UNICEF supports return to school for children in Bunia, Beni

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), with the support of the UN mission and the multinational peace enforcement team in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, announced it would distribute materials on Monday to enable some 1,000 sixth graders in the northeastern town of Bunia to prepare for and sit their primary school finishing examination in five secure centres. The distribution coincides with the Day of the African Child, on 16 June. UNICEF reported that the initiative followed consultations with parents, children and teachers, and was being carried out in coordination with education authorities in Bunia, where the latest outbreak of fighting between ethnic militias has caused widespread displacement and death in recent months. In a statement issued on Saturday, the UNICEF representative in the Congo, Gianfranco Rotigliano, said it was important that these children, half of whom were girls, could enjoy their right to education. He added that the initiative would contribute to the return to peace. UNICEF said it was providing similar aid in Beni, North Kivu Province, to 700 displaced children from Ituri. It added that the initiative would be complemented by the relaunch of immunisation programmes in Bunia, and by the distribution of non-food items to 3,800 displaced families.