Friday, May 31, 2013

UNICEF’s annual State of the World’s Children’s report

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Children with disabilities and their communities would both benefit if society focused on what those children can achieve,rather than what they cannot do,according to UNICEF’s annual State of the world’s children’s report.Image
New Delhi, India, 30 May 2013 – Children with disabilities and their communities would both benefit if society focused on what those children can achieve, rather than what they cannot do, according to UNICEF’s annual State of the World’s Children’s report.
Concentrating on the abilities and potential of children with disabilities would create benefits for society as a whole, says the report released today.
“When you see the disability before the child, it is not only wrong for the child, but it deprives society of all that child has to offer,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “Their loss is society’s loss; their gain is society’s gain.”
The report lays out how societies can include children with disabilities because when they play a full part in society, everyone benefits. For instance, inclusive education broadens the horizons of all children even as it presents opportunities for children with disabilities to fulfil their ambitions.
More efforts to support integration of children with disabilities would help tackle the discrimination that pushes them further into the margins of society.
For many children with disabilities, exclusion begins in the first days of life with their birth going unregistered. Lacking official recognition, they are cut off from the social services and legal protections that are crucial to their survival and prospects. Their marginalization only increases with discrimination.
“For children with disabilities to count, they must be counted – at birth, at school and in life,” said Mr. Lake.
The State of the World’s Children 2013: Children with Disabilities says that children with disabilities are the least likely to receive health care or go to school. They are among the most vulnerable to violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect, particularly if they are hidden or put in institutions – as many are because of social stigma or the economic cost of raising them.
The combined result is that children with disabilities are among the most marginalized people in the world. Children living in poverty are among the least likely to attend their local school or clinic but those who live in poverty and also have a disability are even less likely to do so.
Gender is a key factor, as girls with disabilities are less likely than boys to receive food and care.
“Discrimination on the grounds of disability is a form of oppression,” the report says, noting that multiple deprivations lead to even greater exclusion for many children with disabilities.
There is little accurate data on the number of children with disabilities, what disabilities these children have and how disabilities affect their lives. As a result, few governments have a dependable guide for allocating resources to support and assist children with disabilities and their families.
About one third of the world’s countries have so far failed to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The report urges all governments to keep their promises to guarantee the equal rights of all their citizens – including their most excluded and vulnerable children.
Progress is being made toward the inclusion of children with disabilities, albeit unevenly, and The State of the World’s Children 2013 sets out an agenda for further action.
The report urges governments to ratify and implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to support families so that they can meet the higher costs of caring for children with disabilities.
It calls for measures to fight discrimination among the general public, decision-makers and providers of such essential services as schooling and health care.
International agencies should make sure the advice and assistance they provide to countries is consistent with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. They should promote a concerted global research agenda on disability to generate data and analysis that will guide planning and resource allocation, the report says.
It emphasizes the importance of involving children and adolescents with disabilities by consulting them on the design and evaluation of programmes and services for them.
And everyone benefits when inclusive approaches include accessibility and universal design of environments to be used by all to the greatest extent possible without the need for adaptation.
“The path ahead is challenging,” said Mr. Lake in Da Nang, Viet Nam, for the launch of the report. “But children do not accept unnecessary limits. Neither should we.”

Rookie Angad Cheema bags maiden professional title

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Richard Stephen Hilton finishes runner-up

Jaipur, May 30, 2013: Rookie Angad Cheema of Panchkula won the second leg of the 2013 PGTI Feeder Tour at the Rambagh Golf Club in Jaipur on Thursday after he fired an even-par-70 in the third and final round. Cheema totaled five-under-205 for the tournament to bag his maiden professional title. Dehradun’s Richard Stephen Hilton was the runner-up as he finished one stroke behind the winner.

Angad Cheema (69-66-70), who was overnight second, had an ordinary start to the day. He bogeyed the first and third holes after a couple of poor shots. The 23-year-old Cheema picked up his first birdie of the day with an eight feet putt on the eighth. However, he stumbled with another bogey on the ninth.

Angad then produced a far better back-nine as he birdied the 10th and 15th and made a good par to win on the 18th. Cheema, a winner of three events on the amateur circuit, landed his approach shots within five feet and two feet for birdies on the 10th and 15th respectively.

Cheema said, “The turning point for me was the birdie on the 15th as that gave me a two shot lead. I also made a good chip-putt for par to win on the 18th. My putting was much better as compared to last week’s event in Faridabad where I missed the cut. After the poor performance in Faridabad, I came to Jaipur just to prove to myself that I can play much better golf. I wanted to get in the right frame of mind before the season’s bigger events.

“I knew I would do well at the Rambagh Golf Club as I had won a team event at this venue during my amateur days. It’s great to win my first title within five months of turning professional. This victory is of huge significance to me.”

Angad Cheema is now placed second on the PGTI Feeder Tour Order of Merit behind Arjun Singh Chaudhri who won the first leg of the season at Faridabad last week.

Richard Stephen Hilton (68-69-69) was the runner-up with a four-under-206 total. The 25-year-old Richard made four birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey in his final round of one-under-69. Hilton, playing in his second season as a professional, posted the best ever result of his professional career after he finished second at Jaipur.

Overnight leader Honey Baisoya of Delhi secured tied third place along with Amardeep Rawat of Lucknow at three-under-207. Baisoya shot a three-over-73 in the final round.

Vishal Singh of Jaipur and Chandigarh’s Roop Singh were in tied fifth place at one-under-209.

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