High-level UN group aims to help countries improve nutrition

(PHOTO: IRIN) (HN, 4/11/12) - High-level officials tasked by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon with promoting good nutrition have agreed to focus on ensuring programs supporting nutritional sustainability produces tangible results, & that resources for country-led actions are coordinated, aligned, transparent & accountable.  The group was appointed by Mr. Ban to serve as “strategic guides” for the SUN Movement, a global initiative that aims to improve maternal & child nutrition focusing on the critical 1,000-day window between pregnancy and a child’s second birthday, when proper nutrition can mean the difference between health & sickness, life & death.  Among the group’s members are the leaders of Mozambique, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Namibia, Nepal & Nigeria.  The 1st meeting of the Lead Group for the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement was chaired by Anthony Lake, the Executive Director of  UNICEF & brought together 27 leaders of countries, organizations & sectors working to improve nutrition.  (Read more at UN News Centre)

Asia, Africa: Future Urban Growth Leaders (REPORT)

(GRAPH: Expected growth of urban areas worldwide between 2011-2025/UN)(HN, 4/30/12) - New UN estimates say Africa & Asia are expected to make up 86% of the growth in urban populations worldwide in the decades leading up to 2050. Newly released data shows urban development in Africa is expected to roughly triple, exceeding 1.2 billion; urbanites in Asia will soar from 1.9 billion to 3.3 billion. Samut Prakan is the fastest growing urban area when it comes to volume of people, growing the most between 2010 & 2015; its citizenry anticipated to surge by 9%. The Thai province located south of Bangkok is known for its fishing & boasts that it has the world’s largest crocodile farm.  Close behind are the booming metropolises of Can Tho (Vietnam), Mogadishu (Somalia), Yamoussoukro (Ivory Coast), Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) & Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). Even with big growth smaller burgs like Mogadishu & Yamoussoukro they aren’t going to catch up to Tokyo, Delhi or Los Angeles anytime soon.  Countries will have to scramble to provide enough urban jobs, housing, energy & infrastructure to avoid an explosion of slums, the U.N. says.  (Read more at the UN website)

UN Humanitarian Chief Admitted to Syria, Heads to Homs, Tours Baba Amr

(PHOTO: Valerie Amos, UNOCHA Chief meets w/ Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem in Damascus/HAARETZ)(UPDATED) - Valerie Amos accompanied the Syrian Red Crescent into Baba Amr, the former rebel-held district of Homs where dissidents have reported bloody reprisals by President Bashar Assad's forces.  "She went in with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to Baba Amr &stayed about 45 minutes," an International Committee of the Red Cross spokesman said.  The Red Crescent team found that most residents had fled the district, where rebels had resisted a 26-day army siege until March 1, ICRC spokesman Hicham Hassan said in Geneva.  An ICRC convoy has been unable to enter Baba Amr since arriving in Homs on Friday, a day after the district fell.  --- The UN humanitarian chief arrived in Syria to start a 3-day trip after previously being blocked access to the country.  Valerie Amos visited with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem before departing for Homs where activists have accused President Bashar al-Assad's regime forces of trying to cover up evidence of a month-long military assault & alleged execution-style killings against civilians & journalists.  Despite international appeals, the Syrian government still has not allowed any aid workers into the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs saying there was a `security risk'; though in recent days the International Committee of the Red Cross has been allowed some access to the war torn city. It was unclear if Amos would visit Baba Amr.

(PHOTO: ICRC & Syria Red Crescent in action in Homs, Syria/British Red Cross)Amos has said the aim of her visit is "to urge all sides to allow unhindered access for humanitarian relief workers so they can evacuate the wounded and deliver essential supplies."  The trip comes as Syrian President Bashar Assad defies mounting international pressure to end the year-old crackdown on an uprising against him.  The UN says more than 7,500 people have been killed since Syria's uprising began. Activists put the death toll at more than 8,000. UN/Arab League envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan will arrive for his own  trip to the country on Saturday. (Read More at Haaretz)

Millions of children in cities face poverty & exclusion – UNICEF

(PHOTO: HUMNEWS)(HN, 3/1/12) - Hundreds of millions of children in cities across the world are growing up in poverty & enduring deprivation, according to a report unveiled today by the UN's Children's Agency, UNICEF, spotlighting social exclusion & calling for measures to give youngsters access to basic services & opportunities for a better future. Presently, more than a billion children live in cities. 

(PHOTO: Shehzad Noorani/UNICEF) `The State of the World’s Children 2012’ report, highlights the hardship many children living in urban areas deal with, which in many cases are hidden in statistical averages where poverty of some is obscured by the relative wealth of others.  According to UNICEF, 1 in 3 city dwellers lives in slums, while in Africa the proportion increases to 6 in 10.

(PHOTO: HUMNEWS) The document stresses that despite growing up in close proximity to modern facilities & basic services, many children in urban areas lack access to electricity, clean water & education - facing numerous challenges that impede their full development - with many children going on to work in the streets.

(PHOTO: HUMNEWS) They're also prone to contracting diseases due to unsanitary conditions & many suffer from malnutrition. Vaccine coverage remains low in slums & informal settlements, increasing the population’s vulnerability. Children are also often at high risk of exploitation, trafficking & become easy victims of violence.

(PHOTO: Peer educator discusses HIV/AIDS prevention & other STDs in Barangay Don Carlos, a poor neighbourhood in Pasay City, Philippines/UNICEF)The report provides a set of recommendations to improve the conditions of children living in cities, making children’s needs a priority in city planning & infrastructure development, & using the knowledge to remove barriers to children's social inclusion.  (Read More @ UN News Centre)