Facts about Children
Interested in having a look at how things are with the children in this world ?
Take a look at the tidbits below.
On the 11 Sept 2001, 35,615 children also died through hunger. Here's the statistics...
Victims: 35,615 (according to FAO)
Location: the poorest countries in the world
Special TV reports on the tragedy: NONE
Newspaper articles: NONE
Messages from heads of states: NONE
Appeals by organisations against the crisis: NONE
Solidarity messages: NONE
Minutes of silence: NONE
Homages to the victims: NONE
Special forums organised: NONE
Messages from the Pope: NONE
Stock exchanges: situation normal
Alarm level: NONE
Mobilisation of armed forces: NONE
Media speculation over the identity of the perpetrators of this crime: NONE
Those probably responsible for the crime: the global capitalist class.
Out of every 100 children born:
The births of 40 will not be registered;
26 will not immunized against any disease;
19 will be malnourished by the age of 5;
17 will never go to school;
9 of them will be girls;
And of every 100 who do go to school, only 25 will reach 5th grade
(UN Chronicle Vol. 34, No 2, 2002)
A Look at the Situation of Children in the Global Scene
About 200 million children below the age of 5 suffer from malnutrition and the number is increasing every year.
12 million children die annually from malnutrition and preventable diseases.
10 million children and adolescents have been inflicted with HIV and the number, particularly in Africa, followed by Asia, is escalating.
130 million children have no access to primary education.
Almost 1.5 million children have been killed and another 4 million maimed, 5 million dumped into refugee camps and 12 million made homeless due to wars during the last decade. Children are the first to suffer the lasting effects of armed conflicts. In the past 10 years one child in every 200 has been traumatized by the effects of war. More than one million children have been separated from their families; more than five million have been forced to flee from their homes.
According to UNICEF, almost 300 million adolescents are lured into smoking during their childhood be seductive cigarette advertisements. By 2010 almost 300 million children and youth will die of tobacco related diseases.
Of the 330 million children in India 75 million child-laborers are earning less then 60 cents a day.
Globally one out of every three people is under 15 years of age. In some developing countries, for example in the Middle East, nearly one out of every two people is a child. In most industrialized countries, one out of between four and five people is a child under 15.
Child poverty is increasing faster than adult poverty at all stages of economic development.
In 1994 a careful review of the evidence of the impact of early education on children's development found:
- the vast majority of research has shown that pre-school education leads to immediate, measurable educational
and social development.
- the most rigorous studies show that high quality early education leads to lasting cognitive and social benefits
in children which persist through adolescence and adulthood;
- the impact of early education is found in all social groups but is strongest in children from disadvantaged
backgrounds;
- investment in high quality early education "pays of" in terms of later economic savings to society.
In the 1950s in South Korea the educational levels were two to three times higher than would be expected for a country with a Gross National Product on only $90 per capita. By 1960, just before the economic take-off, 90 per cent of the children were completing primary school and over one third were going on to secondary education. In the three decades since then South Korea's economy has grown by 7 per cent a year - faster than almost any other nation.
Every fourth teenager in the world lives in extreme poverty according to the 2003 annual report of the United Nations Population Fund. Between 100 and 250 million youths under 25 live on the street, the report said, also noting that half of the world population is younger than 25 years, and their access to education was particularly bleak: 57 million young men and 96 million young women between 15 and 24 years cannot read nor write.
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