PHA-Exch> The Child Development Index 2

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Ruggiero, Mrs. Ana Lucia (WDC) <ruglucia at paho.org>
crossposted from: EQUIDAD at listserv.paho.org


 *The Child Development Index*

*The Save the Children Fund 2008*

Overall, child well-being as improved by 34% since 1990, but progress is
slow. Leaders must consider how children are doing and how their decisions
impact them.

·         Download the full report The Child Development Index: Holding
governments to account for children's
wellbeing<http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/docs/child-development-index.pdf>(PDF
228KB).

·         Download the data The Child Development Index -
data<http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/docs/child-development-index_data2008.xls>
(.xls
143KB).

*What does the index tell us about how children are faring in different
regions?*
*Africa*

Children are doing worse in Sub-Saharan Africa than any other region. Africa
scores 35 in the Index, reflecting the high level of deprivation in primary
schooling, child health and child nutrition. It is also making the slowest
progress, improving child well-being by only 20% over 1990-2006.

However, progress has been very mixed; some countries in Africa have done
incredibly well, while others did spectacularly badly. Countries like Malawi
cut child deprivation in half, enrolling more than 90% of primary school
children. But some of the poorest children in Africa live in countries
suffering from conflict and poor governance; such as Zimbabwe, Somalia and
the Democratic Republic of Congo. Slow progress in reducing child mortality
and malnutrition is a particular problem; one in six babies born in Africa
will not live to see their ffth birthday. Rich and poor countries worldwide
must urgently choose to tackle this problem.
*East Asia*

East Asia has made considerable progress in child well-being in recent
years, improving it by 45% over 1990-2006, reducing deprivation to a score
of just 8.5; only one other developing region, Latin America, scores better.
It has the best level of primary school enrolment and has managed to halve
its child mortality rate over 1990-2006. Much of this progress is because of
China's significant improvement, where almost two-thirds of the region's
children live. China has made tremendous progress in increasing people's
incomes; nonetheless 417,000 children under the age of 5 years still died in
China in 2006 alone. Countries like Malaysia and Thailand did even better in
all 3 of the areas our Index measures. But, as in other regions of the
world, government policy plays an important role in children's lives. For
example, Myanmar saw almost no improvement at all. And in many countries,
the poorest, most isolated groups are being left behind.
*South Asia*

South Asia has a high level of deprivation, scoring 26.4; this is 3 times
worse than East Asia. It is also making slow progress, improving child
well-being by just 32% over 1990-2006 (compared to East Asia's 45%
improvement). This is because India (where almost three-quarters of the
region's children live) made the least progress of any country in South
Asia; just a 27% improvement. In this region, child nutrition is a
substantial obstacle; almost 1 in 2 children is underweight. Malnutrition
levels are not being reduced rapidly enough; the region's enrolment
indicator improved by 59% while its nutrition indicator improved by only
14%. Higher levels of economic growth in the region are not widely
translating into reduced child deprivation.
*Latin America and the Caribbean*

The region made substantial progress in improving child well-being in the
1990s, scoring 6.8 in our index of child deprivation, the lowest of any
developing country region. It made the most percentage improvement of any
region in the world, reducing child deprivation by 57% over the period,
1990-2006. This improvement was largely driven by reductions in child
mortality and increases in primary school enrolment. The region's child
mortality rate is now the lowest of any developing region. The region's
poorer countries, like Peru and El Salvador, have started to catch-up with
the levels of child well-being seen in better-off countries in the region.
*East and North Africa*

The Middle East and North Africa region scores 11.2 in our index, worse than
East Asia but only a third as bad as Sub-Saharan Africa, and has reduced its
level of child deprivation by 41% over 1990-06. However, there is
considerable variation within the region. Yemen is doing poorly, with a
large increase in malnutrition over the period. And in several countries,
such as Djibouti and Jordan, progress has stalled in some areas. In
addition, the region includes Iraq, Lebanon, and the occupied Palestinian
territory where child deprivation has increased. In contrast, several large
countries such as Morocco, Egypt and Algeria have made substantial
improvements. Again, little improvement has been made in reducing child
malnutrition in the region as a whole.
*Central & Eastern Europe and Central Asia*

The region containing Central & Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of
Independent States, for which data are much sparser in the early 1990s, saw
an improvement of almost 15% in its Index score between 1995-99 and 2000-06.
Its score stands at 9.2, slightly worse than East Asia and slightly better
than the Middle East and North Africa. Turkey, with a large child
population, made the most progress in the region, reducing its score from 20
in the early 1990s to 7 for 2000-06.
*Developed countries*

Our Child Development Index shows that there is a low level of deprivation
in developed countries in the three basic areas of child rights that it
measures. On our scale of 0-100, these countries score 2.1, the lowest
regional Index score worldwide. There is still some variation between these
countries however; for example the United States has a child mortality rate
that is twice of Japan's and worse even than that of Cuba's.
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