Help for Humanitarian Workers: An Easy-to-Use Manual for Addressing Young People's Needs

NEW YORK – Children and adolescents represent a quarter to half of all the refugees and internally displaced persons worldwide. Many show up at camps without a parent or guardian – or their parents are distracted and distressed. Some are caring for younger siblings.

Many are dealing with complex changes brought on by puberty in their bodies and emotions. All too often they are victims or sexual violence or coercion.

How can humanitarian response agencies ensure that the needs of these highly vulnerable young people are addressed and their rights protected? A new hands-on guide, the Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Toolkit for Humanitarian Settings, provides checklists and questionnaires to assist aid workers in addressing these sensitive issues during and immediately after a crisis situation.

“The toolkit fills an important gap,” said UNFPA Deputy Executive Director Purnima Mane about the toolkit. She noted that it provides a user-friendly approach to making sure the needs of young people are addressed in humanitarian settings.

The toolkit is a way of operationalizing guidance that appears in the Inter-Agency Field Manual on Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Settings, said Cecile Mazzacurati, of UNFPA’s humanitarian response branch. It is addresses a range of issues, including cultural sensitivity, rapid assessments of needs, commodity distribution and more, using simple language and clear direction.

The toolkit was created by Save the Children and UNFPA, with the help of an active expert working group representing several agencies, NGOs as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Columbia University.

Update 15, March 2011:  An e-learning course is now available to make the toolkit even more accessible.