Global development goals must include most vulnerable children: UNICEF

Despite huge progress made on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the global community must ensure that the most disadvantaged children are not left behind and should be put at the center of the new development agenda, a UNICEF official said Monday.

"The Millennium Development Goals have helped inspire huge progress, but that progress was very uneven," UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said at a press briefing, referring to a set of eight anti-poverty targets to be reached by the end of this year.

"If the global community allows the current trends to continue -- we will fail millions of children," he added.

His remarks came ahead of the launch of a report, which shows an estimated 68 million more children under five will die from mostly preventable causes by 2030 if current trends continue.

According to the UNICEF report, entitled "Progress for Children: Beyond Averages," an estimated 119 million children will still be chronically malnourished in 2030 and half a billion people will still be defecating in the open, posing serious risks to children's health.

The report also predicts that at current rates, it will take almost 100 years for all girls from sub-Saharan Africa's poorest families to complete their lower secondary education.

In some areas, inequality is even increasing. "The gaps in the levels of child marriage between the poorest and richest quintiles have dramatically increased since 1990," Lake said.

According to the report, addressing inequality in key areas such as education can have other advantages, including sustained economic growth and reduced risk of conflict.

Focusing on the most disadvantaged children is also the most efficient way to achieve development goals.

"We believe that to achieve the most results most efficiently we have to focus evermore on the most disadvantaged children," Lake said. "They are where the needs are greatest, and our modelling over the years has shown that it is the most cost-effective way to achieve results."

The report cautions against measuring development progress in national averages, calling for better measurements of the experiences of the poorest people within countries to help inform development efforts.

Meanwhile, the report highlights notable successes since 1990: under-five mortality dropped by more than half, from 90 per 1,000 live births to 43 per 1,000 live births; underweight and chronic malnutrition among children under five decreased by 42 percent and 41 percent, respectively; maternal mortality decreased by 45 percent.

Some 2.6 billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources, the report said.

And the gaps between the poorest and the wealthiest are narrowing in more than half of the indicators UNICEF analyzed: In many countries, greater gains in child survival and school attendance are seen in the poorest households.

The gap in maternal mortality rates between low- and high-income countries halved between 1990 and 2013, from 38 times higher to 19 times higher.

The report also highlights the bad news: Progress still eludes the nearly 6 million children who die every year before their fifth birthday, the 289,000 women who die every year while giving birth and the 58 million children who don't go to primary school.

The MDGs is expected to be replaced by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At present, the United Nations is working hard to lead the international efforts to hammer out the SDGs, which is to be adopted by world leaders in September.

The SDGs will be implemented between 2016 and 2030 and cover 17 areas. Unlike the MDGs, the SDGs cover all countries, including developed countries. The SDGs also have a specific goal -- goal 10 -- which addresses inequality.

"The SDGs present an opportunity to apply the lessons we have learned and reach the children in greatest need -- and shame on us if we don't," Lake said.

"For greater equity in opportunity for today's children means less inequality and more global progress tomorrow," he added. Endi