Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

MANILA - A United Nations children’s agency will spend $500,000 (P23.5 million) over the next three months to help displaced children in Mindanao as the fighting between government troops and secessionist rebels continues.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) said on Saturday the money would be spent to set up child-safe spaces in evacuation centers and ensure families’ access to clean water and sanitation facilities.

According to Unicef country representative Vanessa Tobin, some 500,000 people affected by the fighting have fled their homes in Central Mindanao, half of them children.

“After a recent UN assessment mission, we need to urgently focus on creating a stable, secure environment for children as well as [set up] water and sanitation facilities in the evacuation centers,” she said in a statement.

The mission said a number of parents noted signs of distress in their young children as a result of the prolonged warfare and displacement, according to Tobin.

This was why, she said, the agency would focus on creating child-friendly spaces inside evacuation centers in schools and mobilizing community support for children.

< Prev		Next >