The State of the World s Children 2001: Early Childhood

Transcription

1 The State of the World s Children 2001: Early Childhood Television News B-roll: 3 minutes Television Feature B-roll: 12 minutes Includes the following footage: Cuba: children in government child-development programme South Africa: HIV-positive children, Johannesburg child-development programme Angola: war footage, child attending special school, family displaced by war Ingushetia: refugee children from Chechnya (Russian Federation) assisted by UNICEF France: immigrant child at state-subsidized child-care centre US: project for young mothers, New York City Jamaica: teenage mother and baby supported by home visitor Bangladesh: mothers health and nutrition project These images are provided free of charge but please credit UNICEF on screen. Contact Information: Story Background: Yasmin Zaman, UNICEF NY, Telephone: (212) Videotape Background: Ruth Landy, UNICEF NY, Telephone: (212)

2 TIME CONTENTS Title:The State of the World s Children 2001, News B- roll. 01:07:13 Nicaragua: domestic violence 01:07:32 Angola: rocket launcher, crying child, fighter plane 01:07:42 Angola: small child with foot missing (shot in leg during war) 01:07:52 India: small child on platform at railway station in Calcutta 01:08:00 Bangladesh: crying mother with sick child 01:01:13 Zambia: HIV-positive mother 01:08:19 Sudan: graves 01:08:24 Ingushetia: children in refugee camp 01:08:45 South Africa: abandoned children in Johannesburg, (some HIV-positive). 01:09:05 Bangladesh: health and nutrition programme for mothers 01:09:22 China: baby being given birth registration with footprint 01:09:31 France: state-subsidized child care centre, Paris 01:09:49 Cuba: children in government child development programmes Title: The State of the World s Children, 2001, Feature B-roll. 01:10:16 Nicaragua: domestic violence 01:10:33 Angola: rocket launcher, crying child, fighter plane 01:10:42 Angola: children being fed in hospital 01:11:12 Angola: small child with foot missing (shot in leg during war) 01:11:22 Kosovo: refugees 01:11:41 Bangladesh: children in urban slums 01:11:54 India: small child on platform at railway station in Calcutta 01:12:07 Bangladesh: crying mother with sick child 01:12:25 Haiti: children in hospital 01:12:37 South Africa: abandoned child in Johannesburg 01:12:48 Zambia: HIV-positive mother 01:12:54 Sudan: graves 01:12:59 Kosovo: Roma refugee camp 01:13:12 Ingushetia: children in refugee camp 2

3 TIME CONTENTS 01:14:17 Angola: UNICEF-supported school, Kuito 01:14:42 Angola: five-year-old N-Gueva (in light blue shirt) with family in Kuito 01:15:23 Angola: polio National Immunization Day, June :15:52 South Africa, Johannesburg: abandoned children in Johannesburg, (some HIV-positive). 01:16:41 China: baby being given birth registration with footprint 01:17:08 New York City: Young Mothers Programme 01:17:39 Jamaica: Roving Caregivers programme, visit to teenage mother with baby son 01:18:36 Interview: Joyce Jarrett, the Director of the Rural Families Support Organization: We help mother and baby to grow and develop into responsible adults, more so to break that cycle of poverty with mother and child. 01:18:51 Jamaica: teenage mother s extended family 01:19:00 Cuba: children in government child development programmes 01:19:39 Interview: UNICEF s Executive Director, Carol Bellamy: UNICEF is calling on people to take action to recognize the importance of the early years. We are calling on governments to realign their financing policies to invest more in the early years. We are calling on families mother, fathers, brothers and sisters to understand how important the early years are for children. We are calling on communities to help provide supportive systems to help families in difficulty. Everybody can make a contribution to the early years. 01:20:07 Bangladesh: health and nutrition programme for mothers 01:20:23 France: state-subsidized child care centre, Paris 01:20:45 South Africa: mother and three triplets, covered by Impilo project in Johannesburg 01:20:56 Mother and triplets at home with visit from Impilo project 01:21:05 Interview with mother, Samaria Hlandze:(translation from Zulu) I see a big difference in the children. They are able to talk about their feelings and they understand a lot more. 01:21:22 Children from Impilo project in supermarket in Johannesburg 3

4 TIME CONTENTS 01:21:32 Children from Impilo project painting at child-care centre 01:21:38 Children from Impilo project at clinic 01:21:42 Mother doing job training 01:21:56 Interview: Leon Mdiya,project coordinator with Impilo: If we do not focus our energies on children, whatever we miss or don t do with children at that age will catch up with us fifteen yearsdown theline. 4

5 SOWC B-Roll Script Introduction. The failure to invest in the world s youngest citizens is a waste of human potential and a global tragedy, according to UNICEF, the United Nations Children s Fund. In its new report, The State of the World s Children 2001, UNICEF calls on governments in both rich and poor countries to shift more resources to children in their earliest years of life. Nations that fail to invest in a child s crucial first years, the report says, run the risk of reduced productivity, higher medical costs and increased crime. Visuals of discrimination and violence against women; conflict; poverty; HIV/AIDS: The destructive spiral of poverty, conflict, discrimination and AIDS often begins early in life. A child growing up in poverty is more likely to be disabled or chronically ill as an adult. A child growing up amid violence is more likely to be malnourished and to receive inadequate health-care. A child who s HIV-positive risks being isolated and stigmatized. All the scientific evidence tells us that the first three years are a critical period that shapes a child s whole life - and yet this is precisely when governments invest the least. Visuals of Ingushetia: UNICEF argues that when the threats to children are most severe, there is an even greater need to invest in early childhood care. For example, these children from Checnya (Russian Federation) who were forced to flee to neighbouring Ingushetia, need a place of relative peace and normality where they can deal with their trauma. One approach has been to set up a childfriendly space in their refugee camp, where they have access to counselling as well as health-care and schooling. 5

6 Visuals of Angola: In Angola, five year-old N Gueva (in light blue shirt, writing on slate) and his family have been displaced by his country s decades-old civil conflict but he s still able to attend a special school supported by UNICEF and the Angolan government. He lives not far from the school and, crucially for N Gueva, his family has been able to stay together. Major efforts also continue to safeguard children s health in the midst of conflict. In June this year Angola held a National Immunization Day for polio. Angola is one of the last twenty countries around the world to be affected by the disease. Visuals of South Africa: These children in Johannesburg, South Africa, have been abandoned by their parents. Some of them are HIV-positive. An important goal is to make sure that children are not isolated and stigmatized by the disease so, here, the children are taken to a child-care centre where they are encouraged to mix and play with other children of their own age. Visuals of China: Part of giving children a good start in life is to make sure they are registered at birth. Currently one in three newborns round the world are not registered, meaning they are at risk of missing out on schooling and healthcare. This baby in China is making agood start a foot-print and certificate make sure of that. Visuals of the United States: Families need support even in some of the wealthiest nations in the world. The Young Mothers Program in New York City supports at-risk families with children under the age of six. Young parents are given guidance in child development at a centre in the city. The aim is to keep families together and to make sure that children grow up in secure and nurturing homes. 6

7 Visuals of Jamaica: In Jamaica, where one in five children are born to teenage mothers, a major programme has been launched to help parents in poor rural and urban areas. Here a Roving-Caregiver visits 16 year-old Kerry Kay, who s a single mother raising her eight-week-old baby, Junior. The Roving Caregiver has been trained by the Rural Families Support Organization to help mothers like Kerry Kay build their parenting skills. Junior, in turn, gets the vital care and stimulation he needs for his development. Joyce Jarrett, the Director of the Rural Families Support Organization, or Rufamso, says this early intervention has a positive knock-on effect for the whole of society: Joyce Jarrett Interview: We help mother and baby to grow and develop into responsible adults, more so to break that cycle of poverty with mother and child. Rufamso has found that, with support, young mothers like Kerry Kay are less likely to have a second child at a young age and have greater chances of completing school and finding work. Visuals of Cuba: In Cuba ninety-eight per cent of children from birth to the age of six are covered by national child-development programmes. From pregnancy onward, families are supported in their homes and communities. Up to the age of two, trained home-visitors help families with parenting skills. Older children gather for communal activities with their families once or twice a week, and almost all children between five and six go to preschool. As a result, by the age of nine, Cuban children perform extremely well by international standards in both language skills and maths. 7

8 UNICEF s Executive Director, Carol Bellamy says it s time for governments to change their priorities: Carol Bellamy Interview: UNICEF is calling on people to take action to recognize the importance of the early years. We are calling on governments to realign their financing policies to invest more in the early years. We are calling on families mother, fathers, brothers and sisters to understand how important the early years are for children. We are calling on communities to help provide supportive systems to help families in difficulty. Everybody can make a contribution to the early years. Visuals of Bangladesh and India: It s been well established that if the status of women is raised, young children will reap the benefits. The government of Bangladesh is contributing to that process by helping improve the health of child-bearing women. Pregnant women have their blood-pressure monitored and mothers are advised on sanitation in their homes. Visuals of France: France has a nationwide programme which makes state-subsidized preschool programmes available to all families, both wealthy and poor. Three-year old Eddy (thumb in mouth, in blue shirt, listening to story), the son of Algerian immigrants, has access to a preschool with excellent facilities in a poorer district of Paris. Visuals of South Africa: Most effective of all are programmes that deal with every aspect of children s lives. Samaria and her three-year-old triplets live in an area of Johannesburg that was once notorious for crime and violence. Now a groundbreaking project has brought about a remarkable transformation. Samaria s children have developed creatively, with a new-found interest in drawing and art. And from being a dangerous place for families with young children, the community is now safe for them to learn and explore. South 8

9 Africa s Impilo project links a complete network of services around Samaria and her daughters a child-care centre, a clinic, job training and home support. Samaria Hlandze Interview:(translation from Zulu) I see a big difference in the children. They are able to talk about their feelings and they understand a lot more. For the organizers of Impilo each nation faces a fundamental choice: either invest early in children or put a country s future at risk. Leon Mdiya is a project coordinator with Impilo. Leon Mdiya interview: If we do not focus our energies on children, whatever we miss or don t do with children at that age will catch up with us fifteen years down the line. 9