Studied Countries: Vietnam, Benin, Brazil, Cambodia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, the Philippines, Togo, Uganda
Groundbreaking research from Plan International that has documented girls from birth for eighteen years reveals that globally, girls’ lives have improved significantly over the past two decades but identifies these gains are now at risk with the next wave of challenges approaching.
With improved access to education, girls are dreaming bigger and new laws protecting them from child marriage means they have broader choices in shaping their futures. But significant barriers – including widespread gender-based violence and the ever-worsening impacts of climate change – still stand in the way of equality.
Mosquito-borne disease once largely limited to Dhaka spreads countrywide as higher rainfall and heat lead to fivefold rise in cases in a year, with children the hardest hit
Corridors in Dhaka Medical College hospital crowded with dengue patients amid a shortage of beds. Bangladesh’s worst outbreak of dengue on record comes after unusually heavy rain, torrid temperatures and high humidity led to an explosion in the mosquito population
All photographs by Fabeha Monir for WHO
In a small, dimly lit control room at the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in Dhaka, data on Bangladesh’s dengue outbreak flashes across multiple computer screens. Government analysts here have been busy collecting and monitoring the impact of the disease across the country since cases were first reported last April.
In 2023, the total reported cases of dengue numbered 321,179, with 1,705 deaths recorded, a massive jump from the year before, when 62,000 people were known to have had the virus, and 281 died. It was the highest number of annual deaths caused by the mosquito-transmitted disease ever recorded in Bangladesh.
We can’t afford to admit her to hospital so I’ve been doing whatever I can to protect her at home
Masuma Begum
The deaths last year included at least 113 children. According to Save the Children, the majority of these deaths were of children under the age of 10, with 38 deaths among those under five.
“Children make up around 30% of all dengue cases in Bangladesh and are particularly vulnerable to the virus because of underdeveloped immune systems,” says Dr Shamim Jahan, Bangladesh director of Save the Children. “Those under five are particularly at risk from developing severe symptoms, such as dehydration and shock.”
Over the past few months, the surge in cases has pushed Bangladesh’s health system to the limit, with hospital corridors overflowing with patients as wards run out of beds.
NEW YORK/DUBAI, 7 December 2023 –Most children and young people say they have heard of climate change but only half understand what it is, according to a new UNICEF-Gallup poll, as world leaders gather at this year’s COP28.
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