Top 6 issues children are facing after Typhoon Haiyan

Thursday, November 14, 2013

During any disaster response, children are our first priority.  In the contexts in which World Vision works, children face many challenges to their survival and well-being. They need protection from further injury, disease or neglect, with assured attention to their basic needs, including psychosocial needs.

The following questions were asked of Heather MacLeod,  World Vision International Director of the Disaster Management 2020 Change Programme, and Claire Beck, health team leader in World Vision International's Humanitarian Operations Group.

Questions to Heather MacLeod:

Q. Why are so many children in the Philippines after the typhoon affected (40 percent of all victims)?

A. The figure of 40% of victims would make sense as about 40% of any population would be children under 18 years of age. 

Q. What do they needed most? 

A. Children need the basics for continued survival. Here i mean both physical and psychological 'first aid'. So children need food , water and shelter and access to basic health care to keep physically healthy and they need to know how to stay safe with all the new hazards around them - there is a lot of debris lying around and normally community members will keep a watchful eye on children and do all they can to keep them safe from dangers but communities are distressed right now and so children become more vulnerable. 

So it is important  that children and adults understand at this stage will be having normal reactions to what is an abnormal situation.

Different children react in different ways. Some are able to cope better than others. It depends on their personalities, what they have experienced, how they are being cared for. So it is important  that children and adults understand at this stage will be having normal reactions to what is an abnormal situation.

So they need reassurance from caring adults and they need to be with friends or make new friends so they don't feel alone, Children need routine and so as soon as possible you want children to have something positive happening in the chaos and that each day they can experience something positive.This gives a sense of hope.

They need to be given appropriate information in a child friendly way, This helps their sense of control. Their parents also need information so they too can gain a sense of control of one small part of their lives. Imagine the sense of loss that many feel right now...they have lost their homes, their belongings, possibly their parents/family members/friends. They have no sense of what might happen next. The more children and families can know what might happen next the more reassuring it is. 

Q. Are children preferred in relief efforts? 

A. World Vision recognises that children are more vulnerable when there is disaster. We know how disasters disrupt the activities that create opportunities for healthy and needed development of children. So working with the children , families and their community to rebuild the activities of daily living for children as quickly as possible is very important when there is a disaster.

Q.How severe is the trauma damage to children who have lost their parents due to a natural disaster - and how can they be helped? 

A. Children who are separated from their parents/normal caregivers - either missing or dead - are particularly vulnerable. The first task is to identify them as quickly as possible to begin tracing efforts and to ensure they have a caring adult looking after them.

The aim is to have someone they know caring for them. 

The aim is to have someone they know caring for them. This could be an  extended family member or family friend. Keeping them in a family and around people they know from their own communities helps them cope psychologically. As i mentioned earlier, every child is unique and so it is important not to assume they will all react and be affected in the same way.

What is important is that they have someone they trust who is watching over them and listening to them. The community need to know when and where they can get support in caring for any child who may need special attention.

World Vision works with other organisations and the government to ensure there is good coordination at all levels to ensure childrens' needs are met in a culturally appropriate way and that children have the opportunity to express their needs and provide ideas how to do this.  

Q. Is it true that Asians are especially good at watching out for each other in extreme situations?

A.  I would say that parents and extended families around the world care deeply for children. In the Philippines, as in many places, children are often cared for by extended family members and this can be helpful in difficult times like this.

However, it is important to realise that loss of extended familiy members can have a significant impact on children as well.  To help children, we need to understand that the role of the aid workers and governments is to give a helping hand to families and their communities in order to care for their children in such distressing times.

Question to Claire Beck:

Q. What are the biggest vulnerabilities facing children in the early stages of an emergency especially when food and water is non-existent or in very short supply?

A. Vulnerabilities of children vary according to age. Injuries can come as children play in the rubble or as they are scavaging for food and other items. Also they are at a danger of bullying if there is not much around because the stronger ones will try to take from others. With limited food and water there is also the risk of children going off with people who offer them things. 

In relation to health the normal childhood illnesses occur but in bigger numbers - diarrhea due to poor sanitation, skin diseases due to dirty water or no water. Pneumonia, especially if the children were submerged in water, and of course due to exposure and close proximity to other people. This is why we need tents and tarps and not overcrowded shelters. As it is rainy the children will get cold. Also there are fungal infections and foot infections due to the rain and not having shoes or wet and dirty clothes

Dehydration without water is especially an issue for smaller children. Then there is the danger of malnutrition as little children need regular meals and there may not be nutritious food for them. Often the food available is adult food and high in carbohydrates, e.g., noodles, rice, and biscuits, which do not need much cooking and there is limited fruit and vegetables or protein sources such as meat or eggs, and beans and lentils require lots of fuel for cooking.

Other tropical issues will be malaria (probably in the next couple of weeks). Maybe dengue if there is clean water. Leptospirosis and worms of various kinds.

Learn more about World Vision's Disaster Management approach.