[child-rights] Disparities affecting children cloud economic good news story

UNICEF Report on SEE/CIS countries goes behind the averages concealing
stark disparities in child well-being

HELSINKI/FLORENCE,18 October 2006 -- Despite widespread economic upturn in
South-Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (SEE/CIS)
since the late '90s, one in four children under 15 is still living in
extreme income poverty according to a UNICEF report released today.

The Innocenti Social Monitor 2006: Understanding Child Poverty in
South-Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States finds that
while the number of children under 15 living in extreme poverty has
decreased from 32 million to 18 million, stark disparities in child
well-being and opportunities exist: the share of children now living in
extreme poverty ranges from 5 per cent in some SEE countries to a
startling 80 per cent in the poorest Central Asia countries.

Analysis of data from rural and urban settings, from households of
different sizes and structures, throws up disparities within countries
that particularly affect children in families where there are more than
two siblings.

"Income poverty and deprivation have a distinct impact on children. They
affect their immediate present and compromise their long term
development," said Marta Santos Pais, Director of the UNICEF Innocenti
Research Centre, at the launch of the report in the Finnish capital,
Helsinki. "To tackle poverty and inequalities among children, policies and
resources must be urgently directed towards children."

Progress in improving other aspects of child well being - such as child
mortality rates, pre-school attendance and access to safe water - has been
sluggish and many governments in the region have not fully capitalized on
the economic upswing to benefit children. Overall levels of public
expenditure on health and education remain low in many countries and have
not increased since 1998 despite economic recovery.

Direct income support in the form of state transfers for households with
children are widespread in the region, much occurring in the form of
pensions. However, income support targeted on children is often of too low
value to have a significant impact on poverty reduction

"Child poverty should be the number one concern of governments in the
region," said Maria Calivis, UNICEF Regional Director for Central and
Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS).
"Children continue to be placed in institutions, the numbers are not
decreasing, and this despite a sharp decline in the birth rate. The future
of the region is inextricably bound to the well-being of children. If the
true potential of all these countries is to be achieved, there must be
adequate investment in services for children," she added.

The report argues that the future of the region depends on a healthy and
educated generation, which will require a better use of resources and more
generous support from the international community.

To address the challenges posed by the persistence of child poverty in the
region, the report calls on governments to work towards:

* More visibility for children in setting policy priorities and poverty
reduction strategies. It requires timely collection, analysis and
dissemination of data and research on the situation of children;

* More and better public spending on social services (health, education
and social infrastructure); reforms of the budget allocation principles to
ensure adequately resources targeted in those regions and population
groups most in need;

* Better targeting and higher levels of social transfers to families with
young children in order to provide effective protection from poverty and
discourage institutionalization;

* A policy shift away from the widespread practice of placing children in
institutions in some countries of the region, as well as a firm statement
of intent to devote more policy efforts and resources to provide social
support for families in crisis

UNICEF works with families and communities in the region to mitigate the
fallout of poverty. Policy and legislative reforms to protect all children
and all their rights are the cornerstone of UNICEF's programme with
governments to support the implementation of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child and achieve the Millennium Development Goals in each country.

Download Innocenti Social Monitor 2006 report at:  
http://www.unicef-icdc.org/presscentre/indexNewsroom.sql

UNICEF Press release



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