3. MDGs and children “Children in Developing Countries” Lecture course by Dr. Renata Serra

Millenium Development Goals adopted at the Millenium Summit (Sept. 2000) 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger  T1 & T2: Halve between 1990 and 2015 the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day and who suffer from hunger 2. Achieve universal primary education  T3: ensure that by 2015 children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling 3. Promote gender equality and empower women  T4: eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005, and in all levels of ed. not later than Reduce child mortality  T5: reduce by 2/3 between 1990 and 2015 the IMR5 5. Improve maternal health  T6: reduce by ¾ the maternal mortality ratio 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, and other diseases 7. Ensure environmental sustainability  T10: reverse by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation 8. Develop global partnership for development

The MDGs & CRC MDGs are bold and ambitious goals (as in CRC) Most MDGs are about children MDGs require not just increase in service provision but also a wider approach to children that incorporate their full rights Common principles of universality and non- discrimination

MDGs are not enough Focus on MDGs will not be sufficient to help all children: many are bound to be left out!  National averages mask unacceptable living conditions for a minority  Policy focus on populous countries (India and China) detract away from the plight of children elsewhere  Many children will continue to remain ‘invisible’ to governments, agencies and Millennium programs  Need to go deeper and pay attention to the rights of the most vulnerable children

Excluded and invisible children Exclusion from:  Essential services  An environment that protects children from violence, abuse and exploitation  Full social and political participation Excluded by:  Family, community, society, governments, etc. Exclusion (social, economic and political) is dangerous because it breeds further exclusion At some point children become invisible  They disappear from statistics, policies and programs

The causes of exclusion National level:  Limited government resources (country’s poverty) Children not regarded as priority under tight budgets  Inadequate government policies  Weak political and administrative capacity Inability to carry out intended measures  HIV/AIDS and other major diseases  Wars and conflicts

Causes of exclusion (cont’d) Sub-national level:  Within each country, children of particular groups are excluded  Discrimination occurs according to income, rural-urban divide, gender, ethnicity, religion Income inequality is very high in LA&C (Brazil) and in South Africa Differential in under-5 mortality rates may be stunning (Peru) Exclusion may start with non-registration at birth for some minority or indigenous groups and lack of coverage in national statistics  Disabled children face huge discrimination everywhere In poor countries, much of disability is also preventable

Critical inter-linkages Early childhood events have lasting effects on subsequent individual development At individual level, deprivation in one area interacts with many others: Malnutrition  physical development / disease  reduced life potential  ability to learn  productivity and earning On a macro-scale, children’s exclusion from the benefits of development  reduced country socio- economic development and political instability