U.N.: Millions of children in poverty
From CNN Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty
(CNN) -- A new UNICEF report finds that millions of children in Eastern Europe and Central Asia still live in poverty, despite economic progress being made in the region.
The Innocenti Social Monitor 2004, released Wednesday, shows that one third of the 44 million children living in nine countries with available data are living in poverty.
These children are being bypassed by economic progress in the region and UNICEF Director Carol Bellamy says "poverty is distorting their childhood ... poverty is shredding the social fabric of these new societies."
In an interview with CNN, Bellamy said: "I'm now meeting children who are telling me 'I am the first child in my family NOT to be able to get an education.'"
In some countries, large numbers of children are growing up in families where neither parent is employed, the report says. Others are living in families where earnings are low and parents are unable to relocate to areas with higher employment.
Some children cannot afford books for school or uniforms or bus fare. Drug and alcohol abuse are soaring among young people. Poor families must pay for health and education services that are meant to be free.
