More than 30 million children in seven countries deprived of at least one essential service such as basic healthcare
BANGKOK (AlertNet) – More than 30 million children in seven countries in East Asia and the Pacific are deprived of at least one essential service such as basic healthcare, safe drinking water or access to education, according to a United Nations study.
“Child Poverty in East Asia and the Pacific: Deprivations and Disparities” by the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF said more than 13 million of the 93 million children in Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vanuatu and Vietnam suffer from two or more such deprivations.
The lack of services for children is fuelled by inequities between rural and urban areas, between ethnic minorities and general populations, by geographic disparities, family size and the education level of heads of households.
“To a certain extent it is surprising that there are so many children who are effectively suffering from deprivation in a geographic region that has been doing so well economically,” Mahesh Patel, UNICEF Regional Advisor for Social Policy, told AlertNet.
Instead of the traditional practice of using the parents’ income to determine how deprived the children are, the report takes a broader look at their access to shelter, food, water, sanitation, education, health and information.
For example, in Laos 38 percent of children are assessed as poor, but as many as 75 percent are considered to be living in poverty based on this broader definition of poverty, Patel said.
“In other words, even if the household has adequate income if there’s no school in the village, the children are not going to school,” he said, adding this trapped them in a cycle of poverty.
“(The study) demonstrates that income gains, including in middle income countries in the region, have not necessarily translated into gains for all children,” he said in a statement.
INCREASED DISPARITIES
In Vietnam, children from ethnic minority groups are 11 times more likely to face multiple deprivations than children from the majority population, a pattern found in many other countries, the report said.
“Gaps between rural and urban areas, different ethnic groups, geographic areas, and households headed by well-educated versus poorly educated adults were among the most notable disparities across the seven countries,” said UNICEF.
Child poverty was 30 percent higher in rural Cambodia than in urban areas, 60 percent higher in rural Thailand and 130 percent higher in rural Philippines.
“The problem in Asia is increasing disparities and inequalities,” Patel told AlertNet.
According to the report, income inequality has either remained stagnant or increased in all seven countries despite significant economic growth in the past few years.
The report is urging policy makers to look beyond family income indicators and come up with policies that are sensitive to the needs of the children to address rampant inequity.
LONG-LASTING CONSEQUENCES
While the situation has improved significantly in these countries – in 2000, 56 percent of children were deprived of at least one essential service – there is still much to be done, the report said.
“Child poverty is multidimensional and goes far beyond income poverty,” it said, adding that inequity is a critical obstacle to reducing child poverty and fulfilling child rights.
An adult unemployed as a result of the economic crisis is likely to find a job again but child poverty can have long-lasting consequences, Patel said.
“A child who is malnourished will be stunted for the rest of their life if they have inadequate growth,” he said.
“If they dropped out of school, they are extremely unlikely to go back into school again. They’d be the wrong age for their grade,” he added.
Patel also warned governments in the region against overreacting to the economic crisis by cutting government budgets, saying in times of economic crisis, it is especially important to safeguard social investments.
“A failure of continuity in education just means kids dropping out. Despite the crisis, economies especially in East Asia are continuing to grow so there isn’t any need for reduction of government budgets” he said.
“The future well-being of society depends on the investment in children now,” he added.
(Editing by Rebekah Curtis)
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