Situation of children in the northeastern worries UNICEF

UNICEF has expressed distress at the situation of children in northeastern Cote d'Ivoire, following a recent mission which showed that the area's children had paid a heavy toll in health and education as a result of the Ivorian conflict. In a press release on Wednesday, UNICEF said a recent assessment mission visited the two northeastern towns of Bouna and Bondoukou where the team found "near catastrophic conditions prevailing there." "The health care system has broken down. Most of the medical personnel has fled. There are no drugs in the health facilities. Much of the cold chain and other medical equipment have fallen into despair", the statement said. The crisis had brought about a breakdown in the vaccination programme, according to mission leader Herbert Schembri. "It's unacceptable that no child has been vaccinated in Bouna for six months," he said. "The situation is alarming". The Bouna-Bondoukou area straddles the imaginary line between the rebel-controlled north and the government-controlled south. Its ambiguous location had led much of its population, including teachers, health professionals, state officials and others, to leave the region. The agency plans to send a convoy of medical supplies to the area as a first step towards restarting the comprehensive support activities which it used to carry out in the region prior to the war. It also plans to respond to SOS calls for medical supplies to the area. Since the beginning of the crisis, UNICEF has been active on the ground and has opened two sub-offices to strengthen its operations in the hinterland. One is in Bouake, the stronghold of the main rebel Mouvement Patriotique de Cote d'Ivoire, and the other is in the capital, Yamoussoukro. In its 17-24 March situation report, the agency reported that it had started an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign targeting some 1,800 children at a primary school in Bouake. Its overall target is 15,000 students in various primary and secondary schools in the town. It has been participating in a measles vaccination campaign in Bouake and has also been active in the northern town of Korhogo.