Facts About Children and Poverty

Children Have The Right To Be  Children

Childhood Should Be A Happy Time Spent Playing With Friends, Enjoying A Favorite Toy — Even Planning For The First Day Of School. But Children In The Developing World Spend Most Of Their Childhood Struggling To Survive, Without Much Hope For A Secure, Productive Life.

About 25,000 People Die Every Day Of Hunger Or Hunger-Related Causes, According To The United Nations. This Is One Person Every Three And A Half Seconds, As You Can See On This Display. Unfortunately, It Is Children Who Die Most Often.

Yet There Is Plenty Of Food In The World For Everyone. The Problem Is That Hungry People Are Trapped In Severe Poverty. They Lack The Money To Buy Enough Food To Nourish Themselves. Being Constantly Malnourished, They Become Weaker And Often Sick. This Makes Them Increasingly Less Able To Work, Which Then Makes Them Even Poorer And Hungrier. This Downward Spiral Often Continues Until Death For Them And Their Families.

And They Face Incredible Odds. Of The 57 Million People Worldwide Who Died Last Year, 10.5 Million Of Them Were Children Less Than Five Years Old. The Majority Of These Children — Some 98 Percent — Were In Developing Nations.

Treatable Illnesses, Such As Pneumonia, Malaria, Diarrhea And Malnutrition, Become Life-Threatening When Combined With Poverty, War, Poor Sanitation, Inadequate Health Care And Insufficient Preventive Measures.

For Those Who Survive Childhood, The Path To A Secure And Happy Future Is Still Filled With Obstacles. Children In Developing Nations Have Limited Access To Education, Which Limits Opportunity And Reduces Potential.

Economic, Social And Cultural Factors Keep Some 121 Million Children, Especially Girls, From Attending School. Faced With Difficult Choices, Parents Often Take Girls Out Of School To Care For Younger Siblings, Help With Household Chores Or Work Outside The Home To Contribute To Family Income. In The World's Least Developed Countries, Only 14 Percent Of Secondary School Enrollment Is Female. 

Facts About Children and Poverty 

• A.    POVERTY  FACTS
• B.    HEALTH  CARE & NUTRITION  FACTS
• C.    EDUCATION  FACTS
• D.    WATER  FACTS
• E.    HIV/AIDS  FACTS
• F.    HUNGER   FACTS
• G.    ENVIRONMENT  FACTS
• H.    SOCIAL  FACTS
• I.    RELIGION  FACTS
• J.    CHILD  ABUSE  FACTS
• K.    POPULATION  FACTS
• L.    CHILD  LABOR  FACTS

A)    POVERTY  FACTS  

•    Every Day 1,500 Women Die From Complications In Pregnancy Or Childbirth That Could Have Been Prevented. Each Day 10,000 Newborns Die Within A Month Of Birth, And Daily The Same Number Of Babies Are Also Born Dead.
•    Children Under Age 18 Make Up Nearly 48 Percent Of The Population Of The World's Least Developed Countries, Compared With 21 Percent Of The Population Of The World's Industrialized Nations.
•    More Than 1.6 Billion People Lack Access To Electricity And Modern Forms Of Energy.
•    Over 1.4 Billion People In The Developing World Live Below The Poverty Line (U.S.$1.25 Per Day).
•    Annual World Economy Breaks Down Like This:
1.    Low Income, $935 Or Less: 37%
2.    Lower Middle Income, $936 To $3,705: 38%
3.    Upper Middle Income, $3,706 To $11,455: 9%
4.    High Income, $11,456 Or More: 16%
•    In Developing Countries, Approximately 130 Million Children And Teens — Age 17 Or Under — Have Lost One Or Both Parents.
•    More Than 9 Million Children Under Age 5 Die Each Year. Two-Thirds Of These Deaths — More Than 6 Million Every Year — Are Preventable.
•    Approximately One-Third Of The World's Poor People Live In India.

B)    HEALTH CARE AND NUTRITION
 
•    Malaria Kills Approximately 1 Million Children Per Year, Many Of Them Under Age 5 And Most Of Them In Sub-Saharan Africa.
•    In Developing Countries, One In Every Six Infants Is Not Immunized Against Tuberculosis.
•    While The Number Of Deaths Due To Measles Fell Dramatically Between 2000 And 2007, One In Every Four Children In Developing Countries Is Not Immunized Against Measles.
•    Only 55 Percent Of The World's Infants Are Fully Immunized Against Hepatitis B.
•    Only 69 Percent Of Newborns Are Protected Against Tetanus.
•    Malaria, Together With HIV/AIDS And Tuberculosis, Is One Of The Major Public Health Challenges Undermining Development In The Poorest Countries In The World.
•    There Are 1.8 Million Diarrheal-Related Deaths Per Year Among Young Children.
•    Children Under Age 5 Account For Less Than 10 Percent Of The World's Population, But Suffer From 40 Percent Of The Diseases Attributed To Environmental Factors.
•    Acute Respiratory Infections Annually Kill An Estimated 2 Million Children Under The Age Of 5.
•    About 1.8 Million People, Most Of Whom Are Children, Die Annually Of Food-Borne Diseases.
•    Approximately 37 Percent Of Deaths Among Children Under 5 — 9.7 Million Worldwide In 2006 — Occur In The First Month Of Life.
C)    EDUCATION  FACTS
•    An Estimated 130 Million Of The World's 15- To 24- Year-Olds Cannot Read Or Write.
•    There Are 781 Million Illiterate Adults Worldwide, And 64 Percent Of Them Are Women.
•    Nearly 115 Million Children Are Out Of School. Globally, Some 53 Percent Of The Children Out Of Primary School Are Girls, Meaning That For Every 100 Boys Out Of School, 115 Girls Are In The Same Situation.
•    Of The 22 Countries Where More Than Half The Population Is Illiterate, 15 Are In Africa.
•    Only 14.4 Percent Of GDP Per Capita Is Spent On Primary Education Worldwide.
•    About 75 Percent Of Children Out Of Primary School In Developing Countries Have Mothers Who Did Not Go To School.
•    134 Million Children Between The Ages Of 7 To 18 Have Never Been To School.
•    Girls Are More Likely To Go Without Schooling Than Boys — In The Middle East And North Africa, Girls Are Three Times More Likely Than Boys To Be Denied Education
•    For Every Year Of Education, Wages Increase By A Worldwide Average Of 10 Percent
•    Educated Mothers Tend To Send Their Children To School, Helping To Break The Cycle Of Poverty
D)   WATER  FACTS

 
•    Roughly 12 Percent Of The World's Population, Or 884 Million People, Do Not Have Access To Safe Water.
•    Depending On Living Conditions, Including Climate And Physical Activity, Drinking-Water Needs For Individuals Vary, But The Optimal Amount Is Estimated At 2 Quarts Per Day For A 130-Pound Person And 1 Quart Per Day For A 22-Pound Child.
•    About 2.5 Billion People In The World Do Not Have Access To Adequate Sanitation - Roughly Two-Fifths Of The World's Population.
•    Approximately 1.8 Million Children Die Each Year As A Result Of Diseases Caused By Unclean Water And Poor Sanitation. This Is Around 5,000 Deaths A Day.
•    Diarrheal Diseases Can Be Reduced By More Than 40 Percent Through The Simple Practice Of Washing Hands With Soap And Water.
•    Water-Related Diseases Are The Second Biggest Killer Of Children Worldwide. Number One Is Acute Respiratory Infections, Such As Tuberculosis.
•    Approximately 97.5 Percent Of The Water On Earth Is Saltwater. If All The World's Water Could Fit In An Average Bucket, Only 1 Teaspoon Would Be Drinkable.
•    Nearly 90 Percent Of Water-Related Diseases Are Due To Unsafe Water, Sanitation And Hygiene; And Most Victims Are Children In Developing Countries.
•    The Average Person In The Developing World Uses A Little More Than 2.5 Gallons Of Water Each Day For Drinking, Washing And Cooking. Whereas The Average Person In The Developed World Uses 13 Gallons Per Day Only For Toilet Flushing.
•    Agriculture Uses More Than 80 Percent Of The World's Total Water Consumption.
•    Worldwide, Approximately 425 Million Children Under 18 Do Not Have Safe Water.

E)    HIV/AIDS  FACTS

•    Approximately 15 Million Children Under Age 18 Have Lost One Or Both Parents To AIDS. Of These, Nearly 12 Million Live In Sub-Saharan Africa.
•    Sub-Saharan Africa Is Home To 67 Percent Of The Total World HIV-Positive Population.
•    Of The Estimated 2 Million Children Under 15 Living With HIV, Nearly 90 Percent Live In Sub-Saharan Africa.
•    Of The Estimated 2.7 Million People Newly Infected With HIV In 2007, Some 370,000 Were Children Under 15.
•    In 2007, An Estimated 2 Million People Died Of AIDS-Related Causes. Approximately 290,000 Of These Were Children Under 15.
•    Currently, Less Than 10 Percent Of HIV-Positive Children In Need Of Treatment Are Being Treated.
•    About 45 Percent Of New Infections Occur Among Young People Ages 15 To 24.
•    Each Day, About 1,000 Children Worldwide Become Infected With HIV, The Vast Majority Of Them Newborns.
•    To Date About 65 Million People Have Been Infected With HIV, And AIDS Has Killed More Than 25 Million People Since It Was First Recognized In 1981.
•    About 15.5 Million Women Comprise Nearly Half The Total Number Of People Living With HIV, And 77 Percent (12 Million) Of Women With HIV Live In Sub-Saharan Africa.
•    Sub-Saharan Africa Remains The Most Affected Region In The World. Two-Thirds Of All People Living With HIV Are In Sub-Saharan Africa; In 2007, 22 Million People There Were Living With HIV.
•    In 2007, 33 Million People Were Living With HIV. About 8 Percent Of Those 33 Million People Living With HIV Were From New Infections - And One-Fifth Of That 8 Percent Were Children.
•    Although About 33 Percent Of HIV-Positive Pregnant Women Receive Drug Therapies To Prevent The Transmission Of HIV To Their Infants, Only 11 Percent Of HIV-Positive Women In Sub-Saharan Africa Who Need Antiretrovirals Had Access.
•    More Than 6,800 New HIV Infections Occur Daily Worldwide, And More Than 5,700 People Die Of AIDS.
•    Approximately 5.5 Million Young People, Ages 15 To 24, Are Living With HIV.

F)    HUNGER   FACTS

•    One Person In Seven Battles Hunger Every Day.
•    Approximately 963 Million People Across The World Are Hungry.
•    More Than 9 Million Children Under Age 5 Die Every Year, And Malnutrition Accounts For More Than One-Third Of These Deaths. Most Of These Children Live In Sub-Saharan Africa And South Asia.
•    About 5.6 Million Deaths Of Children Worldwide Are Related To Under-Nutrition. This Accounts For 53 Percent Of The Total Deaths For Children Under 5.
•    More Than 140 Million Or 25 Percent Of All Children In Developing Countries Are Underweight And At Risk From The Long-Term Effects Of Malnourishment.
•    Nearly 15 Percent Of Babies In Developing Countries Are Born With A Low Birth Weight Compared With Only 7 Percent Of Babies In Industrialized Countries.
•    More Than 6 Million Children Die From Malnutrition Each Year.
•    Worldwide, 161 Million Preschool Children Suffer From Chronic Malnutrition.
•    Already 923 Million People Worldwide Are Undernourished, And There Are More Than 9 Million Deaths Related To Hunger Each Year

G)    ENVIRONMENT  FACTS

•    At Least 1.6 Billion People Globally Do Not Have Electricity In Their Homes, And Approximately 54 Percent Of People In Developing Countries Lack Access To Modern Forms Of Energy.
•    More Than 3 Million Children Under Age 5 Die Each Year From Diseases Because Of Environment-Related Causes And Conditions.
•    Each Year, Acute Respiratory Infections Kill Approximately 2 Million Children Under Age 5. Worldwide, 60 Percent Of Acute Respiratory Infections Are Due To Environmental Conditions.
•    Diarrheal Diseases Take The Lives Of Almost 2 Million Children Each Year. Eighty To 90 Percent Of These Diseases Are Related To Environmental Conditions, Specifically Contaminated Water And Inadequate Sanitation.
•    Nearly 1 Million People Die Each Year Because Of Malaria. Of These Deaths, 80 Percent Are Children Under Age 5 In Sub-Saharan Africa. Up To 90 Percent Of Malaria Cases Are Attributed To Environmental Factors.
•    About 2.5 Billion People Do Not Have Access To Adequate Sanitation — Roughly Two-Fifths Of The World's Population.
•    About 1 Million Children Each Year Are Diagnosed With Intestinal Worms Causing Malnutrition Due To The Lack Of Sanitation. Many Cases Go Undiagnosed Since Mothers May Think This Normal And Not Seek Medical Attention.
•    More Than 6 Million People Are Blind From Trachoma, A Disease Caused By The Lack Of Water Along With Poor Hygiene Practices. Studies Show That An Adequate Water Supply Could Reduce Trachoma Infections By 25 Percent.
•    More Than 200 Million People Live In Coastal Flood Zones, Which Would Be Dramatically Impacted By Rising Waters. While Some 4 Billion People — 60 Percent Of The World's Population — Live Within 65 Miles Of A Coast.
•    The Number Of People Living In Countries Where Cultivated Land Is Critically Scarce Is Projected To Increase From 448 Million In 2005 To Between 559 Million And 706 Million In 2025.

H)    SOCIAL  FACTS

•    An Estimated 20 Million Children Worldwide Have Been Forced To Flee Their Homes Because Of Conflict And Human Rights Violations.
•    In 2007, For The First Time In History, The Majority Of People Lived In Urban Areas. Throughout Most Of The Developing World, This Results In Larger Slum Populations.
•    Nearly 30 Percent Of Women Worldwide Give Birth Before Age 18.
•    Some 200 Million Women Who Wish To Space Or Limit Their Childbearing Lack Access To Contraception.
•    Nearly One In Five Parliamentary Seats In 2008 Were Held By Women, Bringing The Percentage To 18 — With The Highest Percentages Being In Europe And The Americas. Out Of 189 Governments, Women Hold Only 13 Of The Highest Positions Of State.
•    Young People Ages 15 To 24 Represent Close To Half Of The World's Increasing Number Of Jobless People — Estimated At 192 Million In 2006. This Number Is Expected To Increase By 50 Million By The End Of 2009. In Many Countries, Youth Are More Than Three Times As Likely As Adults To Be Seeking Work. This Presents An Especially Urgent Challenge For Developing Countries, Home To 85 Percent Of The World's Youth.
•    Over One-Third Of All Internet Users In The World Live In Developing Countries, Whose Share Of The World´S "Internet Population" Grew By Nearly 50 Percent Between 2000 And 2003.

I)    RELIGION   FACTS

•    Women Make Up 56 Percent Of The Adult Born-Again Population.
•    Brazil Is The Largest Catholic Country In The World.
•    Born-Again Christians Are More Likely Than The Average Adult To Have Volunteered Their Time To Help Their Church In The Past Week (32 Percent To 22 Percent, Respectively).
•    Nearly Half Of All Americans Who Receive Jesus Christ As Their Savior Do So Before Reaching The Age Of 13 (43 Percent), And Two Out Of Three Born-Again Christians (64 Percent) Made That Commitment To Christ Before Their 18th Birthday.
•    Approximately 69 Percent Of Americans Believe That God Is The All-Powerful, All-Knowing, Perfect Creator Who Rules The World Today.
Religion Around The World Is Broken Down Like This:
•    33 Percent Of The People In The World Are Christians.
•    21 Percent Of The People In The World Are Muslims.
•    13 Percent Of The People In The World Are Hindus.
•    6 Percent Of The People In The World Are Buddhists.
•    2.3 Percent Of The People Of The World Are Atheists.
•    0.4 Percent Of The People Of The World Are Sikhs.
•    0.2 Percent Of The People Of The World Are Jewish.
•    0.1 Percent Of The People Of The World Are Baha'is.
•    12 Percent Of The People Of The World Are Of Other Religions.
•    12 Percent Of The People In The World Are Nonreligious.

J)    CHILD  ABUSE & EXPLOITATION FACTS

•    An Estimated 1.2 Million Children Are Trafficked Worldwide Every Year.
•    An Estimated 300 Million Children Worldwide Are Subjected To Violence, Exploitation And Abuse, Including The Worst Forms Of Child Labor In Communities, Schools And Institutions.
•    Children Living In Areas Of Extreme Economic Hardship And Social Disruption Are At Increased Risk For Abuse, Violence, And Exploitation.
•    About 1.5 Billion Children Live In The 42 Countries Affected By Violent Conflict Between 2002 And 2006. Of 14.2 Million Refuges Worldwide, 41 Percent May Be Children Under The Age Of 18.
•    Worldwide, An Estimated 40 Million Children Under The Age Of 15 Suffer From Violence, Abuse And Neglect.
•    An Estimated 1.2 Million Children - Both Boys And Girls - Are Trafficked Each Year Into Exploitative Work, Including Mining, Factories, Armed Conflict Or Commercial Sex Work.

K)    POPULATION  FACTS

•    There Are Now Over 7 Billion People Living On Earth.
•    Approximately 4.7 Billion People Live In Low And Middle-Low Income Economies. In Contrast, 65 High-Income Countries Have A Combined Population Of About 1 Billion Less Than One-Sixth Of The World's Population.
•    Nearly One In Four People In The World Is Young, Between Age 10 And 24; While 85 Percent Of All Adolescents Live In Developing Countries.
•    The World Population Is Growing By About 0.8 Percent, Or Almost 80 Million People, Per Year.
•    As Of 2006, Approximately 48.8 Percent Of The World's Population Lived In Urbanized Areas. In Developing Countries More Than One Third Of This Growing Urban Population Lives In Slum Conditions.
•    Every Second 4.3 People Are Born Worldwide; While Every Second 1.8 Deaths Occur. The World Population Has A Net Gain Of 2.5 People Every Second.
•    In Sub-Saharan Africa 55 Percent Of Children Under 5 Have Never Been Registered; Worldwide Nearly 50 Million Children Each Year Are Not Registered And Begin Life With No Identity.

L)    CHILD  LABOR  FACTS

•    One In Six Children 5 To 14 Years Old — About 16 Percent Of All Children In This Age Group — Is Involved In Child Labor In Developing Countries.
•    In The Least Developed Countries, 30 Percent Of All Children Are Engaged In Child Labor.
•    Worldwide, 126 Million Children Work In Hazardous Conditions, Often Enduring Beatings, Humiliation And Sexual Violence By Their Employers.
•    An Estimated 1.2 Million Children — Both Boys And Girls — Are Trafficked Each Year Into Exploitative Work In Agriculture, Mining, Factories, Armed Conflict Or Commercial Sex Work.
•    The Highest Proportion Of Child Laborers Is In Sub-Saharan Africa, Where 26 Percent Of Children (49 Million) Are Involved In Work.


Sources: United Nations World Food Program (WFP), Oxfam, UNICEF, UN Data, The World Factbook,Population Reference Bureau, International Women's Democracy Center, Unicef, International Council on Social Welfare, The New York Times, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(www.unicef.org, www.wateraid.org,www.undp.org,www.barna.org,www.worldbank.org, www.census.gov,www.bread.orgwww.who.int,www.freeworldacademy.com,www.wfp.orgwww.un.org,www.childinfo.org,www.timesofindia.com,www.unaids.org,www.ispcan.org,www.malarianomore,www.ilo.org,www.ncseonline.org,www.crin.org, www.unep.org, www.populationaction.org , www.nationmaster.com)

THE GLOBAL FIGHT

Because Fighting Poverty Involves Everything From Employment To Education To The Environment, It Is A Central Part Of Improving The Lives Of Billions Of People Around The World. Now, With Incredible Technology And Knowledge So Widely Available, We Have The Chance To Completely End Poverty. All It Requires Is That Everyone Works Together. Six Billion People United Behind This Cause: Nothing Can Stop That.
There Are Effective Programs To Break This Spiral. For Adults, There Are “Food For Work” Programs Where The Adults Are Paid With Food To Build Schools, Dig Wells, Make Roads, And So On. This Both Nourishes Them And Builds Infrastructure To End The Poverty. For Children, There Are “Food For Education” Programs Where The Children Are Provided With Food When They Attend School. Their Education Will Help Them To Escape From Hunger And Global Poverty.                  
“Children  Have  The  Right  To  Be Children”  Response
Despite grim statistics, children represent one of the best opportunities for defeating poverty. “Children Have The RightTo Be Children” strives to attack the underlying causes of poverty through health and education projects in poor communities. 

“Children  Have The Right To  Be Children”  Takes A Well-Rounded Approach To Improving Children's Health Through: 
 
•    Water, Sanitation And Hygiene Education Projects That Enable Healthier Households
•    Farming Innovations That Result In Better Nutrition
•    Family Planning Projects That Promote Healthier Mothers And Infants
•    Emergency Response Programs That Meet Basic Needs For Food And Health 

In children's health specifically, “Children Have The Right To  Be  Children” Emphasizes Disease Prevention Through Immunization Programs And Health Training. 

“Children Have The Right To Be  Children”  Works To Break Through The Barriers Of Education By: 

•    Promoting And Facilitating Discussion Between Parents, Teachers And Other Community Members About The Benefits Of Education
•    Working To Improve Opportunities For Education In The Developing World — With A Special Focus On Girls And Women
•    Helping Parents Cover The Cost Of Keeping Children In School
•    Increasing Basic Education Attainment, With A Focus On Enrollment And School Completion Rates.
•    Improving Gender Equality In Basic Education, Since Education For Girls Provides The Single Highest Return On Investment In The Developing World.
•    Enhancing The Quality Of Basic Education, Because Quality Is The Key To Student Retention And Achievement, As Well As Continued Community Involvement And Ownership.

At the Community Level  “Children Have The Right To Be  Children” Works To:

•    Reduce Cultural And Economic Barriers To Girls' Education;
•    Support Community Schools Where Government Services Are Unavailable;
•    Develop Responsive, Participatory And Accountable Systems Of Educational Governance And Management To Address Issues Of Access And Quality;
•    Train Teachers To Enhance Student Achievement; And
•    Provide Basic Education For Adolescents And Youth At Risk Who Have Missed The Chance For A Primary Education.

At the National Level, “Children Have The Right To Be  Children”   Builds Capacity Within Governments and Private Organizations To:
 
•    Develop And Implement Effective Policy Reform;
•    Improve The Quality And Relevance Of Learning;
•    Enhance The Status, Morale And Professionalism Of Teachers; And
•    Advocate Quality Basic Education For All.

BY
ABUL  KALAM  AHAMMED
BARCELONA ,  10TH  MARCH  2012