Monsoon floods: World Vision warns of spike in child malnutrition

International children’s charity, World Vision, is responding to deadly floods in Bangladesh that have devastated northern parts of the country.

Experts on the ground report that close to 8 million Bangladeshis have been affected by the worst monsoon rains in two decades. World Vision fears that the floods will lead to increased child malnutrition rates.

Jared Berends, Senior Director of Operations for World Vision Bangladesh said, “In some parts of Bangladesh up to 33% of children are malnourished. We are worried that families who have lost their homes and crops will run out of food, leading to even higher rates of malnutrition which will have serious consequences for child health and development.

Berends said, “The scale of this disaster is hard to fathom, 144 people killed, 570,000 hectares of crops have been damaged, almost 10,000 animals have been killed; and over 9,000 kilometres of roads and over 450 bridges have been severely damaged.

“People are in need of food, safe drinking water and medicine in the worst-affected areas where access has been difficult for relief operations. They need support to rebuild their homes and re-plant their crops.”

Today, on the occasion of the Global Disability Summit, the UK Government became the first major donor of its kind to explicitly pledge support for family and community-based care for all children.

Championing families and not orphanages, Secretary of State for International Development, Penny Mordaunt, announced: “Orphanages are harmful to children and it is often those with disabilities who are placed in them the most. This needs to end, which is why I’m committed to the long-term plan to ensure all children grow up with a family of their own.”

An NGO alliance including Hope and Homes, Lumos, Save the Children and World Vision - have joined forces to echo the UK Government’s commitment and support global change for children trapped in orphanages, especially those with disabilities who are the furthest left behind. The launch ofthe new ‘Civil Society Compact [CSO Compact]’ sets out a pathway for change to help eliminate orphanages worldwide.

“Recognising that institutionalisation harms children – and that children with disabilities are overrepresented in institutions –we commit to work together toward eliminating the institutionalisation of children globally. Ensuring our organisations do not contribute towards the institutionalisation of children, directly or indirectly - and in line with international treaties and best practice, we share the UK Government’s pledge to enable all children to have the opportunity to realise their right to family care.”

World Vision is a proud signatory to the CSO Compact, which is set out in full below.

Now is the time for other governments, funders, companies and individuals to follow suit and invest in alternatives to orphanages so all children can thrive in families.

CSO COMPACT

Recognising that institutionalisation harms children’s physical, emotional, psychological and psychosocial development, the undersigned organisations pledge to work toward the end of institutionalization of children and for the promotion of family-based care.

The occasion of the first Global Disability Summit makes this a particularly appropriate moment for this commitment, since children with disabilities are often the first to enter an institution and the last to leave.

In-line with international treaties and best practice, including the UN Guidelines on the Alternative Care of Children, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, we share the UK Government’s pledge to enable all children to have the opportunity to realise their right to family care and, in accordance with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development, commit to leave no child behind in this effort.

We are committed to ensuring our organisations do not, either directly or indirectly, contribute towards the institutionalisation of children. We are also committed to coordinating our activities and resources to maximise our collective efforts to support the transition to family and community-based care worldwide. Specifically, we commit to coordinating around six key themes:

Raising awareness and understanding in a way that stops the flow of funding and resources in support of orphanages and other types of institutions, and helping to redirect this support to family and community-based solutions.  We will also seek to influence our partners, supporters and donors to work in a coordinated way to do the same.

Encouraging the integration of child protection and care services with health and education support in order to promote family-based care and ensure that the wide-ranging needs of children with disabilities and their carers are met.

Advocating with decision-makers - international and national - to prevent the placement of children into institutions, and to ensure that legislation and policy are always derived from a locally developed evidence base on how to best combat the key drivers of institutionalisation.

Investing in (whether financial or in-kind) local partner capacity – civil society and local authorities – to effectively manage the transition from institutions to quality family and community-based care in ways that protect the rights of affected children.

Promoting the meaningful participation of children and young people - actively seeking out, listening to and acting on the views and opinions of the young people and children we work with, and where safe and appropriate to do so, giving them a platform to share their views and ideas more widely – paying particular attention to ensuring gender balance, and the inclusion of children with disabilities and other minority groups.

Researching and generating an evidence base about key issues such as:

·       best practice interventions to address the key drivers of institutionalisation;

·       the proliferation and poor quality of care in these institutions;

·       ways to challenge the invisibility of children in institutions, especially children with disabilities;

·       the most appropriate alternative care options for children who cannot live with their own biological family.

To achieve this we will work together to share our data, research findings, methodologies and support countries to gather better data and monitor outcomes for all children. In doing this we will seek to Increase the visibility and understanding of disability issues in children’s care and protection through wider research and routinely disaggregated data collection.

List of signatories

1.     Save the Children UK

2.     World Vision

3.     Plan International UK

4.     Human Rights Watch

5.     Islamic Relief Worldwide

6.     Disability Rights International

7.     Hope and Homes for Children

8.     Lumos

9.     DeafKidz International

10.  Home for Good

11.  Better Care Network

12.  Friends International

13.  Chance for Childhood

14.  HealthProm

15.  Forget Me Not Australia

16.  Next Generation Nepal

17.  One Sky Foundation

18.  Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children

Hundreds of thousands of children have been affected by the monsoon floods.

World Vision Bangladesh is supporting over 3,400 families - that is over 17,000 people - with a multi-purpose cash grant of £30.

Abdul Barek, World Vision Bangladesh’s Response Manager, said, “We are working with the government to identify some of the most vulnerable people who need this cash grant. It will help female-headed households and other vulnerable groups get back on their feet again. Some families will prioritise rebuilding their homes, others will spend the grant on food and education for themselves and their children.”

World Vision is also providing emergency relief to flood-affected India and Nepal.

Kunal Shah, World Vision India’s Disaster Response Manager, said: “The situation is quite grim. Our emergency assessments in 32 different villages shows that the floods have decimated people’s food stocks.

“Over 23 million Indian’s have been affected. More humanitarian aid is needed in addition to government relief efforts.”

World Vision aims to support 71,000 people. Over 24,000 have already received flood relief in Bihar, Mizoram and West Bengal.

Monsoon rains have also devastated parts of Nepal. Half a million people have been displaced,141 people have died and over 64,000 hectares of farmland has been destroyed. Many families are without food and face extreme hardship. World Vision has reached over 12,000 people with food and shelter. However, there is still a funding gap of nearly £777,000 for the early stage recovery work.

Angelina Theodora, Operations Director of World Vision International Nepal said “families have lost their crops and livelihoods. The estimated loss is around USD 81 million. Our flood response will focus on helping families re-plant late harvest crops, maintain wells so that people have access to clean water and to support children return to school. "