Foreign
CHILDREN around the world are increasingly living longer, healthier lives, but they are facing new threats, such as climate change, the UN children’s fund (UNICEF) said on Monday.
In a report marking the 30th anniversary of the UN convention of the rights of the child, the organization looks at the progress made and the challenges confronting young people today.
UNICEF chief Henrietta Fore said in a statement that there “have been impressive gains for children over the past three decades,” but “the odds continue to be stacked against the poorest and most vulnerable.”
“In addition to the persistent challenges of health, nutrition and education, children today have to contend with new threats like climate change, online abuse and cyberbullying,” Fore added.
In terms of progress made since 1989, the report notes that the global under-five mortality rate has fallen by around 60 per cent.
More children are going to primary school and children’s rights have influenced laws in many nations.
However, UNICEF highlights that progress has not been even, with under-fives from the poorest households twice as likely to die from preventable causes than richer children in developing countries.
Only half of poor children in sub-Saharan Africa are vaccinated against measles, and some girls are now more at risk of child marriage than in 1989.
Children are most at risk of the impacts of the climate crisis, according to UNICEF.
Fore called for “innovation, new technologies, political will and increased resources” to improve young people’s lives. (dpa/NAN)
– Nov 19, 2019 @ 13:45 GMT |
Tags: After 30 years of child rights progress but new threats — UN report
