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200, 000 child slaves are sold every year in Africa. There are an estimated 8,000 girl-slaves in West Africa alone.
About 120, 000 African children are participating in armed conflicts. Some are as young as 7 years old.
Children account for half of all civilian casualties in wars in Africa
One in six African children dies before the age of five. Most of these deaths could be prevented.
Nearly one third of children in Sub-Saharan Africa are underweight.
In sub-Saharan Africa, measles takes the life of a child nearly every minute of every day - an effective measles vaccine costs as little as $1 per child.
Around 15 million African children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS.
43% of African children do not have safe, accessible drinking water.
64% African children do not have adequate sanitation.
Only 57% of African children are enrolled in primary education, and 1 in 3 of those does not complete school.
All you have to do is look at the facts to see how severe this problem is in Sub-Saharan Africa, and it is only getting worse. The most upsetting thing is that it doesn't have to be this way, these are problems which can be managed and improved, if not totally eliminated, if only everyone would pull together and do something about it.
In 2000, world leaders and governments made a commitment to halve poverty by 2015. Since then, other economists and leaders have announced that not only is it possible to halve poverty by 2015, we can end extreme poverty altogether by 2025.
UNICEF cites 7 forms of childhood deprivation, these are LACK OF:
Poverty
Is a child unable to pay fees to attend school, an orphaned child whose parents have died of AIDS or through war, a child sold into slavery, a child whose bones weaken from malnutrition, a child who must live in unsafe and unhealthy surroundings, a child who does not receive any love, nurture or support.
Health
Poverty and health are inextricably linked. The more a child suffers poverty, the more prone to illness, disease and malnutrition they become.
Slavery
Slavery is by no means a thing of the past. An estimated 27 million people live in bondage in the world at the moment. Of these and estimated 6 million are children.
War
Adults wage wars yet it is the children who are the victims. They are the most innocent of bystanders, felled by bombs and bullets, their homes destroyed with no one to look after them.
Environment
If the world is a child's playground then we should be seriously worried. Landfills, sewers and polluted rivers are no place for children.
Education
For many children simple education is inaccessible. Even singing the alphabet or memorising maths timestables is out of their reach. They have very few resources and inadequate buildings to work in, if they have any roof over them at all.
1 in 6 African children die before the age of 5 - that is 11 million a year.
bravenet.com