EUROPE/ITALY - 400 million children have no access to clean water, 270 million have no healthcare and 124 million are deprived of school; every year 50,000 contract leprosy: Italian Association Amici di Raoul Follereau launches “Restore Infancy” campaign

Wednesday, 6 July 2005

Rome (Fides Service) - AIFO has launched a concrete programme to restore infancy and hope to millions of the world’s children living in situations of poverty, war and neglect and who want only to play, go to school and live like normal children.
Every child has a right to health and education to grow healthy and happy and develop his personality. Children who grow up in situations of poverty, war, illiteracy and abuse are the weakest subjects and they are denied their infancy. Over the last 15 years the health situation of children in the south of the world has become steadily worse: less routine vaccination, increase in child mortality rate. In the world 400 million children have no access to clean water, 270 million have no healthcare and 124 million cannot go to school; every 50,000 contract leprosy. Disabled children are even more disadvantaged with no one to care for them and they are excluded from society.
AIFO aims to care for children with interventions to fight leprosy, provide basic healthcare and rehabilitation. Particular attention is given to medical care for school children, mother/child care, vaccinations, feeling programmes, assistance for HIV children, treatment for intestinal and respiratory infections and malaria.
The campaign aims to restore children’s infancy and offer them hope for the future by assuring them full psychological and physical health, physical and social rehabiliation, access to education suited to meet individual needs by means of an integrated approach which aims for the overall growth of the person. To sustain children means offering them a safe future, promoting development of families and communties and eliminating poverty and exclusion in the south of the world. (AP) (6/7/2005 Agenzia Fides; Righe:28; Parole:367)


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