600 million children living in poverty

Sydney
2 March 2003

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600 million children living in poverty

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600 million children living in poverty

Poverty and oppression victimise children throughout the world through AIDS and other illnesses; lack of education; forced into service as child soldiers and as under-age labour

Fr Patrick Byrne - "the poor children's priest" - will visit Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane this month as part of the Catholic Church's outreach program to children of war, slave children, children with AIDS and street children.

The Rome-based priest, who is secretary general of Catholic Mission's Children's Mission, will use public lectures to spread the word about the desperate needs of children in 160 developing countries.

Over the past year Fr Byrne (pictured) has visited the African states of Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Namibia and South Africa plus Latin American countries such as Ecuador and Argentina.

He has also attended conferences in the US, New Zealand, Luxembourg, Germany and Ireland.

"The World Bank defines absolute poverty as the situation in which a person has to survive with less than $1 a day," says Fr Byrne. "There are more than 600 million children in that situation.

"Sixteen million children die every year that is 30 per minute.

"In 25 countries around the world a child cannot dream of living more than 50 years."

A recent participant in UNICEF's State of the World's Children conference in New York, Fr Byrne said that "... every newborn child in the underdeveloped countries comes into the world with an average debt of $676.

"This sum will affect their normal development because they will be deprived of the vaccinations of medicines necessary for their health or the schools for their education.

"One third of all births are not registered. This factor increases the probability that these children will not have access to basic health and educational services.

"Governments will only budget for those names and numbers recorded in their books. If the kids aren't there, how can they be provided for!

"One child in an industrialised country consumes throughout his or her lifetime what 50 children in a developing country consume."

Fr Byrne, an Irishman, says six major areas of concern for children need the attention of all peoples of the world:

AIDS

It is estimated that 1.2 million boys and girls under 15 have contracted AIDS. And approximately 13 million children have lost their parents due to this disease.

EDUCATION

After the first five years of life, all children ought to be able to enter school.

However, more than 130 million children in the developing countries (20 per cent of the school age population) grow up with no access to basic education because of their poverty. Sixty per cent are girls.

"This fact is dramatic because education is the most direct means of breaking the cycle of material poverty."

WORK

More than 250 million children in the developing countries are working, many in dangerous or exploitative conditions of extreme exploitation with work days as long as 16 hours and very low salaries that impede them from emerging from marginalisation. "Most of them live in Asia. In Africa, one out of every three children works; in Latin America, one out of five."

SEX TRADE

In the West, a whole industry has developed of traffic and sexual trade of minors who are also used for pornographic publications.

"These practices are seen in the existence of 100,000 girls and boys forced into prostitution in the Philippines; the same occurs in Nepal and Thailand."

STREET CHILDREN

According to the International Labour Organisation, there are 90 million children between 11 and 15 who are homeless and exposed - like in Brazil and Kenya - to extermination.

In Russia there are reportedly 600,000 children living in the streets. In Latin America there are more than 15 million.

CHILD SOLDIERS

It is estimated that since 1980, more than two million children have died in armed conflicts; between four and five million children suffer from disabilities resulting from war.

SOLUTIONS?

* $6 billion a year would give everyone basic education.
* $9 billion a year would give everyone drinkable water.
* Just 0.1 per cent of the world's income would eliminate poverty.

HARD TO DO?

No, according to Fr Byrne:

* "Military expenses amount to $720 billion," he says.
* $8 billion is spent yearly in the US on cosmetics and $50 billion in Europe for the consumption of cigarettes.
* In 1960, the 20 per cent of the world population living in the rich countries had 30 times the income of the poorest 20 per cent; in 1995, it had 82 times that income.
* Inequalities have always existed but today it is sad to see that the more 'developed' the civilisation, the greater the inequalities.

"Perhaps we are not so civilised?"