20.7 mln minors living in poverty in Mexico: report

MEXICO CITY, April 29 (Xinhua) -- As many as 20.7 million children in Mexico live in poverty, according to a report released on Sunday, one day ahead of Childrens' Day, which is celebrated on April 30 in Mexico,

The figure means 52.3 percent of children between the ages of zero and 11 lack proper nutrition, education, healthcare and other basic necessities, Mexico's National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (Coneval) said in its 2018 report, which is based on 2016 data.

Of that percentage, 9.7 percent live in extreme poverty.

Among adolescents, defined as being between 12 and 17 years of age, 41.1 percent live in poverty and 7.8 percent in extreme poverty.

"Attention to poverty in childhood is a priority because there is a greater probability ... that its consequences will be negative and irreversible," the report said.

The outlook for indigenous children is even more bleak, with some 80 percent of minors in indigenous communities living below the poverty line, the Coneval warned.

"That reflects the disadvantages the indigenous population faces in order to exercise their rights," the report said.

The infant mortality rate due to diarrhea stands at 7.1 per 100,000 children under five years of age, according to the report.

Overall, extreme poverty declined between 2014 and 2106, going from 11.4 million people to 9.3 million, or 7.6 percent of the population, the report said. Enditem