Kathmandu, April 12:

UNICEF has urged all parties to the conflict to agree on one thing next week — children. In a statement today, UNICEF urged all to help children go to school on April 15 — the start of the new school year and help them get their Vitamin A and deworming tablets on April 19 and 20 scheduled for distribution nationwide.

“Two things happen next week that are of vital importance to the children of Nepal,” UNICEF’s Representative, Dr Suomi Sakai, said.

Every six months in Nepal, Vitamin A capsules are distributed to some 3.3 million children aged between 6 months and five years. A further 3.1 million children aged between one and five years will be receiving deworming tablets that greatly reduce rates of anemia. Some 48,000 female community health volunteers (FCHV) will be mobilised in each of the wards in all 75 districts for distribution, one of the largest child-survival exercises in Nepal, he said.

“Half of Nepal’s children are malnourished. Many also do not have enough Vitamin A in their bodies. This essential vitamin helps boost the immune system. The Vitamin A distribution is estimated to save the lives of some 12,000 children each year. It also prevents some 2,000 children each year from going blind,” he said.

“Even during difficult times in past years, Vitamin A campaigns have still reached more than 90 per cent of Nepal’s children. We urge all adults to help ensure children do receive their Vitamin A capsules and deworming tablets on April 19-20, including the children in urban areas affected by strikes, demosnstrations and curfews. “UNICEF is also deeply concerned that the current situation is going to impact on the start of the school year in four days’ time on April 15. It understands that many schools are still uncertain about whether or not it will be possible to open. Further, there has been a suggestion that teachers should join the strike and that the schools should remain closed.”

“Children have the right to go to school, and they have the right to go to school without fear of violence. UNICEF is increasingly concerned about the damage the conflict is doing to the education of Nepal’s children.”