NEWS FROM UNICEF TURKEY
UNICEF Turkey welcomes new representative Dr. Ayman Abulaban
Dr. Ayman Abulaban started his new appointment in Turkey in mid-October and already had an intervention with two ministers during his first week in Turkey at the UNICEF-Worldbank Joint ECD Conference.
Ayman Abulaban has been a member of the UNICEF family since 1995. He was previously the UNICEF Representative for the Arab Countries in the Gulf.
He has also served in various positions previously including: the Chief of “Health and Nutrition Section” UNICEF Pakistan, Program Coordinator in Jordan, Representative in Libya and Chief of Punjab Provincial office in Pakistan. During 2005, Abulaban took a special leave and worked as Secretary General for the “Arab Council for Childhood and Development” (ACCD) in Cairo.
Abulaban holds the following degrees: Doctor in Medicine (Aleppo University), Master in Public Health and Doctor in Public Health-Epidemiology (Tulane University USA). He is also a member of Jordan Medical Association and American Public Health Association.
New Horizons for Turkey’s
Disadvantaged 0-6 year olds
A renewed drive is under way to expand Early Childhood Development (ECD) programmes in Turkey following a two-day international conference organised jointly by UNICEF and the World Bank.
“All the evidence shows that policies for the development of children aged 0-6 are the best investment in the human capital needed for economic growth,” Kirsi Madi, UNICEF deputy director for the CEE/CIS region, declared in a key-note speech. She went on to explain the long-term benefits of care and stimulation in the early years of life for a child‟s physical well-being, educational success and social behaviour. She also described ECD as a “key entry point to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty and inequality.”
“We use the word „Investment‟ deliberately,” Ms Madi went on, “ECD should be top of the priorities of any government… This is not only about investing in the early years but about providing equal opportunities for all children… especially the most disadvantaged.”
Jesko Hentschel, World Bank sector manager for Europe and Central Asia, suggested that Turkey can learn from OECD countries which “have come to the conclusion that what works best is if they reach the poorest children as early as possible within a holistic approach with long-term, high-quality, high-impact interventions”. As challenges, he listed finance, integration across ministries and agencies, and the need to find ways of combining public policy with the strong traditional and community-based welfare system.
“We are committed to mothers and children. This is our duty - our security for the future. We have to work a bit harder on the ECD age group. We have to educate our parents and professionals very well,” said Mr Akdağ.
„Success in this area will prevent low performance in education, drop-outs, health problems and the number of children coming into contact with the law,” asserted Ms Çubukçu. “We have started change, but we must amend any system which leaves even one child behind,” she added.
Results in 2 New Pre-schools in Van
IN BRIEF
Ayman Abulaban con-ducted his first bilateral meeting with the Minis-ter of Health, Prof. Dr. Recep Akdağ, to discuss the 2011-2015 new Country Programme Action Plan
SHCEK is organizing a meeting about Child Rights Strategy. UNICEF will advocate for a com-prehensive and benefi-cial strategy document.
Officials from Kosovo made a 2-day study visit to Turkey to assess the reforms in the child protection system and develop a strategy for action to strenghten the system in Kosovo.
SHÇEK, together with UNICEF and the Belgian Federal Government, who has the rotating Presidency of the EU, is organizing an international meeting on the Prevention of Violence against Children during 13-14 December 2010 at the TBA Litai Hotel in Ankara.
Parliament Starts New Legislative Year with
Children’s Rights
The three-day workshop, entitled the Role of Parliament in Promoting and Protecting Children’s Rights, was held to coincide with the opening of the 2010-2011 legislative year on October 1. It was supported by the Speaker of Parliament and took place at the houses of parliament in Ankara.
Members of parliament, representatives of the Prime Ministry Human Rights Presidency, officials from several government ministries, academics and civil society representatives took part.The Child Rights Monitoring Committee of the Turkish Parliament has set itself a series of important goals following an international workshop with the participation of UNICEF experts.
An action plan being drawn up by Committee members will prioritise efforts for the establishment of a child ombudsperson, the adoption of a draft law on youth, the expansion of community-based early child development services and the reduction of violence and abuse against children.
In addition, the Committee has set its sights on becoming an independent, permanent standing committee, rather than a voluntary committee. As a standing committee, the Committee would take on the task of reviewing all draft laws, including the government‟s annual budget, from the perspective of child rights. Changes in the membership of the Committee are envisaged, so that all political parties with seats in parliament would be represented equally. The Committee also intends to play an active part in the national CRC reporting process.
Two pre-schools, Van Atatürk Anaokulu and Van Cumhuriyet Anaokulu, were opened in Van with the contributions of Amway affiliates, employees and business owners and in collaboration with the UNICEF National Committee of Turkey on 4 October 2010.
Through the pre-school education mobilization campaign, preschool enrollment rate is planned to incerase to 50% during the 2012-2013 education year. Currently, pre-school education has become compulsory for 5 year olds in 57 provinces. Amway has supported UNICEF‟s We are Adding Preschools! campaign to help Turkey reach this goal.
President of the Turkish National Committee
In Turkey, there are thousands of children who have never enrolled to school or had to drop out for various reasons. The catch-up education programme was initiated to tackle this issue. The goal of the programme is to help girls and boys who are between the ages 10-14 to catch-up their peers through a specialized syllabus and accelerated classes.
The UNICEF National Committee is leveraging resources to print teacher’s handbooks, manuals and other materials to assist teachers prepare for this education programme. In addition, they also provide school supplies for students including notebooks, pencils and books. The cost of the teacher‟s kit is 60TL; student kit is 25 TL.
The goal of the National Committee is to reach as many children as possible and help them get back to where they belong: back to school! This is the only way to break the vicious cycle of poverty and ignorance in our country. Your donations to UNICEF for the Eid al-Adha (Kurban Bayramı) will be wonderful gift for our children.
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