69 mln children under five die from mostly preventable causes: UNICEF

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)'s 2016 State of the World's Children suggests that 69 million children under five will die from mostly preventable causes.

The report released on Tuesday from UNICEF Representative to Namibia states that 167 million children will live in poverty, and 750 million women will have been married as children by 2030, unless the world focuses more on the plight of its most disadvantaged children.

The report said that education plays a unique role in levelling the playing field for children, the number of children who do not attend school has increased since 2011, and a significant proportion of those who do go to school are not learning.

In Namibia, government reports indicates that 34 percent of children live in poverty compared to 29 percent of the general population (2012 Child Poverty Report, NSA) and poverty can be seen in the high levels of stunting and malnutrition. Stunting affects 24 percent of children under-5 years old in Namibia.

Last week, Namibia's Ministry of Education Arts and Culture launched the "Out of School Children Report" which highlights the challenge of drop-outs from the school system in Namibia.

According to this report, over 100,000 Namibian children are currently out of school. Factors such as disability, HIV and AIDS, learner pregnancy, violence, parental support, and poverty are some of the reasons that prevent these children from being in school.

Furthermore the report indicates that institutional factors such as grade repetition, poor school and hostel infrastructure, and access to services and school location also inhibit children from going to school and completing their schooling.

"The gains that Namibia has made for her children are many, and we applaud the Government for that," said UNICEF Representative to Namibia, Micaela Marques de Sousa.

"And yet we do need to address the obstacles facing many children, especially those from the most vulnerable households obstacles which cause these children to remain behind, to be invisible, to have their rights left unrealized and to be denied the chance to become equal citizens in their country of birth," she added.

Meanwhile, the 2016 State of the World's Children points to evidence that investing in the most vulnerable children can yield immediate and long-term benefits. Endit