Millions of Children Slipping Through the Net According to UNICEF in Annual Study

By Katie Ochs

According to the United Nations Children?s Fund (UNCF), hundreds of millions of children are suffering from exploitation, discrimination, and are nearly invisible to the world. In an annual report called, ?State of the World?s Children 2006: Excluded and Invisible,? UNICEF reported that millions of children disappear each year, and are trafficked for sex trade or are forced to work in domestic servitude.

UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman said, ?there cannot be lasting progress if we continue to overlook the children most in need, the poorest and most vulnerable, the exploited and the abused.? The report also stated children in four basic circumstances are most likely to become forgotten and thus neglected:

? 1. Many children are without a formal identity. In most countries birth certificates are required to enroll in school or receive any other government service. In many Third World countries, more than 50 million children are born each year and are never registered at birth. As a result, these children are not guaranteed education, health care, or other basic necessities.

? Many children are without parental care. In this circumstance, they are often not treated as children. UNICEF reports that approximately 143 million children have one or fewer parents. Thus, many live on the streets and are exploited in numerous ways, and more than a million are being held in jails and prisons, waiting trail for minor offenses.

? Many children are forced into adult roles. Many are involved in wars, and work as messengers, cooks, and sex slaves for armed groups. While many countries have laws against early marriages, UNICEF reports that over 80 million girls are married before age 18. The report adds that 171 million children are working in hazardous conditions such as mines, factories, and agriculture.

? Many children are exploited. Approximately two million are used in the commercial sex trade, where they face sexual and physical violence. An unknown number work as domestic servants to pay off their family?s debts.

?The information in this report is shocking to me,? said Michelle Fox of Manchester, a sophomore at Aquinas University. ?I am a social work major, and I find this information very disturbing. I am hopeful that more information like this is brought to the publics? attention.?

Veneman, who served as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under President George W. Bush, prior to heading UNICEF, said reported that fixing the problem will depend on finding and reaching the vulnerable children in the developing world. She also feels that a massive push is needed to get essential services to those children in need.

Another prevalent issue is the rapid spread of HIV, not only around the world, but especially on the African continent, where one in every 13 children is estimated to be infected with the HIV virus.

?This is really a long term issue that we are looking at. Many people think that Hollywood can do a couple of fundraisers and the Red Cross can do a special fund drive and the problem will be fixed,? said Sarah Everett, Michigan State University junior and native resident of Saline. ?Unfortunately, it doesn?t work that way.?

UNICEF reports that the problem cannot be solved without the participation of governments through legislation, budgets, and other federally funded programs.

?We certainly do not have enough money or resources, but even if we can save one, a hundred, or even a thousand children from these unfortunate circumstances, that would certainly make a difference,? said Ashley Weathers, an education major at Eastern Michigan University and Ann Arbor resident. ?And for those we cannot get to, perhaps seeing others get help will give them hope.?

The UNICEF report stated that many nations must go beyond their current efforts to help fix the problem, and governments must bear most of the burden. The report also indicated that government must increase research, monitoring and reporting, enact new laws and enforce existing laws, build budgets to help combat the issue, and adopt new programs aimed at carrying out these initiatives.