Children

One billion 'denied a childhood'

More than one billion children around the world face a brutal existence because of poverty, war and Aids, the UN children's agency reports.

Sub-Saharan Africa's children worst off-UNICEF

LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - African children suffer most from poverty, disease and deprivation, the U.N. child rights organisation UNICEF said in its annual report on Thursday.

UNICEF: 1 billion children face harsh conditions

UNICEF's annual report on the State of the World's Children claims more than 1 billion children worldwide under the age of 18 suffer from the ravages of war, poverty and AIDS, and UNICEF executive director Carol Bellamy accuses many governments worldwide of failing to live up to the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. The report also says more than one billion children lack the "shelter, water, sanitation, schooling, information, health care and food" deemed necessary for basic survival.

The State of the World’s Children 2005 - Executive Summary

The State of the World’s Children 2005 focuses on how poverty, conflict and HIV/AIDS threaten the ideal of childhood as a time for children to grow and develop to their full potential.

For Congo's Mothers, Unceasing Loss

War may have ended in the region, but most children are plagued by malnutrition and untreated health complications that kill more than half of them before they turn five years old. Limited education opportunities, especially for females, have exacerbated the situation because many mothers don't bring their children to get traditional medical care until it is too late to save them. The Washington Post (free registration) (2/12)

Reaching Children in Need

The United Nations' findings that children make up 45% of the 3.6 million people who have been killed by wars since 1990 and that nearly half of the world's 2.2 billion children live in poverty should be a stark reminder that more humanitarian aid around the world is needed, the Christian Science Monitor writes in an editorial. The Christian Science Monitor (12/23)

TURKMENISTAN: UNICEF welcomes new child labour law

Turkmenistan's parliament and President Saparmurat Niyazov have approved a law to bar work by children and protect kids from economic exploitation. UNICEF welcomed the news, saying it "follows from our close cooperation and ongoing dialogue with the government on the rights of children." AlertNet.org/Reuters (2/2)

Canada must do more for poor children: UNICEF

Child poverty is growing in rich countries, UNICEF says in a new report. But Philip O'Brien, the agency's regional director in Geneva, said the figures are relative and that poor children in industrialized countries tend to be much better off than their counterparts in developing countries.

UNICEF Warns of a "Global Tsunami" Against Children

A wide range of problems facing millions of children daily -- including AIDS, armed conflict, child labor and trafficking -- add up to a "global tsunami" that threatens much of the next generation, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said during a UN-sponsored debate. The good news is that even relatively small investments can go a long way to help many children, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, participants said. Feb. 17 panel discussion moderated by Elizabeth Gibbons, UNICEF's chief of global policy. Inter Press Service News Agency (2/17)

The Greediest Generation

We boomers won't be remembered as the "Greatest Generation." Rather, we'll be scorned as the "Greediest Generation."

Public Hedonism and Private Restraint

American pop culture may look trashy, but America's social fabric is in the middle of an amazing moment of improvement and repair.

This Is Your Brain on Motherhood

Why having children can improve your intelligence.

UN refugee agency fears for Darfur children

"The whole issue of child protection is one that deserves more focus," said United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees director of international protection Erika Feller. She said protection services in west Darfur were only partly funded and some future plans would have to be cancelled if they didn't receive more support. AlertNet.org/Reuters (6/28)

Lightening the load of child miners

An estimated 1 million children worldwide work in small-scale, risky mining operations, a practice that needs to be stopped, the International Labour Organization said in a report unveiled to mark yesterday's World Day Against Child Labour. Some governments are taking action: On Friday, 14 countries, including Brazil, Ghana and Pakistan, signed a pact vowing to try to eliminate child labor in mining and quarrying. BBC (6/13)

Nepal's children forced to fight

Maoist rebels in Nepal, which now control 75% of the country, are frequently forcing children to join their fight, not just as cooks or messengers, but as actual soldiers, The Christian Science Monitor reports. "He died without even understanding what Maoism means," one farmer said about his 15-year old son, who was killed in a clash with the government army two months after the rebels abducted him. The Christian Science Monitor (6/28)

Children at war, children on the run

Commentary: Uganda's children at war: In northern Uganda, an estimated 20,000 children have been abducted by the violent militia group Lord's Resistance Army to fight the government, G. Jefferson Price III writes in this commentary. The Sun (Baltimore) (free registration) (6/28)

Infants die of hunger in Niger as world watches-MSF

Representatives from Medecins Sans Frontieres have warned continued neglect of Niger's food crisis could leave thousands of children dead, as 3.6 million people suffer food shortages in the world's second-poorest country. MSF called on international aid agencies to immediately send more food aid, and the United Nations World Food Programme said it would seek to double the amount of food aid to Niger this year in response. AlertNet.org/Reuters (6/29)

Too poor to live: poverty kills Niger's hungry

Already very poor, Niger is suffering a widespread food shortage now because of a severe drought that threatens to kill scores of children. The children in this West African country "provide a case study of rich world inaction," Reuters reports. AlertNet.org/Reuters (7/2)

One in four children in developing countries underweight

More than one in four children in poor countries are underweight, many to a life-threatening degree, UNICEF reports today. The situation has improved somewhat in the last 15 years, but much more needs to be done to help children in developing countries, UNICEF says, noting that half of the world's underweight children live in Bangladesh, India or Pakistan. The Independent (London) (5/2)