Efforts to Save the Children

“We have gathered at the World Summit for Children to undertake a joint commitment and to make an urgent universal appeal​—to give every child a better future.”​—United Nations Conference, 1990.

PRESIDENTS and prime ministers from over 70 countries gathered in New York City on September 29 and 30, 1990, to discuss the plight of the world’s children.

The conference focused international attention on the deplorable suffering of children, a global tragedy that has been swept under the rug. United States delegate Peter Teeley pointed out: “If 40,000 spotted owls were dying every day, there would be outrage. But 40,000 children are dying, and it’s hardly noticed.”

All the assembled heads of government agreed that something must be done​—urgently. They made a “solemn commitment to give high priority to the rights of children, to their survival and to their protection and development.” What concrete proposals did they make?

Over 50 Million Young Lives in the Balance

The primary objective was to rescue over 50 million children who would likely die during the 1990’s. Many of these young lives could be saved by implementing the following health measures.

• If all mothers in developing countries were persuaded to breast-​feed their babies for at least four to six months, a million children would be saved annually.

• The extensive use of oral rehydration therapy (ORT) could halve the death rate due to diarrhea, which kills four million children every year.a

• Widespread vaccination and the use of inexpensive antibiotics could prevent millions of other deaths due to diseases such as measles, tetanus, and pneumonia.

Is that type of health program feasible? The cost would probably reach $2.5 billion a year by the end of the decade. In global terms this outlay would be minimal. American tobacco companies spend that amount each year​—just on cigarette advertising. Every day the nations of the world lavish that same amount on military expenditure. Could such funds be better spent on the health of endangered children? The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child pointedly states that “mankind owes the child the best it has to give.”

Of course, giving “every child a better future” involves a lot more than saving them from a premature death. Sandra Huffman, president of the Center to Prevent Childhood Malnutrition, explains in Time magazine that “ORT doesn’t prevent diarrhea, it only saves children from dying from it. . . . What we need to do now,” she adds, “is focus on how we can prevent the illness, not just the death.”

In order to improve​—besides save—​the lives of millions of children, several ambitious programs have been launched. (See box on page 6.) None will be easy to fulfill.

[Box on page 6]

Goals for the ’90’s​—The Challenge to Save the Children

The nations attending the World Summit for Children made several concrete commitments. This is what they hope to achieve by the year 2000.

Vaccination. The present vaccination programs save three million children each year. But two million others are still dying. By immunizing 90 percent or more of the world’s children against the most common diseases, the majority of these deaths could be avoided.

Education. During the 1980’s, school enrollment actually declined in many of the poorest countries of the world. The goal is to reverse that trend and to ensure that by the end of the decade, every child has the chance to go to school.

Malnutrition. United Nations Children’s Fund officials believe that “with the right policies, . . . the world is now in a position to feed all the world’s children and to overcome the worst forms of malnutrition.” Proposals were made to halve the number of malnourished children during the present decade. Such an achievement would rescue 100 million children from the pangs of hunger.

Clean water and sanitation. In 1987, the Brundtland Report explained: “In the developing world, the number of water taps nearby is a better indication of the health of a community than is the number of hospital beds.” At present over a billion people have no access to clean water, and twice as many are without sanitary waste disposal. The aim is to provide universal access to safe drinking water and sanitary means for human waste disposal.

Protection. In the last decade, wars have caused over five million child casualties. Five million other children have been made homeless. These refugees, as well as the millions of street children and child workers, urgently need protection. The Convention on the Rights of the Child​—now ratified by over a hundred countries—​seeks to protect all these children from violence and exploitation.