Page 6 - Children

UN puts Russian forces on blacklist for killing children, attacking schools

The United Nations put Russian forces on its annual blacklist of countries that violate children's rights in conflict for killing boys and girls and attacking schools and hospitals in Ukraine, according to a new report seen Thursday by The Associated Press. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in the report to the Security Council that he is appalled by the high number of grave violations against children in Ukraine in 2022, shocked at the number of attacks on schools and hospitals, concerned by the detention of children, and troubled that some Ukrainian children have been transferred to Russia. The U.N. chief did not put Israel on the blacklist for grave violations against 1,139 Palestinian children, including 54 killings last year as supporters had hoped. Instead, he welcomed Israel's engagement with the U.N. special envoy for children in armed conflict, Virginia Gamba and its identification of practical measures including those proposed by the U.N." to protect children. Riya

'Warrior Moms' fight for their children's right to breathe clean air

An ideation and action-oriented group that goes beyond language barriers, demographic differences and geographical boundaries, Warrior Moms is a 'Mothers For Clean Air' initiative

'Many newborns dying due to loss of efficacy of antibiotics against sepsis'

Many newborns are dying because the antibiotics used to treat sepsis are losing their effectiveness, according to a global observational study which involved over 3,200 newborn babies suffering from the infection in 11 countries, including India. The study, conducted from 2018 to 2020 and co-authored by a team of over 80 researchers, found there was high mortality among infants with culture-positive sepsis (almost 1 in 5 across the hospital sites), and a significant burden of antibiotic resistance. The research, published on Friday in the journal PLOS Medicine, provides a wealth of high-quality data aimed at improving the treatment of newborn babies with sepsis. "It was very important to undertake this study to get a better understanding of the kind of infections we are seeing in newborns in hospitals, the bugs causing them, the treatments that are being used and why we are seeing more deaths," said Manica Balasegaram, Executive Director of Global Antibiotic Research and Development

Child victims of stabbing attack in France in critical but stable condition

France's president travelled on Friday to the side of families traumatised by the savage stabbings of four very young children, all said to be in stable condition after emergency surgery, while investigators worked to unravel the motives of a Syrian man taken into custody. President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte traveled together to a hospital treating three of the four children who suffered life-threatening knife wounds in Thursday's still unexplained attack in and around a play park in the Alpine city of Annecy. Macron's prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, said all four children aged between 22 months and 3 years underwent surgery and are under constant medical surveillance. Their situation is stable, she said. Government spokesman Olivier Veran, a medical doctor by training, said two of the children remain in critical condition. Most of the children were rushed after the attack to a hospital in the French Alpine city of Grenoble the first stop for Macron and his wife on

300 children rescued from Sudanese orphanage after 71 others died: UNICEF

About 300 infants, toddlers and older children have been rescued from an orphanage in Sudan's capital after being trapped there while fighting raged outside, aid officials said on Thursday. The evacuation came after 71 children died from hunger and illness in the facility since mid-April. The tragedy at the Al-Mayqoma orphanage made headlines late last month as fighting raged outside between Sudan's military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The deaths have highlighted the heavy toll inflicted on civilians since mid-April when the clashes erupted between forces loyal to Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and RSF forces led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. About 300 children at the Al-Mayqoma orphanage in Khartoum were transferred to a safer location elsewhere in the northeastern African nation, said Ricardo Pires, a spokesman for the UN children's agency, UNICEF. Sudan's ministries of social development and health have taken charge of the children, while UNICEF has provided humanita

PM Modi's school restored to serve as centre of inspiration for children

A heritage school in Gujarat's Vadnagar where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had his initial education has been restored and is being redeveloped under project 'Prerna' to serve as a centre of inspiration for children through immersive experience, top government sources said on Tuesday. Built in the late 19th century, the school has been restored in an old architectural style by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Based on the vision of the prime minister, this "first-of-its-kind" school redevelopment project 'Prerna: The Vernacular School' is being undertaken to inspire the youth of the county to become catalysts of change, the sources said. The architectural revival and redevelopment of the old school are part of a holistic and mega redevelopment plan for the historic city of Vadnagar that traces an uninterrupted continuum of human habitation for more than 2500 years, they said. "The programme is expected to be rolled out later this year. Two students from each district of th

Nearly 1.5 mn to be covered under pulse polio immunisation drive in Haryana

Nearly 15 lakh children will be covered under the first sub-national immunisation round of pulse polio 2023-24 that will take place in six districts of Haryana, according to an official statement. The six districts are Faridabad, Gurugram, Jhajjar, Mewat, Sonipat and Kaithal in which booth activity was undertaken on the first day in order to maintain the polio-free status of the state, it said. Also referred to as SNID, the three-day campaign will continue for another two days by way of house-to-house activity to trace and administer polio drops to the left-out children on booth day. On the first day of the activity, approximately 7.9 lakh children under 5 years of age have been administered polio drops. In order to smoothly carry out this campaign, around 6,600 booths were set up in the state and these were manned by approximately 26,000 health officials and Anganwadi workers and volunteers. The left-out children during the booth activity on the first day will be administered pol

70% parents believe image editing apps, filters affecting kid's body image

Parents must focus on overall health, not weight; model positive body image and recognise your child's positive traits or qualities that don't have to do with their appearance

UP govt to provide benefits of Atal Scheme to children affected by Covid

The Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh has approved a proposal seeking amendments to the Atal Residential School Scheme. The amendments will help children impacted by Covid-19

85% Indian parents worry about kids spending excessive screen time: Survey

Ahead of the summer vacation, 85 cent parents are worried about kids spending excessive screen time during the break, a survey report commissioned by Amazon said on Tuesday. According to the survey conducted by Kantar for Amazon in March, over 90 per cent of parents surveyed believe kids become less active when spending more time on screen devices. The majority felt that ideal screen time should be less than 2 hours. However, 69 per cent confirmed that their kids are spending more than 3 hours with screens every day. "Summer vacations mean a break from school, travelling, and extra play-time for kids. With plenty of spare time in hand during holidays, 85 per cent surveyed parents are worried about kids spending excessive screen time during the break," the report said. The survey covered around 750 parents with young kids (3-8 years) across 10 metro and non-metro cities of India. According to the findings, almost 96 per cent of parents are searching for screen-free ideas to keep th

Mask mandates for children may do more harm than good: Public health expert

Mask mandates for children are unscientific and rather harmful", says a public health expert, explaining that incorrectly handled masks can make it more risky for disease transmission and their role is limited when Covid is endemic. Though there are no Covid related guidelines or mask mandates by the government, about 200 private-run schools in the national capital have already made masks compulsory for students and staff members in view of the rising numbers. "When disease is endemic, the benefit of masks for all age groups and children is even less. Then, we need to remember that an incorrectly handled mask can make it more risky for transmission. If children keep touching the mask, it would make them prone to infection," said Chandrakant Lahariya, general physician and infectious diseases specialist. "Even during the pandemic stage, WHO did not recommend masks for children younger than five years. For five-12 years of age also, masks were not mandated and were optional. The benef

No indications variant XBB.1.16 leading to infection among kids: Bhardwaj

Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Thursday said there were no indications that Omicron variant XBB.1.16 was leading to severe infection among children, and assured that the government was closely monitoring the situation. Addressing a press conference, the minister said the government was fully prepared to handle the Covid situation. "Commonly, any illness affects the children and elderly. But there is no information coming in from experts that says that the Omicron XBB.1.16 variant infection is more severe among children. "I would advise people with low immunity or those with severe illnesses to avoid crowded places and wear masks. The transmissibility of this variant is high," he said. Delhi's single-day caseload additions on Wednesday breached the 1,000-mark for the first time in over seven months while the positivity rate stood at 23.8 per cent, according to data shared by the Health department. The national capital logged 1,149 fresh cases and one fatality on ...

Over 40% children in 6 states have never used tech for learning: Survey

More than 40 per cent students in six states have never used technology for learning while around eight per cent have stopped using it, according to a survey conducted by the Central Square Foundation. Under the Bharat Survey for EdTech (BaSE), more than 6,000 households in six states -- Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Odisha, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh -- were surveyed covering 9,867 children. "Forty-one per cent children across surveyed households had never used technology for learning, and eight per cent had discontinued using it. Urban households had a higher prevalence of 'present users'. "The secondary (72 per cent) and middle (55 per cent) grades had the highest proportion of 'present users' compared to primary grades (39 per cent)," according to the survey report released at an education conclave here on Tuesday. The survey pointed out that YouTube was found to be the most popular tool used for learning purposes (89 per cent), followed by WhatsApp (62 per cent) and Googl

25-year-old stabs at least 4 kids to death in Brazil kindergarten

According to the police, the perpetrator entered the kindergarten by jumping over a wall, and the attack, rode a bike to the local police station where he surrendered

400 children, including 32 girls, rescued from New Delhi railway station

Over 400 children, including 34 girls, have been rescued from the New Delhi Railway Station, according to a statement issued on Sunday. The rescue drive was organised in association with Northern Railways, SATHI, Salam Baalak Trust and Prayas JAC Society at the station with the help of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC)-Mayur Vihar, Varun Pathak of the CWC (Bench of Magistrates) said in the statement. It said 402 children -- 34 girls and 372 boys -- were rescued from the station and produced before the CWC for care and protection. They have been sent to child care institutions in the city after completion of procedures, the statement said and added that the rescued children included those missing, runaways and child labourers. Railway Protection Force Police and Government Railway Police were also involved, the statement said.

Covid-19 during pregnancy may increase obesity risk in children: Study

Children born to mothers who contract COVID-19 during pregnancy may be more likely to develop obesity, according to a new study. More than 100 million COVID-19 cases have been reported in the United States since 2019, and there is limited information on the long-term health effects of the infection. Pregnant women make up 9 per cent of reproductive-aged women with COVID-19, which exposes millions of babies to maternal infection during foetal development over the next five years. Our findings suggest that children exposed in utero to maternal COVID-19 have an altered growth pattern in early life that may increase their risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease over time, said Lindsay T Fourman, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mass. There is still a lot of research needed to understand the effects of COVID-19 on pregnant women and their children, she said. The researchers studied 150 infants born to mothers who had COVID-19 during pregnancy and found the

Ten minors among 12 held for 'pro-Amritpal' posters in UP district

Twelve persons, including 10 minors, have been detained for allegedly putting up posters with slogans supporting absconding Khalistani sympathiser Amritpal Singh here

Over 10% of children with Covid-related brain disease died in Japan: Rpt

Between January 2020 and May 2022, the survey discovered 34 cases of acute encephalopathy linked to Covid-19 infection in individuals under the age of 18

Out of 56 mn kids, 4.3 mn found malnourished by Poshan Tracker in Feb: WCD

About 43 lakh or 7.7 per cent children were found malnourished out of approximately 5.6 crore children measured by 'Poshan Tracker' in the month of February, the Ministry of Women and Child Development said on Friday. Responding to a question in Lok Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said Meghalaya reported the highest number of stunting at 46.5 per cent, while Puducherry recorded the lowest at 20 per cent. Maharashtra reported the highest level of wasted children at 25.6 per cent, while Chandigarh reported the minimum at 8.4 per cent, according to the data shared in a written response. Child wasting refers to a child who is too thin for his or her height and is the result of recent rapid weight loss or the failure to gain weight. A child who is moderately or severely wasted has an increased risk of death, but treatment is possible. The data also said that Bihar reported the maximum percentage of children who are underweight, while Mizoram reported the minimum

Odisha govt to provide aid to 50,952 children who lost parents to pandemic

The children who lost their parents or main earning person of the family on April 1, 2020 or thereafter to Covid-19 have been covered under the scheme