Nearly 340,000 Rohingya children are living in squalid conditions in Bangladesh camps where they lack enough food, clean water and health care, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.
Crime Lead Story News Society Women's Issues
The story of a three-year-old in Sagaing Division sheds light on a long-hushed issue in Burma: child rape, reports of which have risen 40 percent this year.
Arakan Lead Story News Rohingya
Unrest in the Muslim-majority north of Arakan State is taking a “terrible toll” on children, the UN children’s agency said as it called for full access to the region.
“The Tatmadaw fired six artillery rounds around six in the morning, and two landed right in the centre of the village, hitting three children who were outside playing,” an NGO worker told DVB.
After each disaster in Southeast Asia, well-meaning groups donate infant formula, not realising the dangers it can pose to mothers and infants.
2015 Elections Aid Lead Story News
The United Nations has issued a directive to its staff restricting travel to Burma during the election period, citing possible disruptions.
The latest release of 51 underage recruits has been commended internationally as a positive step forwards in the eradication of child soldiers worldwide.
Canberra is to donate US$2.5 million to UNICEF for the protection of children in Burma from sexual and physical violence, and human trafficking.
Analysis Lead Story News Peace Process
As the latest group of child soldiers are released from Burma’s military, challenges still exist for those at-risk in the face of the country’s much lauded reforms.
Thousands of refugees at camps in northern Kachin State are facing food shortages since the state government blocked aid deliveries at the end of October.
A ceremony was held in Rangoon on Monday for 80 underage soldiers who have been released from duty in the Burmese army and allowed to go home.
Census Chin Citizenship Lead Story Magwe Mon News
The pilot scheme will target non-registered children in Magwe, Moulmein and Hakha, and is part of a long-term goal to issue birth certificates to every child in Burma.
Watch today’s top stories with Angus Watson.
A full two years after the Burmese government pledged to release all children from military service, many young victims of underage recruitment remain trapped in the army’s ranks.
Watch today’s top stories with Angus Watson.
Ninety-one persons under the age of 18 were released on Friday from Burma’s armed forces, but an analysts says the military’s recruitment policy is largely unchanged.
DVB Debate Lead Story News Video
Panellists on DVB Debate discuss potential pitfalls that can arise from a reliance on foreign aid.
Ethnic issues Lead Story News Rohingya
A senior UN official has referred to the humanitarian situation in western Burma’s Arakan State as “appalling”, upon concluding a four-day visit to the country.
Aid Arakan Communal Violence Lead Story News
The primary concern for UNICEF is the plight of children in Arakan State, and not the lexicon employed to describe members of the community, says Bertrand Bainvel, the agency’s leading official in Burma.
International agency finds itself again on the receiving end following a report that it had apologised for using the word “Rohingya” and promised Arakanese authorities that it would not use the term again.
Communal Violence Ethnic issues Lead Story News Rohingya
Representatives from UN agencies and NGOs met with the Emergency Coordination Centre (ECC) in Sittwe today, in the second such discussion since the suspension of most humanitarian operations in Arakan State in late March.
Lead Story News Politics Rohingya
Seventy-one aid workers, including 32 foreigners, are evacuated to a local police station in Sittwe after a crowd turns on international aid organisations. Reports say an 11-year-old was killed when police fired warning shots to disperse the crowd.
Curfew and a ban on gatherings imposed in Sittwe after Buddhist mobs attack international NGO offices.
Development Lead Story News Politics Uncategorized
Coinciding with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to Burma this week, Japan has announced 1.6 billion yen (US$16m) in support for UN programmes in Burma.
Burma’s Health Minister Dr Pe Thet Khin has proposed to parliament a threefold increase in pay for medical workers who are posted to remote areas, with the additional salary to be paid by the Ministry of Border Affairs and the relevant regional government.
The UN and other international agencies have intensified their involvement in Burma’s fight to eradicate malnutrition. Children are the focus of multi-layered efforts to improve on poor recent figures.
Jan 24, 2008 (AP), Hundreds of children under age 5 die from preventable diseases each day in military-ruled Burma, the second-worst mortality rate for children in Asia after Afghanistan, UN[…]
