UNICEF on orphan-detection drive

UNITED NATIONS (CMC):

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is on a drive to identify and register thousands of children orphaned by the devastating January 12 earthquake in Haiti.

Since last week, the agency and its partners have registered around 200 unaccompanied children found in orphanages and wandering in neighbourhoods of the capital, Port-au-Prince, in the wake of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake. The Haitian government estimates that up to 60,000 children have been affected by the earthquake and a UNICEF spokeswoman said the agency expects to register several thousand children in the coming weeks.

"We've been working with 29 partner organisations and the government around the clock. We're moving forward but it's going to take some time; this is a long process," said Roshan Khadivi, a spokeswoman for UNICEF in Port-au-Prince.