中、南索馬里暴現教育危機　教育專責小組警告：失學兒童劇增 | 最新消息 | 訊息中心

中、南索馬里暴現教育危機　教育專責小組警告：失學兒童劇增

2011-08-09

奈落比／日內瓦／香港，2011年8月9日——據由各救援組織組成的教育專責小組上周進行的即時評估顯示，索馬里南部及中部10個地區合共已有約180萬名5至17歲兒童失學。專責小組警告，若不即時採取援助行動，至9月新學年開始時，失學人數勢將再度飆升。

Girls attend a class in Horyal Primary School in the Ifo refugee camp in North Eastern Province, near the Kenya-Somalia border. The class is being held outdoors due to a lack of indoor space. The camp is among three that comprise the Dadaab camps, located near the town of Dadaab in Garissa District. On 10 July 2011 in eastern Kenya, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa Elhadj As Sy visited the Dadaab camp for Somali refugees to focus increased attention on the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa. Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia are the three Horn of Africa countries most affected by a deepening drought, rising food prices and the persistent conflict in Somalia. More than 10 million people, including in neighbouring Djibouti and Uganda, are now threatened by the worst drought in the region in 60 years. Somalia faces one of the most-severe food security crises in the world as it continues to endure an extended humanitarian emergency, with tens of thousands fleeing into Kenya and Ethiopia. More than 10,000 Somalis a week are arriving in the Dadaab camps, where aid partners struggle to meet the needs of some 360,000 people, in facilities meant for 90,000. In northern Kenya, more than 25 per cent of children suffer from global acute malnutrition in the Turkana district the rate is at 37.4 per cent, its highest ever. An estimated 480,000 severely malnourished children are at risk of dying in drought-affected areas of Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti; while a further 1.6 million moderately malnourished children and the wider-affected population are at high risk of disease. UNICEF, together with Governments, UN, NGO and community partners, is supporting a range of interventions and essential services, especially for the displaced and for refugees, including feeding programmes, immunization campaigns, health outreach, and access to safe water and to improve sanitation. UNICEF is seeking US $31.8 million for the next three months to provide humanitarian assistance for children and women in the four most-affected countries.

當地的學童小學入學率僅得30%，該評估指出，隨着數以千計的家庭為了逃出饑荒，紛紛逃到市區或鄰國，帶動20萬名學齡兒童居無定所，此舉預料會進一步導致小學入學率下降。而在摩加迪沙等地，由於大批難民湧至，教育需求急增，但當地教師供應卻嚴重短缺。幸而教育專責小組推出獎金補貼措施，成功吸引到逾萬名教師到索馬里南部及中部授課，卻意味着下朱巴、中朱巴及拜州等周邊地區至開學時，將流失近半教師。

評估又指，要確保兒童繼續有機會學習或吸引他們入學，在校園內供應食物、提供教材、開設吸引教師獎金補貼，以及擴大學習空間，絕對是取得成功的關鍵。「教育是緊急救援行動中猶為重要的一環。」聯合國兒童基金會（UNICEF）駐索馬里代表Rozanne Chorlton女士表示，「學校能為兒童提供教育、健康支援及其他重要服務。無論對兒童的生存與發展，或對國家長遠穩定及成長而言，關鍵都在能否為兒童提供一個安全的學習環境。」

教育團體正擴大緊急教育活動規模，以應付評估中反映的需求。預料要實行升級計劃，資金需求將達到逾港幣$1.56億元（$2,000萬美元），但目前經費嚴重短缺，資金差額更創出4年新高。

升級教育計劃內容包括：盡快在難民營內設置臨時學習空間；在難民人口急升的鄰近社區加建課室；為435,000名兒童提供食水、衞生設施、教育用品如「教育百寶盒」及「康樂百寶盒」；提供獎金補貼吸引5,750名教師，同時加強「社區教育委員會」的參與。而按照計劃，專責小組更期望透過學校派發食物券，幫助學生及其家庭之餘，吸引兒童繼續就學，及促使從未接受過教育的兒童，得以開展他們人生的第一堂課。

On 15 July, children attend a hygiene education class that is part of a UNICEF-supported WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) programme, in a primary school in Naros Village, near the town of Lodwar, capital of Turkana District, in Rift Valley Province. In this predominantly pastoralist region, many families are selling their livestock to buy increasingly expensive food. In mid-July 2011, the crisis in the Horn of Africa affecting Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Uganda continues, with a worsening drought, rising food prices and the persistent conflict in Somalia. More than 10 million people are threatened by the worst drought in the region in 60 years. Somalia faces one of the worlds most severe food security crises as it continues to endure an extended humanitarian emergency, with tens of thousands fleeing into Kenya and Ethiopia. More than 10,000 Somalis a week are now arriving in the Dadaab camps in eastern Kenya, where aid partners are struggling to meet the needs of some 360,000 people in facilities meant for 90,000. In drought-affected areas of Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti, up to 500,000 severely malnourished children are at risk of dying, while a further 1.6 million moderately malnourished children and the wider-affected population are at high risk of disease. In northern Kenya, more than 25 per cent of children suffer from global acute malnutrition in Turkana District the rate is at 37.4 per cent, its highest ever. UNICEF, together with government, UN, NGO and community partners, is supporting a range of interventions and essential services, especially for the displaced and for refugees, including feeding programmes, immunization campaigns, health outreach, and increased access to safe water and improvements to sanitation. UNICEF is seeking US $31.8 million for the next three months to provide humanitarian assistance for children and women in the four most affected countries.

「數十年來，索馬里的教育問題一直被忽略，加上經費不足，大部分學齡兒童因而得不到應有的學習機會。故此，我們必需盡全力阻止情況繼續惡化。」Chorlton女士續指，「是次評估所得的結果，正正再指提醒社會，教育對兒童是何等重要。」

是次即時評估由UNICEF及救助兒童會共同帶領14個非政府組織與其合作夥伴進行，對象包括：社區學校、難民學校及私校等589個學習機構。評估除了收集相關數據及資料，亦訪談了由校長，由長者、家長及教師組成的「社區教育委員會」及多個民間組織，聽取各方意見。