RIYADH, 15 December 2005 — In cooperation with the Saudi government, UNICEF will conduct a survey of expatriate street children in all parts of the country, June Kunugi, UNICEF representative in the Kingdom, told Arab News yesterday.
The survey will focus on specific issues such as HIV/AIDS, girls education, nutrition, child labor and early childhood development. It will also highlight millions of children who have not been the beneficiaries of past gains, the ones who are excluded or “invisible”. These are children without adequate access to education, to life-saving vaccines and to protection.
The children in the Kingdom come mainly from Yemen, Afghanistan and from West African states such as Nigeria, Kunugi said. The children who are selling tissues at traffic signals are denied the right to education, she said, stressing the need to take an account of these children and launch a multi-country effort to look after them. “The Kingdom and other concerned countries will have to make a concerted effort to look after their basic needs.”
Kunugi said UNICEF has undertaken, in cooperation with the Saudi non-governmental organizations (NGOs), training programs for social workers who handle the street children in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam.
Speaking about Saudi Arabia, Kunugi said it shines as a philanthropic country. She said earlier this year UNICEF had signed a $3.5 million aid agreement with the Saudi Committee for the Relief of Palestinian People for the immunization and education of Palestinian children.
The Kingdom has donated $500,000 to UNICEF for its polio program in Yemen where 400 cases were detected. Since Yemen shares a border with the Kingdom and Oman, this donation for the project has effectively curbed the spread of polio in the region, she noted.
Kunugi said UNICEF is also preparing to hold a meeting at Prince Naif University for Security Studies next year to discuss the exploitation of children and drug trafficking in the region. “Participants from the Gulf countries will plan a regional strategy,” she added.
UNICEF has also plans to carry out awareness program on the prevention of injuries to children in the Kingdom. “UNICEF is also concerned about children becoming innocent victims of HIV/AIDS too,” she added.
