UNICEF: State of the World's Children Report (2006)

UNICEF has released its 2006 'State of the World's Children' report, which focuses on excluded and invisible children who have no access to essential services, protection and participation.

Millions of children make their way through life impoverished, abandoned, uneducated, malnourished, discriminated against, neglected and vulnerable.

For them, life is a daily struggle to survive. Whether they live in urban centres or rural outposts, they risk missing out on their childhood, excluded from essential services such as hospitals and schools, lacking the protection of family and community, often at risk of exploitation and abuse. For these children, childhood as a time to grow, learn, play and feel safe is, in effect, meaningless.

It is hard to avoid the conclusion that we, the adults of the world, are failing in our responsibility to ensure that every child enjoys a childhood.

The 2006 'State of the World’s Children' report focuses on the millions of children for whom these pledges of a better world remain unfulfilled. The report assesses global efforts to realise the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the central development targets of the agenda, and demonstrates the marked impact that their achievement would have on children’s lives and future generations.

It also explains how, with the MDGs focused on national averages, children in marginalised communities risk missing out on essential services such as health care, education and protection.

The report argues that children denied their right to a formal identity, suffering child protection abuses or facing early marriage, armed combat and hazardous labour are among those most at risk of exclusion from the Millennium Development Goals:

• The eradication of extreme hunger and poverty
• Achieving universal primary education
• Promoting gender equality and empower women
• Reducing child mortality
• Improving maternal health
• Combatting HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• Ensuring environmental stability
• Developing a global partnership for development

Meeting the MDGs and the broader aims of the Millennium Declaration would transform the lives of millions of children, who would be spared illness and premature death, escape extreme poverty and malnutrition, gain access to safe water and decent sanitation facilities and complete primary schooling. Though some regions and countries have fallen behind on the goals, they can still be met.

Follow this link to the UNESCO 'State of the World's Children' Report - 2006 (opens in new browser window)

For further information

Contact	:	UNICEF (Australia)
Address	:	P.O. Box A 2005, Sydney South, NSW 1235
Phone	:	02 9261 2811
Fax	:	02 9261 2844
Email	:	unicef@unicef.org.au

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http://www.unicef.org/