Chernobyl Children's Project International

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April 26, 2006 marks the 20 th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. Far from being “history,” the accident continues to affect millions – especially children -- in Belarus, Ukraine and western Russia.

When we think of Chernobyl, we tend to focus on radiation. The effects of radiation on human health are real and documented in Chernobyl affected regions – but experts emphasize that in dealing with the aftermath of the disaster, we must understand a complex interplay of medical, economic, social and environmental factors.

"At least three million children in Belarus, Ukraine and the Russian Federation require physical treatment (due to the Chernobyl accident). Not until 2016, at the earliest, will we know the full number of those likely to develop serious medical conditions." - Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations

"The half-life of our memory of catastrophes such as Chernobyl is only a small fraction of the half-life of those radioactive isotopes that were released by the exploding reactor on 26 April. The catastrophe continues - and is far from being over. Both the direct damage caused by radiation and the equally significant indirect economic, social, medical and ecological consequences continue to affect millions of people." - Walter Fust, Director General, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)

"Health problems linked to Chernobyl reflect complex interactions between health, ecology, economics and community development." - Kenzo Oshima, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, UN Coordinator of International Cooperation on Chernobyl

"Today more than seven million people are suffering due to the Chernobyl disaster. The effect of radiation on millions of people is ethically unacceptable. There is no precedent in the history of mankind. It is thus the international community's duty to look after these people." - Angelina Nyagu, "Physicians of Chernobyl"

"In the mid 1990's, public debate about the number of Chernobyl-ralated deaths was dictated by different interests and became a sometimes macabre battle." - Astrid Sahm, writer, research associate in the Department of Political Science and Contemporary History at the University of Manheim, deputy Chair of the "Leben nach Tschernobyl" association in Franfurt.

"Chernobyl is a global environment event of a new kind. It is characterized by the presence of thousands of environmental refugees, long-term contamination of land, water and air and possibly irreparable damage to ecosystems." - Christine K. Durbak, Chairwoman of the World Information Transfer, New York

"Thirty percent of all the children from the area aroun Gomel (Belarus) who were aged between 0 and 4 at the time of the nuclear disaster will contract cancer of the thyroid during their lifetime. I endorse this WHO view. In this region alone, this is 50,000 people." - Edmund Lengfelder, Director of the Otto Hug Strahleninstitut, Munich

"We have to remember the tragedy of Chernobyl and to make conclusions in order to improve security of all nuclear power plants not only in CEI countries but all over the world. This horror and pain are not to be repeated." - Elena Trakhtenberg, Projekt Coordinator, DEZA Kooperationsburo Russische Foderation, Moskau

"Almost all issues dealing with radiation have health lasting effects unclear both to the stakeholders and the general public." - Irina Abalkina, Senior Researcher for the Nuclear Safety Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences

Source: Chernobyl.info, a partnership of the United Nations and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

Chernobyl Children's Project International

Chernobyl Children's Project International provides medical, humanitarian and community development programs designed to provide hope to the youngest and most vulnerable victims of the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 - the children. The United Nations recognizes that 3-4 million children were affected by the disaster. The people of Belarus, who received 70% of the radiation because of the way the wind was blowing on that day, continue to suffer medically, economically, and socially.

Chernobyl Children's Project International (CCPI) was started in Ireland 14 years ago. In 2002, the organization was established in the United States to continue to alleviate the suffering of children in the region. CCPI was featured in the film Chernobyl Heart.

Contact: info@ccp-intl.org