SWCHSMUN 2012
UNICEF Background Guide
Sir Winston Churchill HSMUN Conference
SWCHSMUN 2012
Table of Contents
Committee History ……………………………………………………………………………………… Page 2
Topic 1: Child Marriage ……………………………………………………………………………… Page 3-8
Topic 2: Protecting Children During Armed Conflict …………………………………… Page 9-11
UNICEF Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
Topic 3: Child Malnutrition and Education …………………………………………………. Page 12-15
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UNICEF Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
Committee History
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) was created in 1946 in response to famine and
disease affecting children in Europe. The goal of UNICEF, at that time, was to provide these
children with food, health care, and clothing. In 1953 the UN General Assembly (UNGA)
extended the mandate of UNICEF indefinitely, establishing UNICEF as a permanent fixture of
the UN. The committee’s early projects included campaigns to combat and eliminate the
treatable mass diseases of the time like tuberculosis, yaws, and leprosy. After the UNGA passed
the Declaration of the Rights of a Child in 1959, UNICEF had an official UN document around
which to frame its goals. In 1961 UNICEF expanded its goals beyond improving children’s health
and nutrition to also include education. Around this time, the committee also developed their
modern theory on aid, which promotes a holistic approach to addressing the needs of children
(“The State”).
UNICEF is a major proponent of international cooperation and has taken part of many alliances
in order to see their goals accomplished; for example, they regularly join with the UNDP, WHO,
and World Bank in order to protect children and promote methods to raise their levels of
survival (“The State”). In 1982 UNICEF introduced the Child Survival and Development
Revolution (CSDR); with this campaign, UNICEF began its drive to save millions of children’s lives
per year. The CSDR promotes four simple techniques, including growth monitoring, oral
rehydration therapy, breastfeeding, and immunization. These are strategies for increasing
children’s health that correspond with the work of other international bodies, such as the
World Health Assembly’s 1981 code that promoted breastfeeding to help to decrease infant
health threats (“The State”). In 1989 UNICEF brought about the Convention on the Rights of a
Child, which quickly became the most accepted human rights treaty. The UN held the World
Summit for Children in 1990, which created goals for children’s health, nutrition, and education.
In 1996 UNICEF added a new focus area to its growing project list by supporting a study on the
impact of armed conflict on children; then, in 1998, the Security Council had its first debate on
the topic. By doing so, they promoted spreading awareness of the millions of children that are
living in conflict zones. UNICEF has gone to great measures in order to protect the children
living in these environments, from providing aid to refugee camps to teaming up with Save the
Children, UNHCR, and more in order to reunite children from these conflict zones with their
families.
Since then, UNICEF has expanded its goals, while still focusing on the importance of protecting
children from violence, exploitation, hunger, disease, poverty, and more. 2001 saw the launch
of UNICEF’s Say Yes for Children campaign, which led up to the UNGA’s Special Session on
Children in 2002. Currently, their main focus areas are HIV/AIDS and children, child survival and
development, basic education and gender equality, and child protection. UNICEF has held many
regional and international conferences to work with various states to develop methods of
improving the lives of children that are customized, either for individual countries or on a larger
regional scale. In the past few years, UNICEF has been hosting many conferences and events on
the Unite For Children, Unite Against AIDS campaign. The most recent of these affairs was an
online knowledge-sharing event entitled, “Strengthening HIV Prevention Through Sexuality
Education,” which took place in April of 2010. This event had participants from around the
world and has increased global knowledge about what must be done in order to educate
children by providing them with education about what may cause HIV.
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UNICEF Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
Topic 1: Child Marriage
Child marriage is a violation of human rights whether it happens to a girl or a boy, but it
represents perhaps the most prevalent form of sexual abuse and exploitation of girls. The
harmful consequences include separation from family and friends, lack of freedom to interact
with peers and participate in community activities, and decreased opportunities for education.
Child marriage can also result in bonded labour or enslavement, commercial sexual exploitation
and violence against the victims. Because they cannot abstain from sex or insist on condom use,
child brides are often exposed to such serious health risks as premature pregnancy, sexually
transmitted infections and, increasingly, HIV/AIDS. Parents may consent to child marriages out
of economic necessity. Marriage may be seen as a way to provide male guardianship for their
daughters, protect them from sexual assault, avoid pregnancy outside marriage, extend their
childbearing years or ensure obedience to the husband’s household. The practice of marrying
girls at a young age is most common in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. However, in the
Middle East, North Africa and other parts of Asia, marriage at or shortly after puberty is
common among those living traditional lifestyles. There are also specific parts of West and East
Africa and of South Asia where marriages much earlier than puberty are not unusual, while
marriages of girls between the ages of 16 and 18 are common in parts of Latin America and in
pockets of Eastern Europe. One problem in assessing the prevalence of early marriages is that
so many are unregistered and unofficial and are not therefore counted as part of any standard
data collection system. Very little country data exist about marriages under the age of 14, even
less about those below age 10. An exception is Bangladesh, where the Demographic and Health
Survey (DHS) of 1996-97 reported that 5 per cent of 10- 14 year-olds were married. Small-scale
studies and anecdotal information fill in the picture. They imply that marriage at a very young
age is more widespread than country data suggest. National statistics often disguise significant
rates of very early marriage in some regions and among some sub-populations. Customs
surrounding marriage, including the desirable age and the way in which a spouse is selected,
depend on a society’s view of the family – its role, structure, pattern of life, and the individual
and collective responsibilities of its members. The idea and function of ‘family’ varies across the
world and is in a state of constant evolution.
In Western Europe and North America, marriages have historically taken place later in life.
Later marriage in Europe has had an important impact on attitudes to consent. Because women
and men marry as adults with experience of life, it is alien to accept unquestioningly a parental
choice of spouse. The free consent of both partners to a marriage has been legally requisite
since Roman times. This consent, and the relative independence it gives to marriage partners, is
absent from unions where the girl is absorbed into the household of her in-laws and takes on
the role of the mother-in-law’s protégé and helper. One important difference between
marriage customs in many developing world societies and those in the industrialized world is
that in the former, these customs tend to support high fertility even where overall fertility
levels are falling. During the 1970s, concern about population growth, and perplexity about the
widespread rejection of contraceptive technology by most couples in developing countries, led
to efforts by social demographers to understand the reasons for what they saw as ‘odd’
behaviour. These demographic studies extended into a historical examination of marriage and
childbearing in Western Europe.
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Early Marriage as a Strategy for Economic Survival
Poverty is one of the major factors underpinning early marriage. Where poverty is acute, a
young girl may be regarded as an economic burden and her marriage to a much older –
sometimes even elderly –man, a practice common in some Middle Eastern and South Asian
societies, is a family survival strategy, and may even be seen as in her interests. In traditional
societies in Sub-Saharan Africa, the bride’s family may receive cattle from the groom, or the
groom’s family, as the bride price for their daughter. There are also reports from HIV/AIDS
researchers in Eastern Africa that marriage is seen as one option for orphaned girls by
caregivers who find it hard to provide for them. Some countries in the grip of on-going civil
conflict show acute symptoms of child-related social stress: increasing child slavery and
trafficking, rising numbers of children on the streets, very young prostitutes and labourers, and
high levels of child neglect and abandonment. Evidence suggests that in such situations, early
marriage is on the rise. Protecting girls with an early marriage is one way to ensure that a
wife is ‘protected’, or placed firmly under male control; that she is submissive to her husband
and works hard for her in-laws’ household; that the children she bears are ‘legitimate’; and that
bonds of affection between couples do not undermine the family unit. Parents may genuinely
feel that their daughter will be better off and safer with a regular male guardian. In conflict-torn
Northern Uganda for example, some families marry their young daughters to militia members
in order to defend family honour or secure ‘protection’ for themselves and the girl. The same
thing has happened to girls in Somalia in the course of that country’s conflicts.
One important impetus for marrying girls at an early age is that it helps prevent premarital sex.
Many societies prize virginity before marriage and this can manifest itself in a number of
practices designed to ‘protect’ a girl from unsanctioned sexual activity. Early marriage deprives
a girl of her adolescence. In many traditional societies, the idea of an adolescent period
between puberty and adulthood is alien.
Pregnancy and Childbirth
The risks of early pregnancy and childbirth are well documented: increased risk of dying,
increased risk of premature labour, complications during delivery, low birth-weight, and a
higher chance that the newborn will not survive. Pregnancy-related deaths are the leading
cause of mortality for 15-19 year-old girls (married and unmarried) worldwide. Mothers in this
age group face a 20 to 200 per cent greater chance of dying in pregnancy than women aged 20
UNICEF Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
The basic difference in family patterns identified was between the traditional ‘familist’ system
and the modern ‘individualist’ systems. The traditional system is characterized by extended
families, communal households, plural mating, authoritarian exercise of power by the
paterfamilias, young age at marriage, spouses chosen by elders, absorption of the newly-wed
into an existing household, no non-household role or identity for women. In the ‘individualist’
system, which is the norm in industrialized countries, the opposites generally apply. In the
familist model, fertility is deliberately maximized by marrying girls immediately after puberty.
The family is the unit of economic production and is the only source of wealth, social status and
security for its members. New children (especially boys) are needed to run the household and
maintain the family’s status. The need to maximize reproduction is reinforced where infant
mortality is high.
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to 24. Those under age 15 are five times as likely to die as women in their twenties.109 The
main causes are hemorrhage, sepsis, preeclampsia/ eclampsia and obstructed labour.
Child Marriage Facts and Figures
 Globally, 36% of women aged 20–24 were married or in union before they reached 18
years of age.1
 An estimated 14 million adolescents between 15 and 19 give birth each year. Girls in this
age group are twice as likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth as women in their
twenties.2
 Marriage of young girls is most common in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In Niger,
77% of 20- to 24-year-old women were married before the age of 18. In Bangladesh, this
rate was 65%.
 Child marriage is becoming less common overall, but the pace of change is slow. In the
six countries where child marriage is most prevalent, more than 60 per cent of women
20-24 years old married as children.
 Girls from poorer households are more likely to be married as children than girls from
richer households.
 If a mother is under the age of 18, her infant’s risk of dying in its first year of life is 60%
greater than that of an infant born to a mother older than 19.
Legislation and Enforcement
Governments need to establish 18 as the legal age of marriage for girls, as well as boys, and
ensure its implementation. Promoting birth and marriage registration will help enforce these
laws.
Attitudes, Customs and Practices
Ending child marriage is challenging because even parents who understand its negative impact
may find it hard to resist economic and societal pressures and traditions. Addressing attitudes
and customs that promote or condone the practice is vital to changing the acceptable age for
marriage.
Open Discussion
Marriage is regarded as a private subject in many cultures. Communication campaigns can help
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Government Commitment and Capacity
The role of government and civil-society institutions is to develop and implement systems to
prevent or discourage this practice. Government action is required to review customary and
civil law. Because child marriage is closely associated with poverty, government commitment to
poverty reduction is likely to lead to a decrease in child marriages.
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create circumstances in which it can be discussed and traditional beliefs about marriage can be
examined. To foster behavioural change from within communities, human rights should be
emphasized, particularly those of women – including equality, access to education and freedom
from exploitation and discrimination.
Children’s Life Skills, Knowledge and Participation
Expanding children’s knowledge and empowerment is crucial, particularly for girls. Educated
girls are less likely to agree to marry at a young age. Attempts to close gender gaps in education
can include the establishment of child-friendly schools, cash incentives for parents and the
expansion of non-formal education.
Capacity of Families and Communities
Community-level women’s organizations need support to act as effective advocates and
educators. Human rights-based development and education programmes can create dynamics
leading to a change in customs, hierarchies and prejudices linked to the tradition of child
marriage.
Essential Services, Including Prevention, Recovery and Reintegration
Counselling services on abuse, reproductive health and protection from HIV infection are
imperative for young girls. Girls who run away from marriages need emergency support, as do
those running away from parents forcing them into an unwanted marriage.
Past UN Action
Globally, one way UNICEF is addressing the issue of child marriage is through the promotion of
girls’ education. Research has shown that higher levels of education for girls prevent child
marriage.3 UNICEF is the lead agency for the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative, which
works to ensure that by 2015, all children everywhere will be able to complete primary
schooling. In Bangladesh, UNICEF has been supporting Kishori Abhijan, a project promoting the
rights of adolescent girls and combating rights violations such as child marriage and dowry. The
project provides education, training and links to economic activities for networks of adolescent
girls to help them gain livelihood skills.
International Human Rights Instruments and Early Marriage
A number of human rights instruments lay down norms to be applied to marriage,
covering issues of age, consent, equality within marriage, and the personal and
property rights of women. The key instruments and articles are as follows (paraphrased
for clarity in some cases):
Article 16 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states: (1) Men
and women of full age … have the right to marry and found a family. They are entitled
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Monitoring, Reporting and Oversight
Demographic Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys collect valuable data on
prevalence and reasons for child marriage. Community level monitoring systems can also help
record frequency of child marriage. Marriage registration should be promoted.
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Early Marriage and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
The CRC has been ratified by all countries with the exception of the United States and
Somalia. Virtually every provision of the CRC is of some relevance to the issue of early
marriage. Among the most pertinent, however, are the following (paraphrased for
clarity in some cases):
Article 1: A child means every human being below the age of eighteen years unless,
under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.
Article 2: Freedom from discrimination on any grounds, including sex, religion, ethnic or
social origin, birth or other status.
Article 3: In all actions concerning children … the best interests of the child shall be a
primary consideration.
Article 6: Maximum support for survival and development.
Article 12: The right to express his or her views freely in all matters affecting the child,
in accordance with age and maturity.
Article 19: The right to protection from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or
abuse, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of
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to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. (2) Marriage shall
be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending parties. Similar
provisions are included in the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights and the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Article 1 of the 1956 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave
Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery includes in the institutions and
practices similar to slavery: Article 1(c) Any institution or practice whereby: (i) A
woman, without the right to refuse, is promised or given in marriage on payment of a
consideration in money or in kind to her parents, guardian, family …
Articles 1, 2, and 3 of the 1964 Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for
Marriage and Registration of Marriages state: (1) No marriage shall be legally entered
into without the full and free consent of both parties, such consent to be expressed by
them in person … as prescribed by law. (2) States Parties to the present Convention shall
… specify a minimum age for marriage (“not less than 15 years” according to the nonbinding
recommendation accompanying this Convention). No marriage shall be legally
entered into by any person under this age, except where a competent authority has
granted a dispensation as to age, for serious reasons, in the interests of the intending
spouses … (3) All marriages shall be registered … by the competent authority.
Article 16.1 of the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women prescribes equally for men and women: (a) The same right to enter into
marriage; (b) The same right freely to choose a spouse and to enter into marriage only
with their free and full consent; … Article 16.2 states: The betrothal and the marriage of
a child shall have no legal effect, and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be
taken to specify a minimum age for marriage. Article XXI of the 1990 African Charter on
the Rights and Welfare of the Child states: Child marriage and the betrothal of girls and
boys shall be prohibited and effective action, including legislation, shall be taken to
specify the minimum age of marriage to be eighteen years.
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parents, guardian, or any other person.
Article 24: The right to health, and to access to health services; and to be protected
from harmful traditional practices.
Articles 28 and 29: The right to education on the basis of equal opportunity.
Article 34: The right to protection from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.
Article 35: The right to protection from abduction, sale or trafficking.
Article 36: The right to protection from all forms of exploitation prejudicial to any aspect
of the child’s welfare.
Notes
1 This figure does not include China. Unless otherwise indicated, figures are from United
Nations Children’s Fund, The State of the World’s Children 2006, UNICEF, New York,
2005, p. 131.
2 United Nations Population Fund, State of World Population 2005: The promise of equality:
Gender equity, reproductive health and the Millennium Development Goals, UNFPA, New
York, 2005, p. 50.
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3 United Nations Children’s Fund, Early Marriage: A harmful traditional practice: A statistical
exploration, UNICEF, New York, 2005, pp. 12-13.
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Topic 2: Protecting Children During Armed Conflict
Armed conflicts have left populations vulnerable to appalling forms of violence, including
systematic rape, abduction, amputation, mutilation, forced displacement, sexual exploitation
and genocide. The wide availability of light, inexpensive small arms has contributed to the use
of children as soldiers, as well as to high levels of violence once conflicts have ended. The
breakdown of social protection leaves girls vulnerable to unwanted pregnancy and threatens all
children with separation from their families, orphaning, increased risk of sexually transmitted
infections, disability and serious, long-term psychosocial consequences.
The Role of Government
To protect children during war, government priorities must include assisting the most
vulnerable, recognizing that displaced children have the right to receive the same level of public
services as other children, and protecting humanitarian assistance and personnel. State and
non-State entities must commit themselves to ending the recruitment and use of children as
soldiers or adjuncts to armed groups by signing international legislation. In addition, children
need to be protected from the effects of sanctions. As conflicts end, peace-building and
peacekeeping efforts need to focus on child protection issues. Governments, for example, can
ensure that crimes against children are addressed and that child-friendly procedures are
developed for children’s involvement in truth and justice-seeking processes.
Legislation and Enforcement
International treaties must be respected and enforced by those in charge, including State and
non-State entities, and criminal legislation should be reviewed to ensure that grave breaches of
international humanitarian law are recognized as crimes. Adequate training for armed forces in
the rules of international humanitarian law and human rights, especially those concerning the
protection of children, is essential. Promoting codes of conduct and child-rights training for all
military and civilian peacekeeping personnel is essential to eliminating maltreatment and
use of children in armed groups.
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Facts and Figures
• An estimated 90% of global conflict-related deaths since 1990 have been civilians, and 80% of
these have been women and children.1
• In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, almost 38,000 deaths occur every month above
what is considered a ‘normal level’ for the country, translating into 1,270 excess deaths every
day. Most deaths are due to preventable causes like malnutrition and infectious diseases.
Young children are disproportionately affected by these illnesses.2
• In Darfur (Sudan), around 2 million people have been forced from their land and live in
displacement camps. More than 1 million of them are children under 18, with 320,000 aged
five and under.3
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Past UN Action
Examples of UNICEF in Action
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as part of UNICEF’s project to assist children, women
and families affected by conflict, nearly 1.6 million children were protected from recruitment by
armed forces and groups, at least 5,400 children associated with armed forces and groups were
reintegrated into their families or communities, and 5,350 women and children survivors of
sexual violence were given support and assistance.
In Liberia, UNICEF is working to provide skills training courses to 5,000 demobilized children
associated with armed forces. The training programme includes options like agriculture, animal
husbandry, mechanics, carpentry, cosmetology, masonry, tailoring and baking, in addition to
basic literacy and numeracy, psychosocial counseling, and business development. Recently, 116
boys and girls finished the nine-month training course in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County.
Human Rights
The principles and provisions to protect children in armed conflict are laid out in the Geneva
Conventions (1949) and their Additional Protocols (1977), the Convention on the Rights
of the Child (1989) and its Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict
(2000), and the Rome Statute (1998) of the International Criminal Court.
Millennium Development Goals
Armed conflict depletes physical, economic and human resources and leads to displacement of
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The Role of the Media and Civil Society
Media and civil society have tremendous potential for influencing public opinion – and
promoting action– through discussion of such crucial issues as sexual violence against children
and women, and reducing the availability of small arms and light weapons. Children’s life skills,
knowledge and participation Children’s involvement in their own protection is strengthened by
the creation of child-friendly spaces, especially in situations of displacement, and by peer-topeer counseling on such issues as avoiding landmines or protection from HIV. Bolstering the
capacities of families and communities creates an effective resource for a wide range of
activities. With the proper training and materials, they can prevent the separation of children,
provide psychosocial support for war-affected children, develop mechanisms to eliminate
sexual abuse and exploitation, support landmine awareness and victim assistance, and
distribute lifesaving information on HIV/AIDS.
Essential services, including prevention, recovery and reintegration of children that have been
victims of armed conflict are essential. These services include: disarmament, demobilization
and reintegration programmes for children whether or not they have weapons in their
possession; tracing and reintegration programmes for children who have been separated from
their families; assistance to survivors of sexual violence as well as children who have been
disabled; education services for children; prevention of HIV infection; and care for children
orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. Systematic and comprehensive monitoring,
reporting and oversight, as requested by the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1539
and 1612, should cover all violations against children affected by armed conflict and could be
performed by governments or non-State parties to the conflict.
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populations. It can disrupt children’s education, lead to their death, and expose them to HIV
infection when rape is used as a weapon of war. In the scope and severity of its effects, armed
conflict not only devastates child protection, it is a threat to achieving any of the Millennium
Development Goals, from eradicating extreme poverty and hunger (MDG 1) to ensuring
environmental sustainability (MDG 7).
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Notes
1 Otunnu, Olara A., ‘Special Comment’ on Children and Security, Disarmament Forum, No. 3,
United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, Geneva, 2002, pp. 3-4.
2 Coghlan, Benjamin et al, “Mortality in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A nationwide
survey,” The Lancet, Vol. 367, 7 January 2006, pp. 44-51.
3 United Nations Children’s Fund, Darfur Child Alert, UNICEF, December 2005, p. 7. Available in
PDF only at <www.unicef.org>.
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Topic 3: Child Malnutrition and Education
Background
Malnutrition is a condition that occurs when people “lack adequate nutrition resulting from
insufficient food, unbalanced diet, or defective assimilation”1. It was estimated that in the year
2000, over 50% of child deaths were caused by or associated with malnutrition. In the year
2010, this number decreased by 8%, yet alarmingly enough, three out of the every five children
under the age of three-years-old were malnourished. Southeast Asia and Africa are the two
continents with the most prevalent malnutrition-related issues. According to the Nepal Youth
Foundation, 50% of children under the age of five are malnourished with little hope for survival.
In Africa, 80% of the children under five are malnourished. It is evident that child malnutrition
rates are drastically greater than those of adults. Due to undernourishment, these children are
more susceptible to diseases as a result of their weakened immune systems. Malnutrition by
definition encompasses nutrient-deficiency, causing a weak immune system and therefore
vulnerability to infection, which increases the rate of mortality from bacterial infection.
Resulting illnesses include diarrhea, respiratory infection, and tuberculosis. The combination of
symptoms from nutrient-deficiency and bacterial infection leads to the overall deterioration of
children’s T-cells and immune systems, rendering their survival unlikely.
1 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/malnutrition
UN Involvement
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) was established on December 11, 1946 to help
combat health and education-related issues concerning children. In 1953, it was deemed a
permanent member of the United Nations System. Originally, it was called the United Nations
International Children’s Emergency Fund, but after its permanent establishment, its name was
condensed. With contributions from private donors along with governments, UNICEF raises
about $3 billion yearly to promote the use of district-level services as a way of endorsing the
overall health of children. In addition, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization was created on November 16, 1946. Its purpose is to “contribute to peace and
security by promoting international collaboration through education, science and culture in
order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights.”2
2 http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/
3 http://www.dignityinschools.org/content/convention-rights-child-dignity-discipline-andreduction-dropout-rates
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Malnutrition has caused school attendance rates to decrease significantly. In most illiterate
areas, school dropout rates are mainly a result of increasingly underfed students. In addition,
most countries do not enforce compulsory school attendance. Furthermore, a quality education
is often impractical for children in these poor countries. In vulnerable situations such as these,
practicality dictates, and a child is encouraged to seek employment before a proper education.
Another problem in education is finding a means of transportation. For most children
worldwide, the nearest school is five to seven miles away from their home. With the
inconveniences of an education and lack of initiative to improve these systems, many children
are compelled to seek employment rather than an education.
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Possible Solutions
It is necessary to address child malnutrition and its effects on education on an international
basis, a regional basis, and at the community level. Adequate necessities for children’s
livelihood include proper nutrition and access to education. With the option of employment,
frequently favored in poor, rural areas, children are sometimes guaranteed nutrition, but lack
the time to attend school. On the other hand, while attending school, children are not able to
immediately with the potentially vulnerable economic situation of their families, perpetuating
malnutrition and poverty. Therefore, education programs with nutritional and monetary
incentives are a viable solution to distribute food to families of students, encouraging parents
to send their children to school and bettering the family situation as a whole. In addition,
solutions that work on a local community basis are likely the most practical. This would allow
for cultural and social traditions to be respected.
On the international level, it is necessary to pursue a dedication to guaranteeing proper
education and nutrition for all children. Promoting understanding of different relations and
cultures, as well as providing aid on a humanitarian basis is incredibly important. Consider the
possibilities of potential public-private partnerships across borders. Allowing corporations into
vulnerable countries could benefit the people by providing cheap nutrition, but the ethics of
doing business with multinational corporations must be taken into account.
Therefore, it is pertinent to address all aspects of your solutions to improving malnutrition and
guaranteeing a child’s access to education. Keep in mind that there is no one solution for every
country. Consider the relationships between social and economic situations and the importance
of the ramifications of this issue.
Bloc Positions
United States
The United States is one of the few nations not severely affected by this problem. In 2003, the
United States worked with UNICEF to implement the Malnourished Victims Act, which provides
care and nutritional needs to children and established stricter education requirements that are
still feasible. In addition, the United States of America has a branch under UNICEF called the US
Fund. It fundraises for this cause and provides specific campaigning ideas to aid UNICEF in its
help for children across the world.
Latin America
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On September 2, 1990, Resolution 44/25 was passed to address school dropout rates. It
discusses how malnutrition can be directly related to the increased number of primary school
dropouts. Also, it calls upon governments to “take measures to encourage regular attendance
at schools and the reduction of drop-out rates.”3 On December 20, 1995, Resolution 50/109
was passed by the General Assembly. This resolution was passed to reaffirm the decision made
by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) to use the help of the United Nations and
other relevant organizations to distribute food more easily and to provide necessary medical
care for many citizens in underprivileged Southeast Asian countries.
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Most Latin American nations are severely affected by this issue. To help combat the problem at
hand, they promote the use of extensive breastfeeding at birth to reduce a child’s exposure to
malnutrition and disease. Recently, Uruguay, among other Latin American nations,
implemented programs for the “fortification of food with micronutrients”4 which reduces the
health barriers. Incentive programs are also used in Brazil, where Bolsa Familia has seen great
success in stimulating education and combating malnutrition in children and families.
4 http://www.eclac.org/
Africa
African countries have the highest rates of malnourished children worldwide. Almost 80% of all
African children are malnourished due to a lack of sufficient amounts of nutritional food. The
children in these countries are often forced to abandon school just to work for their families.
Recently, seven countries have joined the LIFE Initiative to help improve education in their
countries.
Questions To Consider
1. What is the situation regarding child malnutrition and education in your country?
2. What has your country done to address this issue in the past?
3. How does your country plan to effectively decrease the number of malnourished children
across the world?
4. Is the problem of malnutrition in food production or distribution?
5. How can you ensure a child’s right to a proper education?
6. How would improvements to infrastructure help a situation like this? What are ways to
improve infrastructure of a community to guarantee a child’s rights?
7. How will schools be made more accessible to their students? What means of transportation
would be distributed so that students can attend school more easily?
8. How will you address the gap between male and female school attendance?
9. What incentive will be provided to children to relieve their burden of work/employment?
10. Does your country believe that education should be a requirement for all children? If so,
how long should a child be enrolled in an educational system?
Bibliography
UNICEF Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
Southeast Asia
Over 5 million children under the age of five died in Southeast Asia in 2000 as a result of
diseases caused by malnutrition. Poor nutrition has caused over 15% of all Southeast Asian kids
to be stunted in their growth. In turn, the Breastfeeding Initiative was launched to help inform
young and underprivileged mothers about the importance of nutrition, especially at the start of
a child’s birth. It was implemented in fourteen countries and has continued to show
improvement.
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UNICEF Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
"Malnutrition - PubMed Health." Malnutrition. Web. 12 June 2011.
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001441/>.
"Tackling the Double Burden of Malnutrition." www.unscn.org. Web. 12 June 2011.
<http://www.unscn.org/layout/modules/resources/files/scnnews32.pdf>.
"UNESCO: Education." The Benefits of Education. Web. 12 June 2011.
<http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/>.
"United Nations Children's Fund." United for Children. Web. 12 June 2011.
<http://www.unicef.org/>.
"United Nations Educational, Social, and Cultural Foundation." Building Peace in the Minds of
Men and Women. Web. 12 June 2011. <http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/>.
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