Privileged Kids
"We, the grown-ups, have failed you deplorably." That was U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s message to a group of children in 2002. It’s a fairly bleak message to deliver to kids, but an entirely appropriate one, considering that more than 10 million children less than five years old die from preventable causes each year, according to ...
"We, the grown-ups, have failed you deplorably." That was U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's message to a group of children in 2002. It's a fairly bleak message to deliver to kids, but an entirely appropriate one, considering that more than 10 million children less than five years old die from preventable causes each year, according to the United Nations Children's Fund. As many as 325 million young people are growing up on less than $1 a day, and nearly a third of children in the developing world will suffer from malnutrition before their fifth birthday. The next generation could hardly have received a rawer deal, could it?
"We, the grown-ups, have failed you deplorably." That was U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s message to a group of children in 2002. It’s a fairly bleak message to deliver to kids, but an entirely appropriate one, considering that more than 10 million children less than five years old die from preventable causes each year, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund. As many as 325 million young people are growing up on less than $1 a day, and nearly a third of children in the developing world will suffer from malnutrition before their fifth birthday. The next generation could hardly have received a rawer deal, could it?
A new report by the U.S. National Academies, however, shows that today’s youngsters actually have it better than ever. According to Growing Up Global: The Changing Transitions to Adulthood in Developing Countries, the 86 percent of young people aged 10-24 who live in the developing world are healthier, more educated, and more likely to delay work, marriage, and childbirth than previous generations.
The greatest health risk to youngsters is unprotected sex, and the report finds that teenagers enrolled in school are less likely to engage in sex than their peers. That makes the fact that more than three quarters of 10-14 year-olds in the developing world attend school a double cause for celebration. Young people, particularly in India and China, are also staying in school longer.
Unfortunately, in Africa, the problems that plague adults are trickling down to the young. "The situation [in] Africa is just the opposite [as it is elsewhere]," according to Cynthia B. Lloyd, the editor of the report. "Everything that is going well in other parts of the world is going badly there." High HIV infection rates among adults and economic stagnation are putting pressure on children to start work earlier to support their families.
Despite better health and more schooling elsewhere in the developing world, problems loom on the horizon. Less than 10 percent of sexually active young girls insist on condoms, smoking is on the rise, and there are not enough teachers to meet growing demands in the classroom. Still, life expectancy in the developing world increased by more than eight years between 1970 and 2000. It may be too soon to say the kids are all right, but they are definitely getting better.
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