As many as 150 children die every day in Myanmar before they reach their fifth birthday, the UN children’s agency, in a report calling for the government to end blocks on humanitarian access to conflict areas.
Despite reform and reconciliation efforts undertaken by the one-year-old government headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, children affected by widespread fighting and poverty are not reaping the benefits, UNICEF.
“This alert is an opportunity to make more visible the situation of children who are not benefiting fully from the ongoing reforms in the country,” Bertrand Bainvel, Unicef’s representative to Myanmar.
There are disparities across the country, especially for families stuck in war zones and unable to reach health centres, said Bainvel, adding that untreated diseases among newborns, such as pneumonia, are among the big killers.
The child mortality rate is estimated at about 50 per 1,000 live births in Myanmar, Bainvel said. In the UK, the rate is four per 1,000. The report calls for improved humanitarian access to the estimated 2.2 million children affected by violence, and an end to child rights violations, including the use of children as soldiers.
Myanmar has been lauded worldwide for political reforms spearheaded by a military-aligned government in 2010, which eventually led to the huge election victory of Aung San Suu Kyi in November 2015, ending decades of oppressive army rule.
In spite of this progress, life for many children in Myanmar remains a struggle, UNICEF. Nearly 30% of children under five suffer from moderate or severe malnutrition and more than half of all children live below the poverty line.
Source: The Guardian. Read full article here.
23 May, 2017
