Speech: Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director at the launch of State of the World’s Children report event

http://www.unicef.org/media/media_61867.html

Research Report: The State of the World’s Children 2012: Children in an Urban World.

UNICEF released its updated State of the World’s Children report, which notes that

“Greater urbanization is inevitable. In a few years…the majority of children will grow up in towns or cities rather than in rural areas. Children born in cities already account for 60 per cent of the increase in urban population.” UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said,”When we think of poverty, the image that traditionally comes to mind is that of a child in a rural village. But today, an increasing number of children living in slums and shantytowns are among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in the world, deprived of the most basic services and denied the right to thrive. Excluding these children in slums not only robs them of the chance to reach their full potential; it robs their societies of the economic benefits of having a well-educated, healthy urban population.”

IN the report, UNICEF urges governments “to put children at the heart of urban planning and to extend and improve services for all. To start, more focused, accurate data are needed to help identify disparities among children in urban areas and how to bridge them. The shortage of such data is evidence of the neglect of these issues.

While governments at all levels can do more, community-based action is also a key to success. The report calls for greater recognition of community-based efforts to tackle urban poverty and gives examples of effective partnerships with the urban poor, including children and adolescents.”

http://www.unicef.org/media/media_61839.html

UNICEF State of the World’s Children website:

http://www.unicef.org/sowc2012/

Full Report:

http://www.unicef.org/media/files/SOWC_2012-Main_Report_EN_21Dec2011.pdf