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UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund |
The
Office of UN Children's Fund in the Russian Federation congratulates Anatoly
Karpov, UNICEF Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Central and Eastern Europe,
CIS and the Baltic States, the repeated World Chess Champion on the occasion
of his 50-th birthday.
Anatoly Karpov has won the chess crown 16 times. He began to play chess at the age of 4, and became a Master of Sports when he was 15. During his professional career Mr Karpov has played more than 2000 games and has the best score of any world champion, former and current.
As Chairman of International Association of Peace Foundations, Anatoly Karpov has been an active participant in Russia’s public life for many years.
When Mr Karpov became a Goodwill Ambassador, the UN Children's Fund Executive Director Carol Bellamy said:
"This is really a great honour for UNICEF. I can not imagine a better partner for us. Champion chess requires strategic thinking, intelligence and savvy, a flair for the unconventional, and deep personal commitment. Achieving real change for the world’s children requires those same talents, and we are enormously grateful that Mr Karpov has devoted himself to being a champion for children".
Anatoly Karpov gave the following exclusive interview for the "UN in Russia" readers:
– What does it mean for you to be UNICEF’s Ambassador?
– It means to defend, indefatigably and consistently, the interests and rights of children at the highest level. I have been engaged in children’s issues for a long time. I was the initiator of the world team chess championship for children, and new children’s chess schools continue to open with my direct participation. It is difficult to count how many such schools are being created in the CIS countries. The specialized chess school for children from Chernobyl disaster zone has existed for 10 years. We specially take the children out of the zone for the winter and summer sessions so that they can also improve their health.
I see my task as guaranteeing that the new generation gets comprehensive development and education.
– What childhood problems do you think are the most relevant in modern society?
– The observance of children’s rights. The introduction of the post of Ombudsman for the Rights of the Child is necessary to guarantee the observance of these rights, as stipulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. A working ombudsman for the rights of the child would be an indicator of stability in society.
I am deeply concerned about the problem of homeless children - so many of them have appeared recently in the streets. As this mass phenomenon has become an enormous social problem, so should it be resolved through a special state program.
No less acute is the problem of child crime and of the "guilty
though guiltless" children born
in women’s prisons. Child crime and help for the children who have already committed
crime is a source of constant pain to me, because in some prisons, there are
not even minimum living conditions for children.
I have organized multi-board chess displays several times with young prisoners during their own chess tournaments.
– What is most important for you in your activities as UNICEF’s Ambassador this year?
– Many of our people do not understand that their own well-being depends on the general situation in our country. It is not enough to build a personal castle, to separate oneself from the rest of the world by a dense wall of body-guards and a fence, for no one can limit himself to his own personal needs. So, we need to help people to understand and to accept this idea. We also need to promote among the people the idea of cooperation between the government and non-governmental organizations, and to work actively for the interests of children.
The Global Movement For Children initiated by UNICEF conforms with my ideas and attitudes. This is why I am glad to sign all ten items of the Say "Yes!" pledge.
(For more details on the pledge, see page 9 – The UN in Russia)
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On June 1, the International Day for the Protection of Children, the UN Children's Fund oversaw a large-scale children performance titled Say "Yes". This activity was organized as part of the Global Movement For Children, initiated by UNICEF on the eve of the Special Session of the UN General Assembly for Children, to be held September 19-21, 2001. The Say "Yes" signature-collecting campaign was intented at attracting people’s attention and rallying them around ten basic principles aimed at improving and protecting the lives of children.
About 10,000 children and adults took part in a large-scale event at the Moscow City Palace of Children and Youth. On Parade Square, they were greeted by the representatives of the Moscow City Government and UNICEF, and by Ella Pamfilova, the leader of the Civil Dignity Movement, singer Alexander Shaganov, composer Grigory Gladkov, and other prominent Russian artists.
Young dancers from the Kalinka and Ulybka troupes, and the famous Loktev song and dance ensemble prepared and presented a special show, Say "Yes!". At the end of the event, the participants launched a symbolic aircraft with messages from children to the Special Session of the UN General Assembly.
During the four-hour event, teenaged volunteers distributed and collected the Say "Yes!" leaflets. Some 9,100 people filled in these leaflets. In their opinion, of the ten items listed, the first in importance should be "Fight poverty: invest in children". Second and third place went, respectively, to "Leave no child out" and "Put children first". These results have been confirmed by Internet voting among children and teenagers.
The participants both welcomed took great interest in the action’s call to seize the opportunity, and send the leaders of the world a message about the inadmissibility of war, poverty, disease and discrimination, and to give people a chance to work for the implementation of the ten principles, and thus guarantee the health, peace and dignity of children. The rare chance to express themselves, and to be heard, was of great importance to both the young people and the adults present.
The signature campaign was held on the same day in Tula, Bryansk, Omsk and other Russian cities.
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UNICEF continues its active program of rendering assistance to IDP children and women in the Northern Caucasus.
Probably no other group of boys and girls could be so pleased with the opening of a new school as were the IDP children. For them, it was not just an opportunity to continue their studies and expand their knowledge; it was also a chance to forget about the everyday problems of the IDP camp, and to forget (for a while, at least) about their past and the horrors of war. The opening of the new school for the 600 children in Alina camp in Ingushetia became a true event for the pupils, their teachers, and for UNICEF and the Centre for Peacemaking and Development, a non-governmental organization.
The construction of the school was financed by UNICEF. The
teachers and pupils were 
supplied
with textbooks, notebooks and heaters. In addition, the UN Children’s Fund has
also committed itself partially to finance the teachers’ salary for one year.
This school is one of about 50 for the IDPs supported by UNICEF on the territory of Ingushetia. Two wooden schools in the Bart and Bella camps were recently built and now are ready for opening, with textbooks and notebooks provided for all the pupils. According to preliminary estimates, about 14,000 children will be able to attend school thanks to the UNICEF activities in the Northern Caucasus.
Classes continue to be held, despite the approach of summer. With the participation of UNICEF, several summer camps have also been organized for the children in order to help them to enjoy their free time and improve their health.
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WHO World Health Organization |
Some 400 million people in the world suffer from mental and neurological disorders, or from psycho-social problems such as those related to alcohol and drug abuse. In the Russian Federation, roughly 10 million people suffer from these diseases. This means that one person out of fifteen has a mental or neurological or psychosocial disorder; for a person to be unacquainted with such a patient in his or her family or neighborhood is very rare indeed.
"The care of mentally and neurologically ill people must be placed higher on the agenda of Russia’s health care strategy", said RF Minister of Health Yuri Shevchenko while opening a World Health Day celebration at Moscow’s House of Scientists on April 6. World Health Day was devoted this year to the subject of mental illness, in order to highlight this important public health concern.
Many mental patients suffer silently. Many of them suffer alone. Beyond the suffering and the absence of care lie a sense of stigma, shame, exclusion, and, more often than we care to know, death.
Our advocacy effort will concentrate on reducing the stigma associated with mental illness and neurological disorders, and on raising awareness of the many effective, affordable treatments that are available but underused.
The scientists have started to understand the psychobiology of depression, aggression, self-destructive behaviour, helplessness, existential emptiness and other emotions. They are learning how adverse psychological and social environments can create long-lasting vulnerability, and how environmental factors can find their way into the human genome. The researchers have started learning how to integrate "humanistic", psychosocial and existential knowledge into "biological" medical science, recognising that there can be neither a brainless mind nor a mindless brain.
Recent developmens in stress research, psychosomatics, psycho-immunology, neuro-psychiatry and neuro-philosophy are in the frontline of scientific development. Russia has long had a tradition of holistic methodology involving the biological, psychosocial and spiritual dimensions of life, and therefore, can continue to have an important role to play. The psychosomatic knowledge and clinical practice developed in this country should spread elsewhere also.
We live in a time of increasing burdens and distress caused by helplessness, the loss of control and identity, social exclusion, a lack of coherence and meaning, and existential emptiness and stress. Mental illness, depression, suicide, and the consequences of aggressive behaviour and destructive life styles have become some of our greatest health care burdens, both economically and in terms of suffering.
In many countries of Eastern and Central Europe, declining life expectancy and increasing premature mortality have become matters of great public concern. This has led in some countries to a declining population, and a dramatically bigger societal burden. In many countries, including Russia, aggressive, risk-taking, destructive and self- destructive behaviour can be seen as some of the main causes leading to death at an early age. Premature mortality due to self-destructive behaviour, especially among men, is one of the most sensitive indicators of societal distress and transition. Women seem to be more protected: they apparently have an ability to cope with and control their lives, and to find meaning in them.
On World Health Day, and throughout this Year of Mental Health, five basic points are being voiced around the world:
– mental health can be promoted by wise political action based on scientific evidence;
– the impact of political and societal actions on mental health must be studied more carefully;
– no country can afford to neglect their investment in mental health;
– mental ill-health is underestimated, under-recognized, and under-treated, due to stigma, taboo, and lack of knowledge;
– stress can afflict anyone, but threats to mental health are also preventable and treatable, and the patients can be fully re-integrated into society.
The more than 200 politicians, health-care officials, scholars, and representatives of the international community who were present at the celebration enthusiastically embraced the Year of Mental Health slogan: "Stop Exclusion – Dare to Care".
Dr Josep Goicoechea, Director of the Division of Country Health Development (WHO Regional Office for Europe), said that the World Health Organization stresses mental health as a basic human right, and emphasizes community-based care close to the individual. WHO has made the reduction of suicides one of its main goals.
Dr Mikko Vienonen, Special Representative of the WHO Director General in Russia, challenged all those present – and all of us – to help mentally ill people. "In our future collaboration with Russia, we want to place mental health development into a special position", – he emphasized.
