Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH), the world’s largest alliance for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health and well-being
has called for immediate relief measures to be carried out to save millions of women and children in war-hit Ukraine. According to the WHO, prevention of loss of lives and livelihood and long-term psychosocial and economic support are some of the measures to be taken speedily in order to assist during the ongoing Ukrainian conflict.
Millions of Women & Children Refugees:
Around 12 million people in Ukraine need protection and assistance as they are being forcibly thrown out of their homes. Many millions are fleeing their country out of whom a disproportionate number of women, children and adolescents need rescuing. Their lives hang in the balance.
'Women, children and adolescents refugees are vulnerable to violence, sexual abuse and exploitation. Many are pregnant or need medical care,' PMNCH thus appealed to its partners across the world. 'We must safeguard their lives, health and rights. There is no time to lose,' the PMNCH statement said.
Appeal to International Communities:
The UN has asked for 'sustained and uninterrupted access to essential healthcare and services and the delivery of humanitarian assistance; protection of all civilians, especially patients and healthcare workers, as well as health facilities, transport systems and supplies; safe and unimpeded access for aid groups to conflict-affected areas according to the core humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and operational independence; and safe passage for all nationalities and ethnicities fleeing Ukraine.'
Call for Solidarity:
The statement issued by Rt. Hon. Helen Clark, PMNCH Board Chair and former Prime Minister of New Zealand said that for the sake of so many people seeking safety in this massive and growing refugee surge, the international community must continue to work as partners, with pace and urgency, to stop and ameliorate the devastation, and to guard against the inter-generational costs of violence and war on children and adolescents. It called for multi-year, unmarked and diversified funds to help countries provide shelter, emergency relief items, cash assistance, and mental health and other support to those who are fleeing, especially unaccompanied children, adolescents and others with specific needs.
PMNCH stands with all vulnerable populations:
The UN reiterated its mission of safeguarding people all over the world who had been forcibly displaced as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, or events seriously disrupting public order. Another mission it spoke of was safeguarding the rights of children against whom grave violations were being done in conflicts around the world, including the recruitment and use of children by armed groups, killing, maiming, harassment, rape and sexual violence, abductions and attacks on schools and hospitals.
PMNCH is the world’s largest alliance for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health and well-being, with over 1,250 partner organizations across its 10 constituencies, and secretariat hosted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and with the vision of a world in which every woman, child and adolescent are able to realize their right to health and well-being, leaving no one behind. Its mission is to mobilize, align and amplify the voices of partners to advocate for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health and well-being, particularly the most vulnerable.