PRESS BRIEFING BY UNICEF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

PRESS BRIEFING BY UNICEF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

"We the Children", the Secretary-General's end-of-decade review following up on the 1990 World Summit for Children, was, without a doubt, the most comprehensive study of what was happening to the world's children today, Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), told correspondents this afternoon at a Headquarters press briefing.

Joining Ms. Bellamy as she introduced the report were UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Kul Gautam, as well as members of the Fund's Evaluation, Policy and Planning Division. 

Highlighting some of the major findings of the report, which contained information from 135 countries based on national reviews, Ms. Bellamy noted that the picture that emerged from the data was mixed.  The specific goals of the World Summit had been to protect children, cut mortality rates among children and mothers, improve access to health care and education, reduce malnutrition and provide better water and sanitation.

One major goal, she said, was the reduction of the mortality rate among children under five.  Some 63 countries had achieved the Summit goal of reducing under-five mortality by one third, and over 100 countries had reduced rates by one fifth, thus saving as many as 1 million young lives.

She went on to say that, today, over 100 million children were immunized annually, saving 3 million lives every year.  Routine immunization had remained high in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa.  In addition, the goal of reducing severe and moderate malnutrition by half among children under five had been achieved by Latin America and the Caribbean.  In education, millions more children worldwide were in school as net enrolment had increased. 

The report also noted that children were now much higher on the political agenda than they had been 10 years ago, she stated.  Children's issues now figured much more prominently in political and legal debates in many countries.  At the United Nations, the Economic and Social Council, the General Assembly and the Security Council had taken up children's issues, particularly in the areas of armed conflict and HIV/AIDS. 

While noting significant achievements, the report's message was that, in the past decade, the world had not met its own standards for children, she said.  Among the stark challenges today were that more than 10 million children still died each year from preventable causes, that 100 million children -- 60 per cent of them girls -- were still not in school, that the resources promised at the Summit had yet to materialize and that there had not been adequate investment in social services.

She added that the report had identified three key challenges that must be overcome if the world was to make good on its promises to children.  They were poverty, armed conflict and HIV/AIDS, all of which were compounded by continuing discrimination against women and girls.  There had been more conflicts over the

last decade than at any time since the last world war, with women and children as its primary victims.  In addition, there were now 13 million children who had lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS, and every minute six people under the age of 25 became infected.

In the midst of such daunting challenges, she hoped that the special session of the General Assembly on Children, to be held from 19-21 September, would galvanize the leadership, political will, commitment and resources to address those challenges.  One way to motivate leaders was through the backing and support of the world's citizens.  To that end, UNICEF and a group of partners, led by Nelson Mandela and Graca Machel, had launched a global sign-up campaign in support of 10 imperatives for children.

In response to questions, Ms. Bellamy said that one of the best ways to assist orphans was to emphasize education.  In the case of those orphaned by AIDS, education alone would not be enough.  It would be necessary to support the extended family and work with community institutions, an area in which non-governmental organizations and civil society played a crucial role.  Regarding children separated from their families due to conflict, UNICEF was, with other organizations such as Save the Children and the Red Cross, involved in family reunifications. 

She added that it was clear coming into the twenty-first century that HIV/AIDS was one of the primary obstacles to development, particularly for children.

On access to children in war zones, she said that the Fund did have access to some children.  With regard to the dramatic improvement in reducing polio, of the 20 countries in which polio remained, the majority of them were countries in conflict.  It was never imagined 10 years ago that the major obstacle to the final eradication of polio would be armed conflict.  One of the key issues was not to wait until the conflict was over before attempting to reach the children.

Commenting on the special session, she said that the outcome document to be adopted would build on the knowledge and experience gained during the past 10 years, as well as reflect some of the unfinished business that remained.  Thus far, the atmosphere had been a positive one, as 90 per cent of the issues raised in the draft outcome document did enjoy agreement.  She hoped that the session would energize the kind of leadership, political will and resources needed to implement commitments. 

* *** *