LOS ANGELES: Every 24 seconds, 100 babies are born around the world. That is 100 infants whose futures are in our hands. Fortunately, we know exactly how to ensure that at they grow up healthy, educated and able to reach their full potential as adults. Sadly, we also know that we are failing these children. Far too many of them die from preventable diseases, never enter a classroom, are terrorized by violence and conflict and are forced to work, often in abusive conditions.

To better understand the overall condition of the world’s 2.1 billion children, let us take a closer look at the 100 children born in about the time it took to read the previous sentences. Many of the following figures, sadly, will be all too recognizable. The geographic dispersion of these 100 children is heavily skewed. More than half are Asian, with almost 20 of them born in one country: India. Only eight of them were born in the industrialized world. Most will live longer than ever before, an average of 64 years. In the industrialized world, that age rises to 78 years, while in the parts of Africa most heavily affected by HIV/AIDS, it plunges to less than 40 years.

Disease and ill health will plague a huge proportion of these 100. Almost 27 will not be immunized against preventable childhood illnesses, such as measles. And almost 20 will not have access to clean drinking water. By age 5, 32 will have suffered from malnutrition. Of the 100, 18 of them will not ever go to school, and 20 more will not reach the fifth grade.

Lack of schooling is the handmaiden of child labour. Once they are old enough, which can mean as young as five - nearly 25 of the 100 will be working. Of those who do become labourers, there is a 50 per cent chance that they will work full-time. Of those born in Africa, almost 40 per cent will work between the ages of five and 14.

This week, 60 heads of state or government and 170 national delegations will gather at the the 1990 UN World Summit for Children’s follow-up, the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children. The message of this meeting is simple and clear: Healthy and educated children are a critical force to drive economic development. If we want to overcome poverty, first and foremost we must invest in children. Yet many governments simply do not give children the resources they deserve, and that goes both for developing countries and the donor nations that provide funds. —Dawn/LAT-WP News Service (c) Los Angeles Times.