ISLAMABAD, April 5: The social indicators appended to the State of the World’s Children, 2002, report, released on Thursday, paint a dismal picture of Pakistan’s progress over the last 30 years and show widening of the gulf between the social conditions for children here and the average conditions in South Asia.
The statistics appended to the summary show that while a child born in Pakistan in 1970 could expect to live for 48 years, the children today can expect a life of 60 years. The conditions in 2000 are an improvement but don’t not match even a regional average outside Sub-Saharan Africa.
The report says that the life expectancy in South Asia improved from 48 years in 1970 to 62 years in 2000.
The report portrays a similar picture in health, education, nutrition and demographic indicators.
It discloses that in the decade to 2000, two million children were killed, six million were injured or permanently disabled and 12 million were left homeless because of conflict.
“Conflict has orphaned or separated more than one million children from their families in the last decade of the 20th century,” notes the report. More than 13 million children aged 14 or younger have been orphaned by AIDS and half of the new cases of HIV occur in people 15 to 24 years of age. There are an estimated 1.4 million children under the age of 15 living with HIV worldwide.
The report says that “of the 35 million refugees and displaced people in the world, 80 per cent are women and children. Between 80 per cent and 90 per cent of those who die or are injured in conflicts are civilians - mostly children and their mothers.”
Citing statistics on gender discrimination the report states that of the more than 100 million out-of-school youth, 60 million are girls. It says that nine of every 10 domestic workers are girls between 12 and 17 years old. In some areas, HIV infection rates are five times higher for girls than for boys.
More than half a billion children live on less than $1 a day. More than 100 million children are out of school because of poverty, discrimination or lack of resources.
A significant achievement in the goals set by the 1990 world summit for children has been the reduction of 14 per cent in the rates of infant and under-five mortality. “Today three million more children a year are surviving beyond their fifth birthday than was the case a decade ago,” says the report. During the same period the malnutrition rate in developing countries has declined by 17 per cent.
However, in Asia, where more than two thirds of the world’s malnourished children live, the drop in child malnutrition rates was relatively small, from 36 per cent to 29 per cent.
The report gives an overview of the achievements and the unfinished agenda of the 1990 summit. It underscores the need for leadership role across the board to meet the challenges that lie ahead. Drawing attention to the unfinished business of the world summit, it calls for renewed commitment and political action at the highest level to ensure the well-being of children and improving their lives.
“Ensuring the rights and well-being of children is the key to sustained development in a country and to peace and security in the world,”underlines the report.
Continuing on the leadership theme it asserts: “Government and international institutions must be held accountable for their leadership in putting the rights and well-being of children above all concerns, “ adding, “those that fail to do so must also be held accountable.