Despite global progress, children face new threats
November 18, 2019
Children around the world are living longer, healthier lives, according to a UN report. But it's not all good news — young people today are also grappling with a host of new threats, from climate change to cyberbullying.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/O. Sierra
Advertisement
Despite huge strides in improving the lives of children since 1989, many of the world's poorest are being left behind, the United Nations children's fund UNICEF warned Monday.
In a report marking the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF said poverty and marginalization continued to put the well/being of millions of young people at risk.
UNICEF chief Henrietta Fore said in a statement that as well as "the persistent challenges of health, nutrition and education, children today have to contend with new threats like climate change, online abuse and cyberbullying."
More children today also have access to primary education — the proportion of kids who don't attend school has dropped from 18% to 8%. But the report warned that progress has stagnated, with little change since 2007.
"There have been impressive gains for children over the past three decades, as more and more are living longer, better and healthier lives. However, the odds continue to be stacked against the poorest and most vulnerable," Fore said.
Under-fives from the poorest households are twice as likely to die from preventable causes than children from the richest households, the report said.
Although more children are immunized than ever before, vaccination rates have slowed over the past decade, contributing to a resurgence of diseases in some countries. Only half of poor children in sub-Saharan Africa are vaccinated against measles, for example.
Some girls are now more at risk of a child marriage than they would have been in 1989.
The report also stressed that children are most at risk of the impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather and food and water insecurity.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the UN General Assembly on November 20, 1989. The treaty has been ratified by all UN member states bar the US.
Why millions of kids face a bleak future
Some 180 million children worldwide are more likely to live in extreme poverty, be deprived of basic education or suffer a violent death than their parents, according to a 2017 UNICEF report. DW takes a look.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/E. Sansar
Children in 37 countries left behind
UNICEF's analysis focused on children's chances of escaping extreme poverty, getting a basic education and avoiding a violent death. It showed that 37 countries have seen a clear decline in at least one of those areas in the past two decades. The main causes? Unrest, conflicts, financial crises and poor governance.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/M. Moskwa
Not in my parents' footsteps
There have been major efforts to improve child welfare around the world over the past two decades. But despite progress, millions of children still face massive challenges caused by factors outside of their control. According to a 2017 UNICEF report, one in 12 of the world's 2.2 billion children has far bleaker prospects today than the previous generation did 20 years ago.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/E. Sansar
Consequences of conflict
According to UNICEF, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen — all countries experiencing major conflict — have seen a decline across more than one of the three areas measured. The most dramatic change, however, was recorded in the world's newest nation, South Sudan.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Y. Arhab
South Sudan
South Sudan was the only country where children fared worse in all three categories than previous generations. After gaining independence in 2011, the country has been plagued by civil war and famine. Four-year-old Adeng Macher, pictured above, is one of an estimated 2 million people who are near starvation.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMA Wire/M. Juarez Lugo
Growing up with war
Violent deaths among children below the age of 19 have increased in seven countries: Central African Republic, Iraq, Libya, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen. Above, armed Yemeni children ride in the back of a truck with soldiers loyal to President Hadi. The UN says hundreds of children have been killed in the country since 2015, while more than 1,000 have been recruited as child soldiers.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Al-Obeidi
Surviving on under $1.90 a day
The share of people living on less than $1.90 (85 euro cents) a day has increased in 14 countries, including Benin, Cameroon, Madagascar, Zambia and Zimbabwe. According to the UN, around 19 percent of the world's children live in extreme poverty.
Image: STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP/Getty Images
A chance in the classroom
The number of children getting a primary school education has dropped in 21 countries, including Syria, Bolivia, Jordan and Tanzania. The problem is most acute in West and Central Africa. Above, students take part in an English class in Bentiu, South Sudan, in 2011. Violence in the country has forced a quarter of schools to shut down, preventing an estimated 2 million kids from attending class.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/R.Schmidt
World Children's Day
UNICEF's report was released on World Children's Day, which celebrates the anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on November 20, 1989.
