PROGRESS IN CHILD WELL-BEING

Thursday, 19th of April 2012

PROGRESS IN CHILD WELL-BEING

A report from Save the Children Fund, based on 1990 baseline data, so as to permit a review of progress on Millennium Development Goals The full text is at

http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/sites/default/files/docs/Progress%20in%20Child%20Well-being%20low%20res.pdf

From the Executive Summary: Remarkable progress

The world has made remarkable progress in improving the lives of millions of children over the past two decades.

• 12,000 fewer children under five died every day in 2010 than in 1990.

• Stunting – damage to children’s physical and cognitive development caused by malnutrition – declined in developing countries from 45% to 28% between 1990 and 2008, while the prevalence of underweight children also fell.

• Fewer children are becoming infected with HIVor dying of AIDS.

• The number of children enrolled in pre-primary education worldwide increased from 112 million to 157 million between 1999 and 2009.

• From 1999 to 2009 an additional 56 million children enrolled in primary school and the

number of out-of-school primary-age children decreased by 38 million.

• Globally, girls now make up 53% of out-of-school primary-age children, compared with 58% in 1990.

• The proportion of adolescents of lower secondary age who were out of school worldwide fell by 21% from 1999 to 2009.

• More children are being registered at birth, and rates of child marriage and child labour have gone down in many countries.

Development works

This report analyses the improvements to children’s lives during the past two decades in five sectors: health, nutrition, water and sanitation, education and child protection. The extraordinary progress achieved on many fronts should be celebrated. It is a clear demonstration that, when the right steps and approaches are taken, ‘development works’.

Building on this evidence, this report makes a powerful case for greater investment in ‘child sensitive’ development. It sets out the drivers of change and the key steps to achieving progress.

The case for investing in children

The moral case for investing in children is compelling. In a world so rich in resources, know-how and technology, it is unacceptable that we allow today’s levels of child deprivation to continue.

World leaders have made commitments to children through the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which 192 states have ratified, and the Millennium Declaration. Investing in child-sensitive development is key to realising children’s rights and meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

World leaders reaffirmed their commitments at the United Nations Special Session in 2002.

Investing in children’s well-being also has significant potential pay-offs for economic growth: greater productivity, reduced population growth and lower child and infant mortality. It is crucial in breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty.

• Good infant and child nutrition leads to an estimated 2–3% growth annually in the economic wealth of developing countries (UNSCN, 2010).

• Tackling malnutrition in early life can increase lifetime earnings by 20% (Grantham-Macregor et al., 2007, in Save the Children, 2011b).

Investing in adolescents means countries are better placed to reap demographic dividends as a skilled youth cohort reaches adulthood and contributes to the economy and society, and helps build social and political cohesion.

From the recommendations section:

There has been much progress in children’s well-being globally over the past 20 years.

Child mortality rates have fallen by over one-third and there has been a significant

decline in the numbers of children affected by HIV. The numbers of children receiving

at least primary education and, in many countries, also junior secondary education

have increased greatly. There has also been some progress in reducing severe and

moderate malnutrition, extending access to water and sanitation, and reducing children’s risk of abuse and

exploitation. The scale of progress has varied considerably, however, from region to region, country to

country.

Nevertheless, child mortality rates globally remain very high: 7.6 million children under five died in 2010. There are 67 million primary school-age children still out of school. Progress on reducing malnutrition has been slow. An estimated 2.5 billion people are still without improved sanitation, with major implications for child health. The world as a whole is not on track to meet most of the child-related MDGs, although certain regions and countries are on track to meet particular goals.