Disparities affecting children cloud economic good news story
Launch of the Innocenti Social Monitor 2006 UNICEF Report on SEE/CIS countries goes behind the averages concealing stark disparities in child well-being Helsinki/Florence, 18 October 2006 - Despite widespread economic upturn in South-Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (SEE/CIS) since the late ‘90s, one in four children under 15 is still living in extreme income poverty according to a UNICEF report released today The Innocenti Social Monitor 2006: Understanding Child Poverty in South-Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States finds that while the number of children under 15 living in extreme poverty has decreased from 32 million to 18 million, stark disparities in child well-being and opportunities exist: the share of children now living in extreme poverty ranges from 5 per cent in some SEE countries to a startling 80 per cent in the poorest Central Asia countries. “Child poverty should be the number one concern of governments in the region,” said Maria Calivis, UNICEF Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS). Analysis of data from rural and urban settings, from households of different sizes and structures, throws up disparities within countries that particularly affect children in families where there are more than two siblings. “Income poverty and deprivation have a distinct impact on children. They affect their immediate present and compromise their long term development,” said Marta Santos Pais, Director of the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, at the launch of the report in the Finnish capital, Helsinki. “To tackle poverty and inequalities among children, policies and resources must be urgently directed towards children.” Progress in improving other aspects of child well being - such as child mortality rates, pre-school attendance and access to safe water - has been sluggish and many governments in the region have not fully capitalized on the economic upswing to benefit children. Overall levels of public expenditure on health and education remain low in many countries and have not increased since 1998 despite economic recovery. Direct income support in the form of state transfers for households with children are widespread in the region, much occurring in the form of pensions. However, income support targeted on children is often of too low value to have a significant impact on poverty reduction
“Child poverty should be the number one concern of governments in the region,” said Maria Calivis, UNICEF Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS). “Children continue to be placed in institutions, the numbers are not decreasing, and this despite a sharp decline in the birth rate. The future of the region is inextricably bound to the well-being of children. If the true potential of all these countries is to be achieved, there must be adequate investment in services for children,” she added. The report argues that the future of the region depends on a healthy and educated generation, which will require a better use of resources and more generous support from the international community. To address the challenges posed by the persistence of child poverty in the region, the report calls on governments to work towards:
UNICEF works with families and communities in the region to mitigate the fallout of poverty. Policy and legislative reforms to protect all children and all their rights are the cornerstone of UNICEF’s programme with governments to support the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and achieve the Millennium Development Goals in each country. NOTE to the EDITORS For further information please contact: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, Florence UNICEF Regional Office CEE/CIS Finnish Committee for UNICEF
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