no child should ever see. They are suffering from a lack of basic necessities such as clean clothes, food, and a safe place to rest.
WV Activities…Children are the priority for our relief efforts now and into the future. We want to ensure that children have safe spaces to go, especially those who have been separated from their families. We’ll be working to ensure that children and their families get the appropriate physical and psychosocial support they need.
World Vision warns that the situation of children in Haiti could deteriorate as a result of this crisis. Haiti has the lowest per capita income across America, with 80% of its nearly nine million people living in poverty. This new disaster adds to the series of tragedies Haiti has suffered in recent years, including several hurricanes in 2008 that caused hundreds of deaths.
The state of children in Haiti is already very dismal. While things have improved greatly over the past decade, Haiti still has the worst child health and education indicators in the Western hemisphere. Thousands of children are forced into modern day slavery as restaveks, and hundreds of thousands more are child labourers and lack parental care. Levels of child rights violations are already alarming.
It’s the unfortunate reality that many children will be made even more vulnerable through this crisis. Many may be separated from their families, the families of many more will have lost their homes, and the source of the livelihoods. An earthquake of this scale is an extremely distressing experience for children in the immediate aftermath, and likely will have negative impacts the child well-being for quite some time.
The priority needs of children at this moment are health care José Sergio Abreu, World Vision Dominican Republic Director of Child Well-being and responsible for Advocacy and Justice for Children, is currently responding to the emergency in Haiti.
Friday January 15th 18:00 GMT, Jose Sergio explained, "The situation is heartbreaking, especially the situation of children." World Vision has a large distribution centre and is providing medical attention, water, and food, to hundreds of children from Jimani.
Jose Sergio reiterated that the priority needs of children at this moment are health care and basic needs, reunification of minors, and child protection.
There is a basic medical team responding alongside the hospital and emergency shelter teams but "there are still entire neighbourhoods buried under the rubble; there are many challenges to the response in this situation," commented Abreu.
This morning World Vision met with the child protection team from UNICEF and they continue to closely collaborate to ensure a more complete response for the well-being and protection of children.
At this moment World Vision seems to be one of the only international organizations with experience responding to children in emergencies currently working along the border with Dominican Republic.
The lack of safe water and food, the devastation of infrastructure including medical facilities, and the lack of trained personal are having a disproportionate impact on Haitian children, who already experience the worst health outcomes of children in the Western Hemisphere.
Children are amongst the wounded and are much more vulnerable to the effects of insufficient food and safe water and from not receiving timely medical attention.
In addition, the lack of water and medical services will almost certainly result in outbreaks of epidemics to which children would also be more susceptible.
Infrastructure problems, and particularly the dismal situation of access to water and sanitation have already been the priority of the GoH and international cooperation these past three years.
In Port au Prince, there is still this past year very little availability of water for any purpose including cleaning.
People must buy water and ice, in the quantities and quality feasible to their sometimes meagre income. Water will therefore be an immediate issue as most families are now facing critical shortages.
