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| THE
PLIGHT OF CHILDREN WORLDWIDE |
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Nearly
half of all people are under 25.(UNFPA,
2001) |
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There are
1.1 billion young people between the ages of 15 and 24.(UNFPA,
2001) |
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29.9% of
the more than 4 billion people in the world are children
under age 15.(UNDP, 2002) |
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There are
2.1 billion children in the world, accounting for 35%
of the world's population. Some 129 million children are
born each year.(UNICEF, 2001-2002) |
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Nine out
of 10 children live in developing countries. (UNICEF,
1999) |
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Of
the 372 million people who live in the European Union,
77 million are children under age 18. Another 48 million
children reside in countries applying for membership.
(Save the Children
Sweden, 2001) |
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According
to WHO, each year 40 million children under the age of 15 are
victims within the family of abuse or neglect serious enough
to require medical attention.(UN,
2001) |
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CHILD NUTRITION (food
security) |
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An
estimated 150 million children under five are still malnourished.
(World Bank, 2002) |
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| CHILD SURVIVAL AND
HEALTH |
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More
than half the world’s children still have no access to
safe water and sanitation. (FDIC,
2002) |
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Everyday, more
than 30,000 children around the world die of preventable diseases.
(UNDP, 2002) |
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One of every 12
children dies before the age of five, mostly from preventable
causes. (UNICEF, 2001 & 2002) |
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Every year about
11 million children die of preventable causes, often for want
of simple and easily provided improvements in nutrition, sanitation
and maternal health and education. (UNDP, 2002) More than 50%
of these children die at home due to poor access to any health
facilities. (UNICEF, 2002) |
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40% or 226 million
of the children under age five living in developing countries
suffer stunting and wasting. (Hunger,
1999) |
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In 50 countries
with almost 40% of the world’s people, more than 1/5 of children
under the age of 5 are underweight. (UNDP,
2002) |
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An estimated 18
million babies worldwide are born each year with low birth weight. (UNICEF,
2001) |
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In developing countries
some 30 million children are born each year with their growth
already retarded. More than 150 million preschool children are
still underweight, many with anaemia and vitamin A deficiency.
(World Bank, 2002) |
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Almost one third
of the world’s children are still not reached by routine vaccination.
(UNICEF, 2001) |
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It
is estimated that there were about 186 million child labourers
below the age of 15 in the world in 2000. About 110 million
were below the age of 12. Among children in the larger age group
5-17 there were approximately 246 million children in child
labour. An estimated 171 million children aged 5-17 were estimated
to work in hazardous situations or conditions in 2000. A stunning
55% of very young child labourers (those below 12 years of age)
were already working in a hazardous occupation or situation.
(ILO, 2002) |
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It is estimated
there were about 8.4 million children involved in other worst
forms of child labour (these are minimum estimates). This includes
trafficking (1.2 million) – most trafficked children appear
ending up in another worst form of child labour; forced and
bonded labour (5.7 million); armed conflict (0.3 million) –
most of them in the 15-17 age bracket; prostitution and pornography
(1.8 million) - most of them in the 15-17 age bracket, prevalent
in all major world regions including in developed economies;
and illicit activities (0.6 million) – children involved in
the production and trafficking of illegal substances. In terms
of geographical distribution, the Asia-Pacific region harbours
the largest absolute number of working children between the
ages of 5 and 14, with some 127 million or 60 per cent of the
world total. Sub-Saharan Africa is second with 48 million, or
23 per cent of the total, followed by Latin America and the
Caribbean with 17.4 million or 8 per cent, and Middle East and
North Africa with 13.4 million or 6 per cent. About
2.5 million, or 1 per cent of the world's child labourers, are
in the industrialized countries, while another 2.4 million are
found in transition economies. (ILO,
2002) |
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It is estimated
that 30 million children are now victimized by traffickers,
so far largely with impunity. (UN,
2001) |
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Globally,
over 650 million children live in abject poverty - in families
with income lower than $1 a day. One in three children is a
victim of poverty in developing countries; one in five in industrialized
societies. (UNICEF, 2000) |
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Forty-eight million
children and women are victims of war, natural disasters, extreme
poverty and other forms of violence and exploitation. (World
Bank, 1999) |
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Approximately 47
million children in the 29 nations of the Organization for Economic
Development and Cooperation. (OECD) live below their national
poverty lines. (Innocenti Report
Card, 2000) |
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In
the year 2000 an estimated 57,000 children under 15 years of
age died by homicide. The homicide rates for children aged 0-4
years were over twice as high as rates among children aged 5-14
years. (WHO, 2001) |
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In 2000, an estimated
199 000 youth murders took place globally – equivalent to 565
children and young people aged 10-29 years dying on average
each day as a result of interpersonal violence. For every young
person killed by violence, an estimated 20-40 receive injuries
that require hospital treatment. (WHO,
2002) |
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Six
million children have been seriously injured or permanently
disabled by wars and civil conflicts and 35 million displaced
from their homes. In the past decade alone, more than two million
children have been killed in armed conflict. (UNICEF, 1999);
many other millions have been left disabled and psychologically
scarred by experiences of terror. (UN,
2001) |
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War in the 1990s
has separated 1 million children from their families. (UNICEF,
2000) |
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Today, as many
as 300,000 children under the age of 18 serve in government
forces or armed rebel groups. Some are as young as eight years
old. (HRW, 1999). The participation of child soldiers has been
reported in 33 on-going or recent armed conflicts (those which
ceased in 1995-97) in almost every region of the world. (HRW,
1999) |
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Over 10,000 children
are killed or maimed by landmines each year.
(UN, 2001)) |
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There are now some
22.3 million refugees, of whom 11 million are children. (UN,
2001) |
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Half of all civilian
war casualties are children. (UNDP,
2002) |
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Many
countries in the European Union lack legislation to protect
young people above the legal age of consent from sexual exploitation.
This means it is often lawful to have sex with a prostitute
as young as 14 or 15. (IOM, 2000) |
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Only a handful
of countries have as yet adopted laws to give children the same
protection that adults enjoy from physical assault.
(Innocenti Digest 2, 1997) |
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It is estimated
that one third of all children born each year remain unregistered.
The lack of a birth certificate may prevent a child from receiving
health care, nutritional supplements and social assistance,
and from being enrolled in school. Later in childhood, identity
documents help protect children against early marriage, child
labour, premature enlistment in the armed forces or, if accused
of a crime, prosecution as an adult. (UN,
2001) |
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There is a lack
of reliable data to provide information about and for children
– including in some key areas in the wealthiest countries. Huge
information gaps remain worldwide on such sensitive and emerging
issues as child labour, trafficking, childhood disabilities
and orphans. (UN, 2001) |
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Mental health programmes
for refugees, minorities and indigenous populations are not
present in the majority of the 185 countries studied, covering
99.3% of the world’s population. Programmes for the elderly
and children are present in only 48% and 60% of countries respectively.
(WHO, 2001) |
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The
AIDS virus has orphaned approximately 8.2 million children age
14 or younger. (UNAIDS / WHO, 1998) |
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Since the beginning
of the pandemic in the late 1970s, 3.2 million children under
the age of 15 have died due to the AIDS virus.
(UNAIDS, 1999) |
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40 million adults
(aged 15 to 49) and 3 million children were living with HIV
at the end of 2001. This is more than 50% higher than the figures
projected by WHO in 1991 on the basis of the data then available.
(UNAIDS / WHO, 2001-2002) |
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By the end of 2001,
the epidemic had left behind a cumulative total of 14 million
AIDS orphans, defined as those having lost one or both parents
before reaching the age of 15. In 2001, an estimated 800,000
children aged 14 or younger became infected with HIV. Over 90%
were babies born to HIV-positive women, who acquired the virus
at birth or through their mother’s breast milk. (UNAIDS
/ WHO, 2001-2002) |
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| CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES |
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It
is estimated that between 120 and 150 million children live
with disabilities. Many of the causative factors of disability
(poor maternal health, unsafe delivery, malnutrition, non-infectious
and infectious diseases, etc.) are preventable and result, for
example, from lack of access to adequate health care or are
linked to conditions of poverty. (UN,
2001) |
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From 6 to 8 million
children with handicaps live in institutions around the world.
(UN, 2001) |
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WHO estimates that
only 1 to 2% of children and adults with disabilities who need
rehabilitation services have access to them.
(UN,
2001) |
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Approximately 1
in 5 of the world’s youth (15 years and younger) suffer from
mild to severe mental and brain disorders. A large number of
these children remain untreated, as services simply do not exist.
(WHO, 2000) |
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The percentage
of young persons, aged 18 and below, suffering from severe mental
retardation reaches 4.6% in the developing nations and are estimated
to be between 0.5% and 2.5% in the established economies. (WHO,
2001) |
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There
is no data that gives the exact number of Indigenous children,
but it is estimated that there may be about 175 million. Indigenous
children are at the bottom of every type of indicator. They
are uniformly among the poorest people in every country and
are subject to every type of exploitation and abuse. Yet, there
are no formal studies or statistics which could help to define
the status or needs of these children.
(CREI, 2001) |
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The ILO estimates
that unemployment rates among young workers (15-24) almost everywhere
are at least twice as high as the adult average. (UNFPA,
2001) |
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National mental
health programmes for refugees, minorities and indigenous populations
are not present in the majority of the countries. (WHO,
2001) |
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National mental
health programmes for the elderly and children are present in
only 48% and 60% of countries respectively. (WHO,
2001) |
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Indigenous peoples
have the highest rates of infant mortality, birth defects and
complications related to birth, and suffer from preventable
or curable diseases. (UN, 2001) |
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One
child in every five of school-age in developing countries does
not attend school. (UNESCO, 2001) |
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Of the 680 million
children of primary school age, 113 million are not in school
– 97% of them in developing countries and 60% of them girls.
(UNDP, 2002) |
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In sub-Saharan
Africa, Southern Asia and the Arab States, nearly 100 million
are not in school. More than 60% of them are girls.
(UNESCO, 2001) |
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Over 100 million
children of primary school age remain out of school and at least
1/3 of the 190 million working children aged 10-14 in developing
countries have no access at all to basic education. (UN,
2001) |
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25% of children
who begin 1st grade do not reach the 5th grade. (UNICEF,
2001-2002) |
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Children who were
at risk of not making a full contribution to society by not
completing school and who were unable to make a successful transition
to work and to adult life account for 15 to 30% of children
among Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation
(OECD) member countries. (PCERA,
2000) |
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57 million young
men and 96 million young women living in developing countries
cannot read or write. Only 76% of girls, compared to 96% of
boys, receive some level of primary schooling. (UNFPA,
2001) |
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In most OECD countries
an incredible 10-20% of people are functionally illiterate.
The UK and US have levels over 20%. (UNDP,
2002) |
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About 40% of populations
in most OECD countries have literacy scores that are considered
to be below the level necessary for coping with everyday life
in complex and advanced societies. (OECD,
2001) |
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Globally, more
than 130 million children between the ages of 6 and 11 years
are not in school, 60% of whom are girls.
(WHO, 2002) |
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93
countries, with 39% of the world’s people, do not have data
on trends in primary enrolment. (UNDP,
2002) |
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Lone-parent
families now represent 10-15 per cent of all families with dependent
children in OECD countries and a higher percentage in Latin
America, the Caribbean and parts of South East Asia.
(Innocenti Report, 2002) |
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One child in ten
is growing up with only one parent in the European Union. (EUROSTAT,
1999) |
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For the 24 OECD
countries for which data are available, the average divorce
rate as a percentage of marriages has almost tripled from 14.3%
in 1970 to 41.2% in 1998 in OECD countries. (OECD,
2001) |
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| FAMILY
PLANNING AND CHILDCARE |
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One
in every 10 births worldwide is to teenage mothers. In least
developed countries, 1 in every 6 births is to young women aged
15 to 19. (UNFPA, 2001) |
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Pregnancy before
age 18 has many health risks. Girls 10 to 14 are five times
more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than women aged
20 to 24. (UNFPA, 2001) |
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At least 1 in 10
abortions worldwide occurs to women aged 15 to 19 years. More
than 4.4 million young women in this age group have an abortion
every year, 40 per cent of which are performed under unsafe
conditions. (UNFPA,
2001) |
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Everyday, 500,000
young people are infected with an STD, most in the 20 to 24
years group, followed by those in 15 to 19 age group.
(UNFPA, 2001) |
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Every year, adolescents
give birth to 15 million infants. (UN,
2001) |
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In
the European Union, between 60 to 90 per cent of children 3-to-school
age children in a number of countries were enrolled in publicly
financed childcare institutions as of 1993, but coverage of
children below 3 is much lower in all countries. By 1999, all
countries had childcare leave (after childbirth) in their family
policies but under widely differing terms and conditions, including
pay, duration and flexibility. (Innocenti
Report, 2002) |
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Forty-eight
million children and women are victims of war, natural disasters,
extreme poverty and other forms of violence and exploitation.
(World Bank, 1999) |
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Around the world,
there are an estimated 100 million “missing” women – 50 million
in India alone – who would be alive but for infanticide, neglect
or sex-selective abortions. (UNDP, 2002) |
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60% of children
not in primary school are worldwide are girls. (UNDP,
2002) |
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Of the world’s
estimated 854 million illiterate adults, 544 million are women. (UNDP,
2002) |
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WHO estimates that
130 million women and girls ranging in age from infants to mature
adults have undergone female genital mutilation. (UNICEF,
2000) |
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The United Nations International
Children’s Emergency Relief Fund has estimated there are about
100 million street children worldwide, half of them in Latin
America. (UNICEF, 2000) |
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Some
4 million adolescents attempt suicide annually. More than 100,000
young people (15-24) commit suicide each year. (UNFPA,
2001) |
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Suicidal thoughts
and attempts are common among young people. The ratio of attempts
to completed suicides among people under 25 years of age may
reach as high as 100–200:1. (UNFAP, 2001) |
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In the last 30
years, suicide rates have increased by more than 10% on average
among the OECD countries. (OECD, 2001) |
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FACTORS HAMPERING
THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE SITUATION OF CHILDREN WORLDWIDE |
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| Global inequalities |
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The
world’s richest 1% of people receive as much income as
the poorest 57%. The income of the richest 25 million Americans
is equal to that of almost 2 billion people. (UNDP,
2002) |
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The richest 5%
of the world’s people have incomes 114 times those of
the poorest 5%. (UNDP, 2002) |
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Developing countries
have little power in decision making with the IMF, World Bank
and WTO. Nearly half of the voting power in the World Bank and
IMF rests in the hands of 7 countries (US, Japan, France, UK,
Saudi Arabia, Germany and the Russian Federation). (UNDP,
2002) |
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The executive directors
representing US, Japan, France, UK, Saudi Arabia, Germany and
the Russian Federation account for 46% of the voting rights
in the World Bank and 48% in the IMF. (UNDP,
2002) |
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The heads of the
World Bank and IMF are chosen according to a political convention
whereby the US and Europe nominate their candidate for each,
respectively. (UNDP, 2002) |
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The tariffs faced
by low income developing countries on exports they produce for
developed countries (those living on $1-2 a day or less) are
about twice as high as those faced by the non-poor. (World
Bank, 2002) |
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Non Governmental
Organizations (NGOs) still do not have consultative status with
the UN Security Council or General Assembly. Only 251 of the
1550 NGOs associated with the UN Department of Public Information
are based in developing countries. (UNDP,
2002) |
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Of the 83 million
people added to the world’s population every year, 82
million are in developing economies.
(World Bank, 2002) |
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