Giving children a chance by CRIN, World Policy Analysis Centre,The Lancet 11:54pm 16th Feb, 2013   Giving children a chance. (The Lancet)    Last week, the World Policy Analysis Centre released a new report, which for the first time systematically presented comparative data on laws and public policies in 191 countries covering areas essential to children''s healthy development. Changing Children''s Chances examines policy data and their impact in the areas of poverty, discrimination, education, health, child labour, child marriage, and parental care. The report provides a global picture of the policy tools governments can use to make a difference to children''s opportunities in life.    Overall, the report shows that governments have largely failed to keep their commitments to international agreements, and are not providing enabling environments for children to fulfil their potential. Whether it is poverty reduction, provision of child-friendly working policies, or freedom from discrimination, it is evident that the bar has not been set high enough for what is necessary, either for children to thrive or for them to achieve adequate health. However, across regions there are variations in the areas examined, and a few countries, unexpectedly, are ahead of the curve. For example, good progress has been made on universal primary education. 166 countries have free primary schools. But progress in secondary education has lagged behind. Whereas Latin America and large parts of Asia and the Pacific provide free secondary education, opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa without tuition fees are limited, and as a result exclude the poor. Given the transformative role that secondary education plays in health and development—as shown, for example, by the positive correlation between maternal education and reduced child mortality—more needs to be done to remove this financial barrier.    Similarly, for health, the report notes that poor availability and delivery of health care characterise countries where government investment in health is low. These countries could be doing much more to make services available to their populations. The report also reveals which policies can make a difference. For example, the impact of maternity leave on breastfeeding. The best available data show that an extra 10 weeks of paid maternity leave is associated with 10% lower infant mortality and 9% lower mortality in children younger than 5 years. Furthermore, 136 countries guarantee supportive labour policies that allow breastfeeding breaks at work.    According to the report, many governments fail girls, notably in protecting them from child marriage, a practice that is inextricably linked to gender inequity. As well as dropping out of school, early marriage results in early childbirth, which can have serious effects on mothers and children. Additionally, girls in these marriages are at increased risk of gender-based violence. Early marriage is sometimes thought to be a purely cultural or family decision, but the report shows that governments are also culpable. In several countries there is no minimum legal age of marriage, and in 54 countries girls are legally permitted to marry between 1 year and 3 years younger than boys. Similarly, the report shows that many countries do not have national laws and policies that comply with international agreements to protect children from labour. These children are more likely to be injured, tend to have poorer health outcomes, and are not in education. Yet, in several countries children may work full-time as young as 12—13 years of age.    The report represents an impressive body of work that has taken a decade to complete and begins to quantify what countries are actually doing to make a difference to children''s lives. It suggests that many inadequacies in national policies and laws are due to lack of political will, even though several policies are readily affordable, such as breastfeeding breaks in the workplace, making it illegal for children to do hazardous work, and enacting non-discrimination laws. Given that these data will be made publicly available, they should allow civil society to put pressure on countries and hold national policy makers to account, especially those governments lagging behind.    As discussions on the post-2015 development goals continue, the global community should use these findings to address gaps not only within the health sector, but also between sectors that crucially influence health and conditions for health. Commenting on the report, Michael Marmot, Director of University College London''s Institute of Health Equity, says: “What happens in a child''s early life—regardless of where they are in the world—very much determines their chances to lead healthy and productive lives in their adulthood.” Governments owe it to children—and to the sustainability of their national interests—to provide their youngest citizens with the best possible opportunity to ensure these chances are not missed.    http://www.thelancet.com/global-health    Feb 2013    A new report, launched by the World Policy Analysis Centre, contains never before available comparative data on laws and public policies in 191 countries covering poverty, discrimination, education, health, child labour, child marriage and parental care. Changing Children’s Chances reveals how millions of children across the world face conditions that limit their opportunities to thrive and reach their full potential.    Governments, in both developed and developing countries, are not taking widely agreed-upon steps in critical areas known to make a difference to children’s opportunities. This new research aims to focus global attention on these issues to ensure that existing policies governing child welfare are fully implemented and new measures introduced which will enable children’s full and healthy development.    The report includes unique full colour world maps and tables offering insights into global policies on a range of topics including: how long girls are protected from marrying compared to boys; which countries charge tuition fees for secondary education; which countries guarantee paid leave for new mothers and fathers; and which countries offer inclusive education to children with disabilities.    Changing Children’s Chances reveals that:    Whilst 167 countries (out of 189 from which data were available) have established a national minimum wage, in 40 of these a working adult with one dependent child may be expected to subsist on $2 or less per person per day.    Whilst the vast majority of countries provide maternity pay for new mothers (just eight do not, including the USA), far fewer make similar arrangements for fathers – just 81 countries provide paid leave that can be taken by men through paternity leave (67 countries) or leave available to either parent.    Whilst universal free primary education has become a reality for most of the world’s children (in 166 of the 174 countries from which data were available), some 61 countries still charge tuition for all or some secondary education.    Six countries have no legislated minimum age for employment; in five countries, children may be put to work as young as 12 or 13 years old; at 14 in 29 countries; and at 15 in 63 countries.    Girls are particularly vulnerable to early marriage – in 54 countries they are permitted to marry between one and three years before boys – which can often result in them being taken out of school.    Just 58 countries worldwide provide specific cash benefits or supplements to cover the needs of children with disabilities.    Despite global recognition that inclusive education benefits children with special needs in achieving their full potential, only 73 countries include children with disabilities in the same classrooms as nondisabled children, 62 include them in the same schools, but not necessarily in the same classes, and 28 educate them separately.    “Progress over the past few decades demonstrates that where there is a will, there is a way to make dramatic changes in children’s lives, from survival to basic education,” said Dr Jody Heymann, Dean of the Fielding School of Public Health, University of California (UCLA), and Founding Director of the World Policy Analysis Centre, who co-authored the report.    “However, our findings show how far nations still have to go to realize a world where all children have a chance to thrive, not just survive. National laws and policies in areas ranging from labour to education to poverty reduction fall far short of what countries have committed to in international agreements.    At the same time, there are resource-constrained countries that are ahead of the curve, showing the feasibility of action and giving hope that dramatic change is possible.”    Commenting on the Changing Children’s Chances report, Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Director of the Institute of Health Equity, University College London (UCL) added:    “The findings of this new report confirm that children the world over are being denied opportunities to live to their potential. What happens in a child’s early life – regardless of where they are in the world – very much determines their chances to lead healthy and productive lives in their adulthood.    “The inequalities children face in their early years lead to continued inequalities in later life. We simply cannot afford to let this continue to happen and we have to use the growing body of evidence to address the social determinants of children’s health and the conditions in which they are born, grow, live, work and age.”    Representatives from governments all over the world will shortly be gathering to set global goals for what all the world’s nations should strive for - the so-called “post-2015” agenda. This agenda is being formulated right now and recommendations from the High Level Panel of Eminent Persons will be made to the UN Secretary General this coming May.    Changing Children’s Chances calls on world leaders to consider the following in shaping the post-2015 agenda:    Making education – especially secondary education – free, as quality secondary education and the employment opportunities it provides is key to lifting young people out of poverty.    Protecting children and youth from working long hours, which interfere with success at school.    Establishing a minimum age for marriage which is equal for both sexes and is high enough to enable children and youth to complete secondary education.    Increase educational attainment requirements for teachers, accompanied by improved salaries and training to ensure that enough qualified teachers are available.    Ensuring that minimum wages are high enough to lift families out of poverty without reliance on child labor to supplement family income, and providing financial assistance to low-income families supporting children.    Ensuring that workplace policies are in place which enable working parents to care for their children; especially critical in the context of changing global labour market conditions.    Countries that have not yet done so should guarantee paid maternity, paternity, and parental leave, as well as leave to care for children’s health needs.    Ensuring that legal and constitutional protections create a strong foundation of protection against discrimination for all children and adults across gender, ethnicity, employment, religion and sexuality.    Addressing the specific needs of children with disabilities, including their access to inclusive education and the provision of supplementary income to meet their special needs.    (With an international team and nearly a decade of work carried out at Harvard, McGill, and UCLA, the World Policy Analysis Centre has brought together for the first time quantitatively comparable findings on laws and policies in all 193 UN countries. The Changing Children’s Chances report presents these ground-breaking findings for children).    http://www.childrenschances.org. Visit the related web page
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