Emergency Response and Preparedness
Children are especially vulnerable to violence, health issues and deprivation of education during emergencies and in humanitarian contexts.
- Available in:
- Srpski
- English
What we do?
Children are especially vulnerable to violence, health issues and deprivation of education during emergencies and in humanitarian contexts.
In emergencies, UNICEF focuses on children and their families to ensure they are provided with the essential interventions required for protection, well-being and to ensure the rights of all children, including through:
- Supporting protection of children from violence, exploitation and abuse.
- Ensuring access to health services, improving nutrition in emergency situations and supporting early childhood development.
- Supporting access to education.
- Supporting adolescents during crises.
- Ensuring access to water, sanitation and hygiene and basic supplies.
UNICEF designs its emergency interventions to ultimately strengthen national and local protection systems by working together with government, local authorities and institutions at central and municipal levels. We support key institutional actors to develop and disseminate policies, elaborate referral pathways and standard operating procedures, and promote capacity development initiatives.
We actively participate in and promote partnerships with government institutions, United Nations agencies, and civil society actors and the private sector. UNICEF also supports the accountability of national institutions and state authorities for coordinating and responding to humanitarian needs in an efficient and timely manner.
Our humanitarian action is guided by its Core Commitments for Children, which outline what UNICEF commits to do across all sectors – health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), child protection and education – as part of any humanitarian response.
Challenges
The turmoil and insecurity of emergency situations can impede access to food, shelter, social support and health care, resulting in increased vulnerability in communities, especially for children.
While national capacities for addressing the needs of children and women on the move in Serbia have been significantly improved in terms of policy and regulatory framework, reception conditions and protection arrangements for children, challenges still remain. Especially including:
- underreporting of violence and abuse,
- language and cultural barriers in access to services,
- inadequate regulation of the age assessment procedure,
- ensuring learning opportunities for adolescents,
- donor funding-dependent response capacities.
The Government of the Republic of Serbia has implemented measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the economy and the most vulnerable populations. However, with the capacities of the national health, social/child protection and education systems overstretched in adapting to the COVID-19 response, additional support is needed to ensure continuity of access to health, protection and education for all children and families, especially those from the most vulnerable populations.
UNICEF has been supporting Serbia to respond to the various challenges caused by the pandemic in the areas of health, education and protection.
Children represent one quarter of all refugees and migrants who came to Europe. UNICEF responds to needs of every child on the move at every phase of their journey.
Results
Since the beginning of the refugee and migrant crisis, UNICEF has been assisting the Government in its efforts to ensure adequate conditions for refugee and migrant children, especially the most vulnerable, to provide support for their recovery, strengthening and development.
As a result of UNICEF support from the onset of the crisis in 2015 and until end of 2020:
- 36,172 children were reached with quality child protection support.
- 4,489 women, girls and boys accessed gender-based violence prevention and response services.
- 3,793 children including adolescents participated in formal and non-formal education;
- 7,815 children under 5 years were reached with mother and baby care and nutrition services.
- 38,178 children received culturally appropriate basic supplies, hygiene packs including clothes and baby hygiene items,
- 1,042 front-line workers were trained on child protection standards.
During the COVID-19 response in 2020, UNICEF has:
- Reached 53,271 people with critical WASH supplies (including hygiene items) and services.
- Supported 943,500 children with distance/home-based learning.
- Provided 6,451 children and caregivers with community-based mental health and psychosocial support.
- Ensured 15,948 children and women receive essential health care, including prenatal, delivery and postnatal care, essential newborn care and immunization.
- Reached 2,309,267 people through messaging on prevention of COVID-19 and access to services through digital media.
- Engaged 4,315 youth in online volunteering.
- Supported peer learning of 850 professionals in the social protection system.