Latest news with #Chaiban
Herald Malaysia
a day ago
- Politics
- Herald Malaysia
UN urges better response as two million Afghanis returned home this year
The UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, welcomes reports that two million Afghanis, including half-a-million children, returned home to Afghanistan this year, but warns of critical challenges in the country and inherent in society, especially for girls. Aug 11, 2025 Women in Afghanistan (ANSA) By Deborah Castellano LubovWhile it is reassuring that two million Afghans returned to Afghanistan this year, a better response is required, according to UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban, in a statement released following his recent visit to Afghanistan. Mr. Chaiban, who serves as UNICEF's Executive Director for Humanitarian Action and Supply Operations and who has visited the Middle Eastern country four times, discussed the situation of the returnees, insisting that "a safe, dignified, voluntary, and phased approach" is needed "with increased support for children and families." UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children, works to protect children's rights everywhere and does so across more than 190 countries and territories. In his statement, the agency's Deputy Executive Director for Humanitarian Action and Supply Operations recalled the millions returned "from Iran and Pakistan so far this year alone, in addition to a significant number from countries in Central Asia." Yet, there are various concerns as they return in high volumes to the nation where more than half the population requires humanitarian assistance and is struggling to overcome the impact of more than four decades of conflict complicated by drought. Improved access in country, but common concerns Compared to past visits, Mr. Chaiban observed "improved access throughout Afghanistan," which has allowed UNICEF to reach more children, women, and communities with humanitarian services. For instance, he praised the offering of humanitarian and protection services in a coordinated manner by the de facto authorities, UN agencies, NGOs, and other partners, and reception centres at border points across Afghanistan to respond to the high number of returnees. Yet, the families he met at the border, he acknowledged, despite looking forward to the future in their home country, were anxious about rebuilding their lives and often concerned with the continuity of education for their daughters beyond sixth grade. Education a critical issue Education in Afghanistan, Mr. Chaiban lamented, remains a critical issue, particularly for adolescent girls who are not permitted to go to school beyond sixth grade, as he warned that this "not only impacts girls, but all women in the country when they miss out on formal secondary education, university, and subsequently employment." He said he had met many bright young students, girls and boys, who wanted to become teachers, surgeons, engineers, full of hope for a future in Afghanistan, but observed how the ban on adolescent girls' education in Afghanistan shatters the dream. Reaffirming that education for all children is at the heart of UNICEF's mandate, the UN agency official appealed, "we strongly advocate for a lifting of the ban so that girls of all ages can stay in school, receive a good education, can work, and play a role in society." 'We strongly advocate for a lifting of the ban so that girls of all ages can stay in school, receive a good education, can work and play a role in society.' While stressing UNICEF acknowledges and extends gratitude for the efforts made by host governments, including Iran and Pakistan, over the years to accommodate Afghan nationals in their countries, the official nonetheless expressed concern for the well-being of families and individuals, including children, undertaking often difficult and sudden journeys to return. Special protection required for children By the end of July, he reported, UNICEF had documented and supported more than 6,000 unaccompanied and separated children and reunified them with their families and relatives. Children, particularly unaccompanied children, he said, "require special protection," with their best interests assessed by child protection authorities ensuring their well-being, and offering support for family reunification. While he acknowledged that rapid scale-up has seen a coordinated and joined-up delivery of first-line response at reception points, he lamented that "more is needed to ensure the safe passage of returnees whilst on the move, including the quality of continued care during their return, and sustained access to essential services in areas of return inside Afghanistan to support sustainable reintegration." "With limited access to education, health services, and economic opportunities," he said, "the ability of communities to absorb the high number of returnees within a compressed timeframe is becoming increasingly difficult." Systemised and phased approach Mr. Chaiban insisted that returnees require "a systemized and phased approach" that ensures "the safety, dignity, and voluntariness of those on the move," the "continuity of care throughout their journey" and "measures to access continued protection in host countries, if needed." "Such an approach," he explained, "is particularly critical for vulnerable groups—especially women and children, including separated and unaccompanied children. With this sentiment, Mr. Chaiban said, "UNICEF therefore calls for dialogue between Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan to phase the returns and allow the Afghan authorities, UN Agencies, NGOs and partners to better manage the response," while calling on donors "to support humanitarian action for the returnee population, including for children, both at the point of reception and in areas of final resettlement.' 'UNICEF therefore calls for dialogue between Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan to phase the returns and allow the Afghan authorities, UN Agencies, NGOs and partners to better manage the response, and on donors to support humanitarian action for the returnee population, including for children, both at the point of reception and in areas of final resettlement.'--Vatican News
Gulf Today
04-08-2025
- Health
- Gulf Today
300 terribly sick Gaza children to be evacuated to UK for treatment
Hundreds of seriously ill children from Gaza will be evacuated to the UK for treatment by the NHS, as part of a new plan due to be announced within weeks, according to a report. Up to 300 young people will enter the UK for free medical care, a scheme which will run in parallel with another similar operation run by the Project Pure Hope group, a senior Whitehall source told The Times. Since the war began in October 2023, only three children from Gaza have been issued medical visas for the UK, under the Project Pure Hope scheme, which is funded entirely by private donations. The news comes amid a starvation crisis in the ravaged Gaza Strip, where partial and complete Israeli blockades on aid have been behind more than 160 malnutrition-related deaths, including 92 children, health authorities in Gaza say. Ted Chaiban, Unicef's deputy executive director for humanitarian action and supply operations, said on Friday that more than 320,000 young children are at risk of acute malnutrition, after a recent trip to Israel, Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Demonstrators stage a protest in solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestinian detainees, in Ramallah on Sunday. Agence France-Presse The malnutrition indicator in Gaza has 'exceeded the famine threshold', Chaiban said in a statement. 'Horrifying images' Last month, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer promised to evacuate badly injured children. He wrote in The Mirror: 'I know the British people are sickened by what is happening. The images of starvation and desperation in Gaza are utterly horrifying. 'We are urgently accelerating efforts to evacuate children from Gaza who need critical medical assistance – bringing more Palestinian children to the UK for specialist medical treatment.' More than 100 MPs have signed a letter calling for the government to fast-track the scheme, The Times reports. Labour backbench MP Stella Creasy said: 'The commitment we all share to help these children remains absolute and urgent – with every day, more are harmed or die, making the need to overcome any barriers to increasing the support we give them imperative. 'We stand ready to support whatever it takes to make this happen and ask for your urgent response.' Israel denies there is widespread starvation and says that where there is significant hunger in the Strip, it is a result of the theft of aid by Hamas and of failure by the UN to successfully deliver aid. But Unrwa, which was once the largest provider of humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in Gaza, says it has been entirely sidelined. Commissioner general Philippe Lazzarini said on Friday that the group has 6,000 trucks loaded with aid stuck waiting outside Gaza for Israel to give it the green light to enter. Israel considers the disarmament of Hamas a key condition for any deal to end the conflict, but Hamas has repeatedly said it is not willing to lay down its weapons. The Independent
Express Tribune
03-08-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Children in besieged Gaza dying at 'an unprecedented rate'
Listen to article The UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, has urged the international community to act swiftly to prevent the mass death of children in the Gaza Strip, where conditions continue to deteriorate amid Israel's deadly war. "Today, I want to keep the focus on Gaza, because it's in Gaza where the suffering is most acute and where children are dying at an unprecedented rate. "We are at a crossroads, and the choices made now will determine whether tens of thousands of children live or die," Ted Chaiban, UNICEF's deputy executive director, said at a briefing on his recent travel to the Middle East. The months-long deprivation of most life-sustaining basic goods has led to a deepening of the crisis. More than 100 people were killed, and hundreds of others injured, along food convoy routes and near Israeli-militarized distribution hubs in the past two days alone. As one in three people currently going days without food, OCHA reiterated that no one should ever be forced to risk their life to get something to eat. Chaiban, who is fresh from a visit to Gaza, noted that "the marks of deep suffering and hunger were visible on the face of families and children." "Gaza now faces a grave risk of famine," he said, briefing reporters in New York about his five-day mission to the enclave, the West Bank and Israel. "This is something that has been building up, but we now have two indicators that have exceeded the famine threshold." The crisis can only be addressed through unrestricted flow of aid into Gaza, with commercial supplies also allowed to enter to help address people's needs. Nearly a week since the Israeli announcement to allow the scale up of aid and tactical pauses to allow safe passage of UN convoys, OCHA reported that the aid that has entered Gaza so far remains insufficient, while UN convoys continue to face impediments and danger along the routes provided by the Israeli authorities. "Civilians must always be protected and community-level aid delivery at scale must be facilitated, not obstructed," said OCHA. "The children I met are not victims of a natural disaster. They are being starved, bombed, and displaced," Mr. Chaiban said. He noted that more than 18,000 boys and girls have been killed since the beginning of the war, "an average of 28 children a day, the size of a classroom, gone." While in Gaza, Chaiban met with the families of the 10 children killed and 19 injured by an Israeli airstrike as they were queuing for food with their mothers and fathers at a UNICEF-supported nutrition clinic in Deir Al-Balah. Engaging with Israeli authorities in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, UNICEF "pressed for a review of [Israel's] military rules of engagement to protect civilians and children," Chaiban said.
Fox News
31-07-2025
- Health
- Fox News
UNICEF official says Gaza malnutrition reaches 'famine levels' as humanitarian aid trickles in
Malnutrition levels inside the Gaza Strip have reached famine levels as aid starts to trickle in, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban told Fox News. "The situation is catastrophic on the ground in Gaza." Chaiban said. "After 22 months of war, two months of a blockade by Israel, people are in a horrendous state." Newly released data shows that a quarter of Gaza's population, nearly 500,000 people, are enduring famine-like conditions. UNICEF is working with the World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization to distribute food and nutrition supplements to Palestinian civilians, but Chaiban cautions that commercial access to Gaza is necessary to resolve the hunger crisis. "On our own, we won't be able to address the needs of two million people," Chaiban added. Right now, UNICEF has three key requests from the Israeli government and military that must approve all entry of aid to Gaza. UNICEF is requesting that their efforts be complemented by commercial traffic, dual-use issues of things like water pipes be resolved, and more partners be allowed to operate inside the enclave. Humanitarian efforts have ramped up in recent days, with hundreds of trucks being permitted to distribute aid inside Gaza, coupled with airdrops of pallets by Jordan and the UAE. Currently, around 100 trucks a day are driving aid to central kitchens and warehouses. The United Nations aims to have 400 to 500 trucks a day working to address immediate humanitarian concerns. "What is needed is to build on the opportunity and the opening of the humanitarian pause," Chaiban said. "To send that aid in through all channels and all routes in order that it can reach the population." The UNICEF Deputy returned from a visit to Gaza this week. While there, he saw emaciated civilians walking around, empty markets and young children suffering from malnutrition. He believed that an end to the war is the only sustainable solution to address the expanding crisis. "Most importantly is to reach a ceasefire and the release of hostages which should not be held in the Gaza Strip, so that there is relief on a more sustainable basis to the people in Gaza that have gone through a horrendous situation," Chaiban concluded.
Miami Herald
14-04-2025
- Miami Herald
Aid cuts mean Haiti will need to do more to shoulder humanitarian response, UN says
As United Nations agencies and other humanitarian aid groups in Haiti continue to feel the effects of global aids cuts, Haiti will need to take a more significant role in its humanitarian response, a top U.N. official says. 'Part of the humanitarian response needs to be shouldered by the government,' Ted Chaiban, the deputy director of the U.N.'s leading child welfare agency, UNICEF, told the Miami Herald. Chaiban, whose connection to Haiti dates back to the early 1990s, spent several days in the country recently. He wanted to see first-hand the effects of the ongoing gang violence that has already led to more than 1,500 deaths this year and the destruction of at least 47 schools. He also wanted to see what was being done to help children, who are increasingly caught in the crossfire. 'The situation in Port-au-Prince in particular is heartbreaking, what's happening to people who have been displaced many times, who have lost everything,' he said. Chaiban's visit first took him to the city of Gonaives in the Artibonite region, where schools and hospitals are still functioning despite the incursion of armed gangs in its lower valley just north of Port-au-Prince. Among his stops was a busy primary-care health center that treats about 500 people a day, including new mothers and babies, pregnant women, malnourished children and victims of sexual violence. As he toured the UNICEF-funded facility, Chaiban said, the medical director told him that without the agency's continued support the facility would be forced to shut down. 'Funding cuts have consequences,' Chaiban added. This was driven home during the visit in Port-au-Prince. He met with government ministers, toured displacement camps and met with victims of the violence. One of them was a 14-year-old girl who had been raped and shot in the face in December when gangs targeted her Lower Delmas neighborhood. 'She was just so strong and courageous in telling us how she's afraid, she's not happy about what is going on in her country but the one thing that gives her hope is that she's still in school; she wants to be a doctor someday,' Chaiban said. More than half of Haiti's internally displaced people are children, according to UNICEF's figures, and they also account for half of the estimated 6 million Haitians who are in need of humanitarian assistance. In the camps, Chaiban met children and parents who had been forced to run for their lives, leaving everything behind. Families spoke of fleeing through gunfire and of their homes being burned down. One site he visited, a school that has been turned into a displacement camp, is sheltering more than 7,000 people. Half of them were were children. There were just four latrines for the entire site. 'Initially the authorities did not want any investments in some of these sites because they wanted people to go back' to their homes, he said. 'But the reality is they're not going back anytime soon and so you need to make some investments like more bathrooms. You need more latrines, you need more sanitation kits, you need more shelter; people are living under plastic sheeting.' There were a few bright spots, he said. One of them was a private school with 300 students that has taken in an additional 900 students from a nearby public school. 'It's just remarkable to see a private school hosting a public school with the students from all very different backgrounds studying together,' he said. Like other U.N. agencies, UNICEF is trying to adjust to funding cuts, he said, that are the result of the United States' aid freeze and cuts from other donors. In Haiti alone the agency is in need of $272 million for this year, and as of March had only raised $15 million. 'We need to get more resources to be able to continue the work that we do,' Chaiban said. This includes money to deal with malnutrition. There are 128,000 Haitian children suffering from severe malnutrition who need ready-to-use food and other treatment. 'If you don't reach a child with treatment,' he said, 'they have a tenfold increase in their chance of dying, so it's a really serious situation when we see funding cuts.' Because of the overall cuts in development assistance, the Haitian government needs to take a more leading role in the humanitarian response, he said. Chaiban said that in his meetings with government officials, including the prime minister and the head of the Transitional Presidential Council, he focused on the impact of the aids cuts as well as the challenges the health and education systems face. 'We need a different way to cooperate, where the government needs to have a clear direction... be clear about what it's putting on the table and say to its partners, 'How can you complement what I am doing?'' he said. That collaboration needs to extend beyond the capital, now endangered of falling completely to gang control. 'The situation in Port-au-Prince is dramatic; but Port-au-Prince is not Haiti,' said Chaiban. 'There are still services in the north and the south that need to be sustained; there are services that are working, whether its health or education, and we need to keep working... to sustain those.' Haiti was recently named 'a situation of concern' in the U.N. Secretary-General's annual report on children and armed conflict. Among the report's alarming trends, which included more than 1,000 percent increase in verified cases of rape and others forms of sexual violence against children, was the recruitment of children by gangs. The U.N. estimates that as much as 50% of Haiti's armed gangs consist of children. Chaiban said he raised the issue with the government, which is required under an agreement with UNICEF to turn over children police find so they can be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society. 'We need to do everything to try and get them out and to keep children in school and try to find economic opportunities.'
