Millions of children worldwide live in poverty - UNICEF

(Feb. 29, 2012) Hundreds of millions of children in cities across the world are growing up in poverty and enduring deprivation, according to a report unveiled on Tuesday by the United Nations, spotlighting social exclusion and calling for measures to give the youngsters access to basic services and opportunities for a better future. “The State of the World’s Children 2012’ report released by the UN Children’s Fund - UNICEF, highlights the hardship that many children living in urban areas go through, which are in many cases concealed by statistical averages in which, the poverty of some is obscured by the relative wealth of others. The situations and needs of children are often represented by aggregate figures that show urban children to be better off than their rural counterparts, obscuring the disparities that exist among the children of cities,” said Anthony Lake, the UNICEF Executive Director, in the report’s foreword.
The document stresses that despite growing up in close proximity to modern facilities and basic services, many children in urban areas lack access to electricity, clean water and education. They are also at high risk of contracting diseases due to unsanitary conditions and suffering from malnutrition. The report also emphasizes that the children are at high risk of exploitation and trafficking, as well as becoming victims of violence. Presently, more than a billion children live in cities and towns. While many of these children enjoy access to basic services, a significant number face numerous challenges that impede their full development. According to UNICEF, one in three city dwellers lives in slums. “Overcrowding and unsanitary conditions facilitate transmission of disease – notably pneumonia and diarrhea, the two leading killers of children under the age of five worldwide,” said the report. “Outbreaks of measles, tuberculosis and other vaccine-preventable diseases are also more frequent in these areas, where population density is high and immunization levels are low, it added.