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650m children live on less than $1 a day

Friday, 18 April 1997: Over 650 million children currently exist on less than $1 a day, according to UNICEF.

"Contrary to what the world might expect, the poor are getting poorer, the number of poor is increasing, and the disparity between rich and poor has never been greater," said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy.

According to statistics released by the World Bank in World Development Indicators 1997, more than 1.3 billion people currently live on less than $1 a day, and a further 2 billion are only marginally better off. UNICEF believes that children account for at least 50 per cent of the total number of poor people.

"These figures provide further distressing confirmation that the scourge of poverty is not in retreat. More children are living in poverty today than ever before, " said Ms. Bellamy.

UNICEF argues that the past 50 years have seen an increase in the number of poor in the world. This is notwithstanding numerous initiatives -- such as structural adjustment, support for private investment and efforts at debt reduction -- all of which have been designed to increase economic growth.

Between 1988 and 1993, the number of people living below the poverty line of $1 a day increased by at least 20 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa and in Latin America. The numbers also increased in South Asia and in the Middle East and North Africa.

Levels of income disparity between the richest and poorest 20 per cent of the world population have increased from 30:1 to 61:1 over the past 30 years, and Ms. Bellamy argued that inequity in the distribution of wealth and resources explains the rising number of the poor.

UNICEF has documented many instances where impressive progress in the well-being of children has been achieved without economic growth, through the investment of limited resources in basic services, such as health and education. Zimbabwe increased primary school enrolment from 1.2 million to 2.1 million pupils and expanded its immunization coverage from 32 per cent to 75 per cent during the 1980s at a time of stagnating average per capita income. In India, the state of Kerala reduced its infant mortality rate from 55 to 17 per 1,000 live births between 1976 and 1992, despite very slow economic growth.

In contrast, significant but inequitable economic growth in other countries has led to actual increases in the level of real and relative poverty. For example, Botswana recorded very rapid economic growth of 10 per cent per year in the 1980s, but the number of poor in the country did not decline. Brazil and Honduras saw an increase in both the number and proportion of poor people during the 1980s, despite a reasonable rate of economic growth.

"The eradication of poverty must be at the centre of our development efforts into the 21st century. For as long as poverty is allowed to grow unchecked, child malnutrition, preventable disease and widespread illiteracy will continue to thrive," said Ms. Bellamy.

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