Children in an Urban World

UNICEF has recently published their flagship publication, The State of the World’s Children, which each year examines a key issue affecting children. Last year’s report, ‘The State of the World’s Children 2011: Adolescence – An Age of Opportunity,’ focused on adolescence. This year’s report highlights the shift of the world’s population to urban areas and the effects of this on children. “Children in an Urban World” is the theme of this year’s report.

As a starting point, the report could be used as a reference point to guide and inform policy makers on the way forward with respect to how issues relating to children are addressed. As is customary, the report explains some very interesting findings and accordingly made a few recommendations to reduce the levels of sufferings of the world’s children.

Traditionally, families and children moved to cities in search of better opportunities, but most urban growth now seems to be the result of children being born to parents who already live in a city. And services aren’t keeping up with this growth. Every year, the world’s urban population increases by about 60 million. Over half the global population, including more than a billion children, currently reside in urban areas, and by 2050, 7 in 10 people will live in cities and towns. Accordingly, ‘The State of the World’s Children 2012: Children in an Urban World’ therefore calls for greater emphasis on identifying and meeting the needs of urban children.

According to UNICEF, while many children are able to enjoy the advantages of urban life, including access to education, medical and recreational facilities, far too many are not. Many children are denied basic essentials such as clean water, electricity and health care, despite their proximity to these services. Too many are forced into dangerous and exploitative work instead of being able to attend school. Also, too many face a constant threat of eviction, though they already live under the most challenging conditions – in ramshackle dwellings and overcrowded settlements that are highly vulnerable to disease and disaster.

According to the report, one in three city dwellers lives in slums, while in Africa the proportion increases to six in ten. Overcrowding and unsanitary conditions facilitate transmission of diseases, most notably pneumonia and diarrhea, the two leading killers of children under the age of five worldwide. The report states that; “outbreaks of measles, tuberculosis and other vaccine-preventable diseases are also more frequent in these areas, where population density is high and immunization levels are low.” While global vaccine coverage continues to increase, the report warns that it remains low in areas such as slums and informal settlements.

The report also states that children who live in slums face hunger and malnutrition. Poor nutrition is responsible for more than a third of deaths globally for children under the age of five. “Those children who receive the sufficient calories for their daily activities are also at great risk and can suffer the ‘hidden hunger’ of micronutrient malnutrition,” the report warns.

Additionally, it is argued that cities on the average provide better schools and those children in urban areas have better educational opportunities than those in rural areas. However, urban areas are also prone to some of the greatest disparities; children in slums and informal settlements, migrant children and children working on the streets are rarely placed into school or given a quality education. Without education, many children go on to work in the streets or join criminal gangs, which offer the promise of financial rewards and a sense of belonging, the report states.

According to UNICEF, as the numbers of children growing up in urban areas continue to rise, we must ensure that they have access to the rights and opportunities they need to realize their potential. And in this regard, the report recommends that urgent action must be taken to; better understand the scale and nature of poverty and exclusion affecting children in urban areas, identify and remove the barriers to inclusion, ensure that urban planning, infrastructure development, service delivery and broader efforts to reduce poverty and inequality meet the particular needs and priorities of children, promote partnership between all levels of government and the urban poor – especially children and young people, pool the resources and energies of international, national, municipal and community actors in support of efforts to ensure that marginalised and impoverished children enjoy their full rights.