Mihai Moscovici

Moldova, has more than 50% of its child population living in income poverty, the report of UNICEF’s Innocenti Research Center “Social Monitor 2006: Understanding child poverty in South-Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States”, launched on Thursday, October 18 informs.
According to the report, in Moldova, the Caucasus, and most of the countries of Central Asia child poverty rates exceed 50%. The document ascertains that in Moldova the proportion of children living in income poverty did indeed decline from 74 per cent to 53 per cent between 1998 and 2003.
The report also shows the fact that in some of the poorer countries, such as Moldova and Tajikistan, recent growth in GDP and household incomes has been helped by remittances from migrant workers. In the short term this type of growth may contribute to a reduction in income poverty; it may however have negative indirect socio-economic impacts. In the case of children left behind by migrant parents, the cost may be increases in other types of child deprivation, and it is not clear how long such growth can be sustained, the report presents.
According to the same source, in Russia and Moldova, 25–30 % of all children live in incomplete families. As regards living standards, the report shows the fact that in Moldova and Tajikistan about 20 % of urban children live in housing without a water connection.
The study also mentions almost all children in the rural areas of Armenia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania and Tajikistan live in households using ‘dirty’ fuels as the main source of heating (such as firewood, charcoal, crop waste, coal). The use of ‘dirty’ fuels is one of the main sources of indoor air pollution and is associated with respiratory diseases among infants and children in these countries.

Source: Info-Prim-Neo

Photo: copii 2 / Mihai Leu