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On February 25, 2019, nine civil society organizations released an open letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres urging him to list the Saudi and Emirati-led Coalition (SELC) in the annexes of his upcoming 2019 annual report on children and armed conflict. The letter calls on the Secretary-General to include the SELC in ‘list A’ of his annexes for all relevant violations, including attacks on schools and hospitals, in order to ensure a credible, accurate listing of perpetrators. The letter documents three of the five ‘trigger’ violations for listing, including killing and maiming, attacks on schools and hospitals, and recruitment and use. The stakes have never been higher, with verified reports of grave violations of children’s rights increasing by nearly 25 per cent in 2018.

José María Faura is the Executive Director of Educo, a global development and humanitarian action NGO with over 25 years’ experience working to defend children and their rights, and especially the right to an equitable and quality education.

BARCELONA, Jan 23 2019 (IPS) - Children´s education is in a state of emergency when it comes to protracted crises. 75 million school-aged children and young people are in desperate need of educational support, are either in danger of or are already missing out on their education in countries facing war and violence (1*).

Yet education has traditionally been the most underfunded area regarding humanitarian aid, coming in at less than 3% of total global funding (2*).

Ten years ago, Ariana Dunne began sponsoring Shaban, a three-year-old boy in Uganda. For the price of four cups of coffee a month, she has continued to sponsor Shaban, and recently got a chance to go and visit him.

Ariana writes about her experience sponsoring a child through ChildFund Ireland, and the emotional meeting with 13-year-old Shaban, his family and community. 

Read the full article in SHEmazing.

ChildFund International, Futures Without Violence, Save the Children and World Vision applaud today’s introduction of S.Res.606 by Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas and Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, calling on Congress to recognize the harmful impact that violence has on the healthy development of children and youth. S.Res.606 condemns all forms of violence against children and youth globally – including physical, mental and sexual violence, neglect, abuse, maltreatment and exploitation. The introduction of the resolution lays the groundwork for future leadership and coordination across the U.S. government on this issue.

Read the full article in Business Wire

The seventh leg of the Rugby World Cup 2019 Trophy Tour spent four days in the Philippines.

... the last event of the tour was a rugby clinic for 100 children at the Concepcion Elementary School in Marikina City. The activity was delivered by Rugby World Cup 2019 Worldwide Partner DHL in collaboration with the Philippine Rugby Football Union, Davao Durian Rugby Club and ChildFund, through their Pass it Back programme. The children enjoyed rugby-based sessions as well as learning important life skills centred around key rugby values of passion, solidarity, integrity, respect and discipline.

Hanoi (VNA) – Microsoft Vietnam will sponsor 5.4 billion VND (233,676 USD) to aid Vietnam’s efforts in protecting children online as part of a freshly signed agreement. 

The cooperation deal on child protection in cyberspace was signed in Hanoi on July 12 by Microsoft Vietnam, the Department of Child Affairs under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, and the ChildFund Vietnam.

Recent reports have shown that Papua New Guinea (PNG) is one of the most dangerous countries for mothers and pregnant women. According to the aid agency ChildFund Australia, women in PNG are 35 times more likely to die during pregnancy than women in Australia.

One of the biggest issues that leads to death or severe complications for both the mother and child is a lack of supervised births at adequate birthing facilities. In 2016, only 40 percent of women in PNG gave birth at a health facility with a specialized birth attendant.

“No woman should die giving birth. Yet in a country just 160 kilometers north of Australia, women are losing their lives every day during childbirth due to unsafe conditions and causes that are completely preventable,”

One in four schoolchildren were found to be lacking in free time or rest time, and only 1 out of 100 were able to enjoy a quality of life that was in tune with recommended standards, according to a survey conducted by ChildFund Korea last year in November and December.

Australia’s near-neighbour Papua New Guinea is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a mother and there are signs the country’s health crisis is getting worse, a report has found.

Women in PNG are 35 times more likely to die during pregnancy than women in Australia (1 in 120 in PNG compared to 1 in 8700 in Australia), according to an evaluation of maternal health by the aid agency ChildFund Australia.

The Ending Violence Against Children Taskforce commends Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) for today introducing H. Res. 910, which calls for increasing and improving the United States Government’s efforts to end violence against children. Written with input by the Taskforce, the resolution condemns all forms of violence against children and youth globally – including physical, mental, and sexual violence, neglect, abuse, maltreatment and exploitation.