Steps To Be Undertaken To Reduce Statistics of Underprivileged Children
With the rapid growth of population, there has arisen a scarcity of basic facilities for the unprivileged, the brunt of which is faced by little children who are denied basic rights such as the Right to Education and Right to Development. The rate of school dropouts has also risen considerably; the main reason is due to poverty and the fact that small children begin earning at a very young age, in order to fend for their families. Thus, education has turned into a luxury for only those who can afford it.
Also, there are unequal opportunities for women who are sometimes denied the basic right to education, more than their male counterparts due to social issues such as gender, caste and class difference. Child labour is prevalent in most parts of the world where children are eventually suffering from malnutrition, illiteracy, exploitation, child abuse and other preventable diseases.
Every child has the right to lead a happy and fulfilling life and an opportunity to exercise his/her basic rights defined by the United Nations Convention. If you look at child statistics, the real picture will shatter your beliefs. Here is a glance at the statistics that include the health sector and other parameters.
In India itself, there are about 10.12 Million child labourers between the ages of 5 to 14 years of age.
About 11.6 Lakh children die every year within a year of their birth due to lack of immunisation.
According to the Coverage Evaluation Survey (CES), about 61percent of children of the age between 12 to 23 are immunised while nearly 8 percent of children of the same age group have not yet been immunised.
If you look at the gender, then about 62 percent of the male children are immunised as against only 60 percent of females.
About 79 percent children are anaemic where the ration of anaemic girls is 56 percent as against that of the boys, i.e., 30 percent.
Around 35 percent of children in India are not sent to Elementary school.
About 45 percent of girls are forced to marry below the age of eighteen years.
Therefore, it is quite evident that children hold a very low priority national policies or decisions made by the government. The perfect way to create a lasting change in the lives of these underprivileged children is to advocate child rights and understand the root-cause of the deprivation. Also, these issues need to be viewed as a whole and not be divided into various sectors such as child labour, education, child abuse, foeticide, etc. The next step is to figure out long term solutions by ensuring relevant laws and policies that guarantee change and a new beginning.
These steps can urge others to participate in this revolution and ensure happiness for these little children by raising your voice against these atrocities levelled upon them.