SCF tells of "many children, families at risk"

Large numbers of children are at risk of malnutrition and disease due to lack of access to food, water, sanitation and health services in Liberia, according to a September emergency update by Save the Children Fund (SCF-UK). Internal displacement had put children at risk of family separation because a lack of income earning opportunities was forcing them into exploitative livelihoods such as prostitution and leaving them vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse, it said. Insecurity and lack of donor assistance were making it difficult for aid agencies to provide the necessary levels of support, and "many children and their families are once again at risk of malnutrition, disease and separation," the report added. "Displaced children suffer the emotional distress of being uprooted from their homes, as well as extreme material deprivation," SCF stated. These children have little access to education and do not sustain a good level of nutrition. In addition, it said, the fact that children had variable access to general and reproductive health services - or none at all - made it difficult for them to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. Minimal access to water and sanitation services expose children to the risk of disease, while inadequate legal frameworks leave them open to sexual violence, exploitation and recruitment or re-recruitment into the armed forces. Many displaced children became separated from their families, SCF stated, adding that it had documented more than 6,000 such cases. There were also newer family separations as a result of the recent displacement of people. SCF teams work in five "at-risk" counties, monitoring security, the protection of children against abuse and exploitation, and population displacement. Information is shared with local child protection networks, aid agencies, the World Food Programme and appropriate government authorities, such as the Liberian Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC). SCF-UK works with local NGOs to support children and communities to develop structures to address children's access to education and health care, nutritional health, and abuse and exploitation. It also provides support for emergency immunisation and mother and child health programmes, reproductive and sexual health services, rural health initiatives, and family tracing efforts throughout the sub-region. Details of emergency update and SCF-UK's work at: www.savethechildren.org.uk