World view: Children's lives in 2008
31 January 2008
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Last week, a major report on the health of children around the world was
published by UNICEF. The report showed that more needs to be done to improve children's health
in poor countries. DFID is committed to giving more children in poor countries a
healthy start in life, by ensuring that they do not miss out on lifesaving
medical care and have access to clean water and food. We are also
working to get more children into school, because an education will improve
their chances of a more prosperous future.
Recently, DFID spoke to the children's newspaper,
 First News, about how the
UK's aid will help to improve the lives of children around the world in the year
ahead. Here are ten snapshots of our work to make young people's lives better in
some of the world's most disadvantaged countries.
Bangladesh – making sure children are safe from flooding
 Children
in rich countries might sometimes think school is a bit boring, but in some countries lots
of children really want to learn to read and write but can’t because their
families don’t have enough money to send them to school. However, this year many more
poor children in Bangladesh will be going to schools that have just been built.
And the same numbers of girls can now go to school as boys, unlike in the past when
it was mostly boys who got an education.
You might have seen on the news that flooding is a big issue for kids in
Bangladesh when the country gets a lot of rain. This is because lots of people
live on very low land near the sea. Now, 10,000 homes in areas at high risk of
flooding are being rebuilt at a higher level so that they won’t be washed away
when the floods come.
How we fight poverty: Disasters
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 Nepal – healthy children thanks to clean water and toilets
Health services in this mountainous
country in Asia used to be so bad that
1 in 10 children died before they were five. But services have really improved now,
especially for children in poor communities, and many more young children now
survive.
However, not everyone has a clean water supply, which means than children
often get very sick. It’s hard to imagine, but over half the children in Nepal
have no toilet! Thankfully, thousands of homes will soon be supplied with water
and toilets that drain properly. This is really important because it will help
stop children dying from diseases.
How fight poverty: Water
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Key facts |
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In 2008:
- 80 million children don't get any school education.
- Every child will have safe water in the UK, but only 1
in 3 children in Ethiopia will.
- 10 million children will die before their fifth
birthday, mostly from preventable diseases.
- Estimates show that, globally, almost 1 in 4 people aged
15 and over is illiterate, with women affected
disproportionately.
- DFID gives billions of pounds to charities
and developing countries to help poor children and their
families.
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Douglas Alexander,
Secretary of State for International Development, says: |
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 "I know the readers of First News have always taken an active
interest in the world around us, especially around global
poverty. We all need to better understand what living in today’s
interconnected world really means no matter how old you are or
where you live. Global poverty and injustice affects us all and
we all have a role in fighting it." |
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Gaza – the chance to play
Life in Gaza can be hard for children. Their families are very poor and they
sometimes come face to face with the terrible effects of fighting between
Palestinians and Israelis. Often they can’t buy basic things like
bread, and there is not much space to play safely.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) helps refugees in Gaza.
During the summer holidays, they will be organising fun activities that the
children would not normally be able to take part in. Children in Gaza are
looking forward to the art and craft classes, kite festivals, theatre
performances and swimming. A summer learning programme will also help children
who have fallen behind at school to catch up and start the new school year with
confidence.
How we fight poverty:
Conflict
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Afghanistan – the chance for girls to go to school
 Afghanistan has had lots of negative headlines over the last few years
because of ongoing turmoil and conflict. But there is some good news too. In the
past, under the strict Taliban rule it was illegal for girls to go to school. Now
there are 2 million girls in classrooms and this is set to increase even more.
In the past, if a child got sick in Afghanistan there were very few places to
get help. Today there are many more health clinics, and hospitals, and 16
million children have been vaccinated against dangerous illnesses like measles.
This has saved around 30,000 children’s lives so far.
Lots of families are still trying to survive in difficult conditions caused
by war and fighting. It is important to help them cope. Digging new wells means
that these children and their families will at least have clean water to drink.
How we fight
poverty: Education
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India – more doctors and schools for children
India is a huge country of more than 1 billion people. There are so many
people that often there are not enough doctors or medicine for everyone.
Tragically this means that 1 in 4 children dies before the age of five
because of sickness. However, it’s not all bad news, because more and more
medicines are being provided to improve health services to help the poorest
children survive.
Because lots of the population lives in poverty, many children can’t go to
school. But the Indian Government has said it wants to make sure every child
gets an education, because it's so important. In the last four years the
Government has helped a massive 15 million more children - more than all the
kids in the UK - to start school. In 2008, even more children in India will be
able to go to school and learn just like children in the UK.
How we fight
poverty: Killer diseases
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DRC – safe water to drink and wash in
 The
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is an enormous country. It is in the middle of Africa and is five
times the size of France! Unfortunately though, the people there have suffered
many years of conflict and poor government. It’s not like in the UK where we all
have running water in our homes to drink and wash with. Many people have to walk
long distances, often through dangerous areas, just to get water. Often the
water is not safe to drink and the children get very sick.
Now, after the first
free and fair elections in 40 years, there is hope for the future for ordinary
families. In Eastern Congo, 285 loos in 30 schools and 50 water points have been
built so children can get clean water all day long. This means that in 2008
these children will grow up to be much healthier.
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Kenya – free school for all
More children in Kenya now have a
chance to go to school because they no longer have to pay high fees to attend.
The people of the UK have given more than £50 million to the Kenyan Government
to help them transform education in the country. They have been able to build
new schools, train teachers and abolish fees for children at primary school.
Often schools in Kenya are very poor and can’t afford text books for the
children to learn. Now, they will be able to buy books and other materials to
help the children get a good education. This means that instead of being poor
farmers when they leave school, children could one day become engineers, doctors
or even entrepreneurs.
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Ghana – saving lives from killer mosquitoes
 Malaria is one of the biggest killers of children in
Ghana. In lots of
countries like Ghana, people can catch the disease from mosquitoes. Thanks to
money from the UK Government almost all children under two in Ghana will be
sleeping under bed nets which stop them being bitten by mosquitoes in the night.
Although it was a massive operation to deliver more than 3 million bed nets
across Ghana, it was well worth it, as many children are now able to sleep
safely. Lots of the nets were delivered to
the children by road, but most were transported by foot, bicycle, air and even
across water by canoe! Because a lot of people in Ghana are poor, these nets are
being distributed free of charge to young children and pregnant women so that
many lives will be saved in 2008.
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Yemen – more schools in the countryside
In Wadi Al-Hubaishi, a village in Yemen,
most people are so poor that many children have to work, sometimes in cities
away from their homes, to help their families earn money for food and clothing.
Now, a new school has been built in the village which means that lots more boys
and girls are able to get an education. The school has four classrooms so there
is enough space for the children to go to classes until they are 13. 2008 will
definitely see more children from the village getting an education and therefore
the chance of a better future.
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Serbia – better living conditions for Roma children
Hundreds of Roma (also known as Gypsy) children live with their families
under a bridge in
Serbia's capital
Belgrade, in houses made out of cardboard. They live in very bad conditions,
without toilets, water, electricity or heating. In addition, they don't have any
documents proving who they are, which means that they can't go to school or to a
doctor. The Belgrade Council has developed a plan to move the Roma families to a
better place, and to give them birth certificates and ID cards. This means that
in 2008 many Roma children will be living in proper houses and, for the first
time in their lives, will be able to go to school or get medical help.
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