Students gather outside their school in the rural district of Suriquina. UNICEF and UNESCO jointly assist a national literacy programme that includes intercultural, bilingual classes in the Quechua, Aymara or Guarani languages.
A multicultural society of 6.7 million people who speak more than 12 languages, Bolivia suffers an ongoing economic crisis that continues to adversely affect children and women.  To support the extension of basic services to the poorest communities by promoting community participation, UNICEF s 1989-93 US$33.7 million cooperation programme assists projects to reduce child and maternal mortality; sustain immunization coverage; eliminate iodine deficiency disorders; improve urban and rural education; help the estimated 30,000 working, abandoned or street children; and improve health, nutrition and other services for the country s diverse indigenous groups.