ROMA – Catherine Russell, she became director general of UNICEF on the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Your latest report speaks of 260,000 children suffering worldwide due to the blockade of Ukrainian wheat exports. Two weeks ago the first ship loaded with cereals left the port of Odessa, how is the food situation in the countries of the South of the world, from Ethiopia to Burkina Faso to Haiti?
“We have been following the conditions in these countries since the beginning of the war and the lack of food has become extreme. The conflict in Ukraine has caused an immense disruption in the arrival of food and fuel in the world, throwing millions of vulnerable families. in a condition of food insecurity. Russia and Ukraine guarantee a third of the world‘s wheat and are among the largest producers of oil, gas and fertilizers. This global rise in prices comes after years of conflict and high food insecurity for in several countries, shocks climate change, drought, the impact of Covid-19. In the worst-hit nations, things will get even worse. The costs of therapeutic food, necessary for the survival of malnourished children, will rise by 16 percent in the next six months and this will bring another 600,000 infants in the risk area “.
The UN Human Rights Office documented the deaths of 5,327 Ukrainian civilians as of 31 July, including 351 children. Death estimates are much higher, but even taking official figures means war kills two children every day.
“That’s right and we have to add 571 casualties. These are actually higher numbers, and will continue to rise. Most civilian killings so far have been caused by the use of explosive weapons in urban settings. These attacks make it impossible. any distinction between soldiers and the population, including children. In areas where the fighting is most intense, hospitals, water systems and electrical systems are destroyed. The lives of children thus become at extreme risk. Young people, everyone, need peace and they need it now. “
Over 5 million in need of assistance
Two out of three children have left Ukraine since February 24. Can a country survive without children?
“The war in Ukraine spurred the fastest refugee crisis since World War II. Today there are three million children in the country and over two million and two hundred thousand in host nations in need of humanitarian assistance. Every child who is displaced, in or out. outside Ukraine, he sees his life earthquake. The war has changed everything, for their children and their families. They are robbing the children of stability, security, school, friends, family, home and hope for the future. Without an urgent ceasefire and negotiated peace, they will continue to suffer. “
Problems with running water widen in Ukraine.
“In the east of the country, 1.4 million people do not have access to water due to damage to the aqueducts. We are doing everything possible to bring supplies of clean and chemically purified water to these areas. And, when possible, together with local companies we will rebuild the damaged water systems “.
Those children who disappeared into thin air under the bombs of Ukraine: the stories, the faces and the voices from the war
by our correspondent Corrado Zunino
Is the estimate of 610,000 children mentally ill due to the war correct?
“Yes, that number represents Ukrainian teenagers with psychosocial support, the conflict had a profound impact on the well-being of teenagers. All of them. The children were directly exposed to war. Those I met on the Romanian border had me told about their removal from school, the loss of toys. They bring in the terrifying sound of bombs and artillery. All the children of Ukraine have to live with the absence of their fathers, at the front. And, the most terrible thing, many have witnessed or experienced physical or sexual violence. We have been following teenagers affected by armed conflict for decades. They are resilient and can recover if they go back to school, stay in touch with their families and the people they care about, manage to recover there are groups, smaller but with important numbers, who manifest post-traumatic stress disorders even four months after their ex period “.
“Disabled people removed from orphanages”
In Ukraine, before February 24, there were 90,000 children in the nation’s orphanages. Children without parents or left behind by families in difficulty. Do we know where they are today?
“The child protection crisis in the country is of extraordinary proportions, perhaps we have never seen anything like it. Half of the guests in orphanages in Ukraine, the country with the largest number of children in care institutions, are carriers of handicap and the impact of the war on them has been devastating. Tens of thousands of these children hastily returned to their families of origin, removed from the necessary care and protection “.
Is Russia still represented in UNICEF? There is an ongoing debate, by the way.
“Unicef has had a special advisor for the Russian Federation since December 2021. This advisor liaises with the regional director for Europe and Central Asia and coordinates our partnership with Russia. Unicef works where there are children, with all the possibilities it possesses “.
Do you have any news of missing children?
“Children who have separated from their families are extremely vulnerable. We are putting all possible measures in place to find every teenager in need in Ukraine and neighboring countries, including the Russian Federation. And we continue to call on all parties to remind them of the moral obligations they have in protecting children “.