Press Centre
Press Release
With Bush in Africa, UNICEF spotlights the sobering situation
of children
Stats on Children in Five Countries Reveals Vast Survival Challenges
NAIROBI/GENEVA/NEW YORK, 8 July 2003 – UNICEF today released
statistics on the life-and-death challenges facing children in the five
African countries to be visited this week by U.S. President George Bush.
The statistics show that beyond the motorcades and TV cameras, children
in Senegal, South Africa, Botswana, Uganda and Nigeria face enormous
risks from childhood diseases, lack of education, AIDS, exploitation,
and poor basic services – all of them linked to poverty and discrimination.
UNICEF noted that while Africa accounts for only 12 per cent of the
world’s population, it claims 43 per cent of the world’s
child deaths, 50 per cent of maternal deaths in childbirth, 70 per cent
of people living with HIV/AIDS, and a staggering 90 percent of all children
orphaned by AIDS.
Here are some of the startling facts on children in each of the countries
Mr. Bush will visit:
Senegal
Basic Indicators: Under 5 mortality rate – 139 per 1000 live
births (Rank: 30th)
Net primary school enrolment* – 62% (8 point gender gap)
Children immunized with DPT3** – 60%
Population with clean water – 78%
HIV/AIDS prevalence rate (adult) – 0.5%
# of adults with HIV/AIDS – 24,000
# of children with HIV/AIDS – 2,900
# of AIDS orphans – 15,000
Special Challenges: 850,000 child labourers, some as young as age
five. Senegal also suffers from low school enrolment, especially for
girls, with just 58 percent of school-age girls actually enrolled
in school.
South Africa
Basic Indicators: Under 5 mortality rate – 70 per 1000 live
births (66th)
Net primary school enrolment – 95% (no gender gap)
Children immunized with DPT3 – 76%
Pop with clean water – 86%
HIV/AIDS prevalence rate (adult) – 20.1%
# of adults with HIV/AIDS – 4,700,000
# of children with HIV/AIDS – 250,000
# of AIDS orphans – 660,000
Special Challenges: South Africa has the highest
rate of reported rape in the world. http://www.rapcan.org.za/ Sexual
abuse in part grows from the low status accorded to women. Low status
for women bodes ill for their well-being and that of their children.
Botswana
Basic Indicators: Under 5 mortality rate – 101 per 1000 live
births (42nd)
Net primary school enrolment – 84% (no gender gap)
Children immunized with DPT3 – 90%
Pop with clean water – 95%
HIV/AIDS prevalence rate (adult) - 38.8%
# of adults with HIV/AIDS – 300,000
# of children with HIV/AIDS – 28,000
# of AIDS orphans – 69,000
Special Challenges: More than 15 per cent of all
children in Botswana are orphans. Seventy per cent of that total have
been orphaned by AIDS.
Uganda
Basic Indicators: Under 5 mortality rate – 127 per 1000 live
births (36th)
Net primary school enrolment – 87% (9 point gender gap)
Children immunized with DPT3 – 55%
Pop with clean water – 52%
HIV/AIDS prevalence rate (adult) – 5%
# of adults with HIV/AIDS – 510,000
# of children with HIV/AIDS – 110,000
# of AIDS orphans – 880,000
Special Challenges: More than 800,000 people are
internally displaced in Uganda as a result of ongoing civil war. From
June 2002 thru June 2003, more than 8,000 children were abducted by
the rebel LRA. An estimated 20,000 children have been abducted since
the conflict began.
Nigeria
Basic Indicators: Under 5 mortality rate – 184 per 1000 live
births (15th)
Net primary school enrolment – 35% (5 point gender gap)
Children immunized with DPT3 – 26%
Pop with clean water – 62%
HIV/AIDS prevalence rate (adult) – 5.8%
# of adults with HIV/AIDS – 3,200,000
# of children with HIV/AIDS – 270,000
# of AIDS orphans – 1,000,000
Special Challenges: Nigeria is just one of seven
countries still fighting polio, and had the world’s second highest
number of polio cases last year. Huge efforts are still needed to
eliminate this disease in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country.
Nigeria has more than
52 million children under age 14 alone.
UNICEF also said that while global life expectancy averages 64 years,
life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa is just 48 years. Global immunization
coverage for children is about 74 percent, while in sub-Saharan Africa
it has fallen below 50 percent. And while 77 percent of all children
globally get a primary school education, in sub-Saharan Africa the rate
falls to 52 percent.
The Impact of AIDS
The impact of HIV/AIDS has also been most devastating in this region.
In Botswana and South Africa, more than 60 per cent of 15-year-old boys
today can expect to become infected during their lifetimes. Nine out
of ten children living with HIV/AIDS are African. Girls are especially
vulnerable. More than two-thirds of newly infected 15- to 19-year-olds
in sub-Saharan Africa are female.
In 2001 alone, AIDS killed more than 610,000 children. An estimated
800,000 children became HIV-positive, the great majority of whom will
die before their fifth birthday. Before the onset of AIDS, about 2 per
cent of all children in developing countries were orphans. By the end
of 2001, more than 15 per cent of children were orphans in 10 African
countries.
###
* Net primary school enrolment reflects percentage of children of primary-school-age
who are registered for school. The gender gap refers to the difference
in enrolment between boys and girls.
** DPT3 protects children against diptheria, pertussis and tetanus
and must be given 3 times to provide protection.
For further information, please contact:
Mohammad Jalloh, UNICEF Media, New York: (+1 212) 326-7516
|
