TRAFFICKING AND LABOUR REPORTS HIGHLIGHT THREATS TO CHILDREN’S FUTURES

TRAFFICKING AND LABOUR REPORTS HIGHLIGHT
THREATS TO CHILDREN’S FUTURES
By J ill Moss
Last week the American State Department released its 2004 Trafficking in Persons
Report. This rates efforts by 140 countries to fight slavery. Information comes from
American Embassies, human right groups and non-governmental organizations.
The report divides the countries into three groups. The first two are countries believed to
be working hard against trafficking or trying to improve. But the third group is nations
believed to be making little or no effort. They could lose some American assistance or
face other restrictions.
Ten nations are in this group. Burma, North Korea, Cuba and Sudan were also listed last
year. This year the State Department added Bangladesh, Equatorial Guinea and Sierra
Leone. It also added Venezuela, Guyana and Ecuador.
Forty-two nations are on a special “watch list” of countries at risk of being given the
lowest rating. One of them is Japan. The report says Japan could do much more to protect
thousands of victims of sexual slavery linked to organized crime groups. Japan says it
will do more.
Children taken from traffickers intercepted by police are housed at the Terre Des
Hommes shelter in Cotonou, Benin. Worldwide, the report estimates that each year as
many as eight hundred thousand people are taken across national borders for trafficking.
It also notes that some groups place the number far higher. Most victims are women and
girls forced into sexual slavery. Men are often forced into labour. Boys generally become
child soldiers.
Secretary of State Colin Powell says some countries have improved over the past year,
including Turkey. It moved up from the lowest group to the watch list. Mister Powell
said president Bush has promised fifty-million dollars more to fight international
trafficking. This is above the seventy-million dollars budgeted for the past year.
On June twelfth the International Labour Organization released a report for World Day
Against Child Labour. The United Nations agency says at least ten-million children are
being forced to work as house cleaners. In most cases, they earn little or no money. They
are trapped. The report says that often the children are beaten or forced to have sex. Most

of the victims are girls, some as young as ten.
EFFORTS TO FIGHT POVERTY
By Jill Moss
The World Bank estimates that more than one thousand million people live in less than
one dollar a day. These are the poorest of the poor, about one-sixth of the world
population.
Martin Ravallion works for the Development Research group at the World Bank. He says
about fifty percent of the people in several African nations are among the world’s
poorest. These nations include Ethiopia, Sierra Leon, Tanzania and Zambia. But even
though these areas remain extremely poor, Mr. Ravallion says world poverty has been cut
in half over the last twenty years. He says the number of poor people dropped by almost
four hundred million between 1981 and 2001.
To reduce poverty, the World Bank says developing nations should expand the
possibilities for business and investment. The bank’s newest World Development report
notes that private industry creates more than 90% of jobs in developing countries.
The report for 2005 is based on questions asked of more than thirty thousand businesses
in 53 developing countries. World Bank researchers found that companies are most
concerned about how governments decide to enforce laws. About 90% of those in
Guatemala reported policy conflicts with their government. This was true of more than
70% of businesses in Belarus and Zambia.
Many companies also express concerns about problems like dishonesty and
undependable electricity supplies.
Last week , about fifty heads of state discussed ways to reduce poverty during a one-day
conference in New York. The leaders and top officials met before the opening of the
United Nations General Assembly meeting.
French President Jacques Chirac and Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva called
for a world tax to help finance an anti-poverty campaign. Diplomats say international
finances, airplane tickets and sales of heavy weapons are just some of the things that
could be taxed.
Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and another official represented the United States at

the conference. She said taxes on world trade would be undemocratic and impossible to
put in place.
The UN has a goal to reduce by half the remaining number of poor people in the world
by two thousand fifteen.
Experts Say Babies Should Be Fed Only Breast Milk
for the First Six Months
By Jill Moss
Health experts commonly advise mothers to feed babies only breast milk for the first six
months. They say no other food is more valuable to the development of a child. The
World Health Organization says children can be breastfed as part of their diet for up to
two years or longer. Yet it says only one out of three babies is fed only breast milk for
even just four months.
Breast milk helps protect children from infections and disease. It can even prevent
common sickness, such as diarrhea and pneumonia. And it can help babies recover more
quickly if they do get sick. Studies show that mothers who breastfeed reduce their risk of
cancer in the reproductive organs. Breastfeeding also saves money, compared to milk
substitutes.
The first week in August is World Breastfeeding Week. The campaign this year involved
the idea of exclusive breastfeeding. The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action say
babies can be fed drops or syrups with extra vitamins and minerals. But exclusive means
no other foods or drinks for six months.
The World Health Organization and UNICEF offer some steps for mothers. First, they
say breastfeeding should start within the first hour after a baby’s birth. Second, the baby
should not receive any food or drink, including water. Third, babies should be breastfed
whenever they are hungry day or night. And, lastly, the agencies say there should be no
use of bottles, pacifiers or other equipment.
International health experts say traditional ways to measure child growth do not
recognize things like the importance of breastfeeding. So the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation is giving more than six million dollars to the WHO for a six-year project. The
money will be used to develop new tools to measure the health and the well-being of

young people.
Current growth standards describe how children grow at different times. The new
standards will also be linked to motor development. Experts say the message here is that
physical growth is not the only part of normal development.
Doctor Mercedes de Onis heads the WHO project. She says the current growth standards
used by 99 countries do not support international health goals. She notes that one of these
goals is to increase breastfeeding.
Report: Aid, Economic Growth Fail to Cut Poverty in Poorest Nations
Brianna Blake
A new report says an increase in development aid has improved health and education levels
in some of the world's poorest countries. But the United Nations report says poverty rates in
these countries are not improving overall.
Development aid has increased since two thousand two. Still, the report says severe poverty
continues to worsen, in part because of H.I.V./AIDS. Environmental conditions also add to
poverty. The report says climate change already affects many low-lying and island nations,
and more problems are likely in the years to come.
The report does show some areas of progress, however, which it credits to direct aid. For
example, there are signs of improvement in many countries in elementary education and
adult-reading levels. Other social measures including equality between males and females
are also improving, but remain the lowest in the world.
Many of the fifty countries rated as least developed have had strong economic growth in
recent years. More than half recorded average yearly growth rates of four percent or more
between two thousand and two thousand four. The report notes the effects of economic
reforms, and the gains that oil producing countries have made from high oil prices.
But in eighteen of the least developed countries, the economies shrank between nineteen
ninety and two thousand four. And seven of these nations also saw a drop in their life
expectancy, often because of AIDS.
For example, the life expectancy of people in Lesotho dropped
sharply between nineteen ninety and two thousand five. It fell from
fifty-eight years to thirty-six.

The report says that in many of the poorest countries, high birth rates are reducing the
effects of economic improvements. So is a lack of equality when it comes to who gets
resources.
The report is for a meeting this September of the U.N. General Assembly. Delegates will
discuss progress halfway through a ten-year Program of Action for the Least Developed
Countries.
Of the fifty, thirty-four are in Africa south of the Sahara. Fifteen are in Asia and the
Pacific. And one is in the Caribbean: Haiti. Anwarul Chowdhury, the U.N. High
Representative for the Least Developed Countries, called on the world to continue to help
them.
Free H.I.V. tests are
given in Lesotho to
mark World AIDS
Day 2005
Non-Governmental Organizations Influence Policy Around the World
The sixteenth international AIDS conference opened on Sunday in Toronto, Canada. More
than twenty-four thousand delegates from one hundred thirty-two countries are attending the
six-day conference. They include scientists, health care providers, activists, political and
business leaders and people living with the disease. Many people attending the AIDS
conference represent private non-governmental organizations, or NGOs.
Political scientists often describe NGOs as “pressure groups”
because of their effect on world issues. They have little official
power over international decision-making. However, NGOs often
influence international policy.
A broad definition of NGO is any non-profit group that is independent of government. Most
of these private organizations have one or more goals. For example, some support
community development, provide social services and help poor people. Others support
human rights and social justice. Still others work to protect the environment. NGOs support
many issues and operate around the world. Some of the most well-known include Oxfam,
Amnesty International and Greenpeace.

James Paul heads the Global Policy Forum. It is an NGO in New York City that studies
policy-making at the United Nations. He says that some NGOs represent industries or
Maria Corina
Machado leads
Sumate, a Venezuelan
NGO
businesses, the interests of governments, or even criminal groups. He says it would be a
mistake to believe that all NGOs are neutral.
The World Bank has divided NGOs into three main groups. The first is community-based
organizations that serve populations in a small geographical area. The second is national
NGOs, which operate in individual developing countries. International NGOs are the third
kind. These organizations usually have their headquarters in industrialized countries. They
carry out operations in more than one developing nation.
Information about the total number of non-governmental organizations is incomplete.
However, experts estimate that tens of thousands of NGOs are active around the world.
Large international NGOs may have operating budgets of tens of millions of dollars.
However, most NGOs are much smaller.
Poor Nutrition in the Developing World
Written by Jill Moss
A new World Bank report warns that children who do not get enough good food in the first
two years of life suffer lasting damage. They may be underdeveloped or under weight. They
may suffer from poor health or limited intelligence. In addition, poorly nourished children
are more likely to drop out of school and earn less money as adults.
The report is called “Repositioning Nutrition as Central to Development.” It notes that too
little food is not the only cause of poor nutrition. Many children who live in homes with
plenty of food suffer for other reasons. For example, the study says that mothers often fail
to give their newly born babies their first breast milk. This milk-like substance is called
colostrum. It is full of nutrients that improve a baby’s ability to fight infections and disease.
The study also links malnutrition to economic growth in poor countries. A lack of nutrition
in early childhood can cost developing nations up to three percent of their yearly earnings.

Many of these same countries have economies that are growing at a rate of two to three
percent yearly. The study suggests that poor countries could possibly double their economic
growth if they improved nutrition.
Africa and South Asia are affected the most by poor nutrition. The study says about half of
all children in India do not get enough good food. The World Bank study also notes that
rates of malnutrition in South Asia are almost double those in central and southern Africa.
Other parts of the world are also severely affected, including Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Yemen,
Guatemala and Peru.
The study recommends that developing countries change their policies to deal with
malnutrition. Instead of directly providing food, the study suggests educational programs in
health and nutrition for mothers with young babies. It also recommends cleaner living
conditions and improvements in health care.
World Bank nutrition specialist Meera Shekar was the lead writer for the report. She said
the period of life between pregnancy and two years is extremely important. Governments
with limited resources should take direct action to improve nutrition for children during this
period.