Pact strives for a world where all people are heard, capable, and vibrant. The four-year USAID funded project, Civic Engagement for Accountability and Democracy in Zimbabwe (CEADZ), aims to contribute to improving accountability and democratic governance that serves an engaged citizenry through increasing the influence of Zimbabwean citizens, acting …
Read More »Chess offers Nigerian slum children new move
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Crowds of children bustle around chessboards in Nigeria’s Lagos, figuring out their next moves as part of a project aimed at bringing hope in one of the city’s impoverished slums. Dozens of matches are played simultaneously as participants as young as three master a game often …
Read More »Try, try and try again: rugby’s attempts to break China
Chongqing, China | AFP | Children run around a small indoor pitch in southwest China, laughing, zigzagging between cones and tossing around a rugby ball — then one kid tears up when another fails to pass to him. “Pass it on, get up and stop crying,” coach Zhang Shuangyi instructs, with …
Read More »Studies find baby foods high in sugar, inappropriately marketed
Brussels, Belgium | THE INDEPENDENT | Two new studies from WHO/Europe show that a high proportion of baby foods are incorrectly marketed as suitable for infants under the age of 6 months, and that many of those foods contain inappropriately high levels of sugar. WHO’s long-standing recommendation states that children …
Read More »Modernity, lifestyles fueling hypertension in schools
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Medics are recording an increase in cases of hypertension among children in urban schools. The increase is linked to lifestyles, which include among others, lack of physical activity, the food they eat and overweight Body Mass Index. Prof. Roy William Mayega, an epidemiologist at …
Read More »UNICEF endorses extra maternity leave for mothers in poor countries
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The United Nations Children’s Agency is advocating for a one-month increase in maternity leave for mothers in low-and-middle-income countries, to enable parents to give their children the best start in life. The agency is equally calling for a transformative shift in how businesses and governments …
Read More »Care takers don’t know how to handle asthma attacks-researcher
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Only 10% of caretakers of children suffering from asthma can control an attack when it happens, Dr. Rebecca Nantanda, a researcher and pediatrician at Makerere University Lung Institute in Mulago has revealed. Dr. Nantanda says that while piloting a tool dubbed the “Asthma Control Tool” …
Read More »Fathers urged to actively engage in nurturing children
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Education Minister Janet Museveni Kataaha has challenged fathers to be actively involved in nurturing their children and not to abandon the responsibility to mothers. Mrs Museveni argued that beyond providing sustenance for the families, fathers should be protectors and role models to their children. She …
Read More »Pressure mounts on YouTube to better protect young users
Washington, United States | AFP | Millions of children regularly use YouTube to watch video game tutorials, television shows and even to watch random people unbox new toys. But consumer and child protection groups are worried that the Google-owned video service is collecting data on young users at the same time, …
Read More »Drawing the pain: Sketch therapy for C. Africa’s war-torn children.
Kaga Bandoro, Central African Republic | AFP | The scratching of crayons on paper fills the air as the children at Lazare camp in war-ravaged Central African Republic draw scenes from daily life. They draw armed men. Armoured vehicles. And they use red. Lots of red. In a makeshift tent, glasses perched on her …
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