Canarian Weekly
22-04-2016, 11:50
SPAIN is said to be among the worst-developed countries for childhood inequality, with more than one-third of children at risk of poverty.
It was ranked the sixth-worst developed country for childhood income inequality,
According to last week’s Unicef “report card”, 36% of children are facing poverty or social exclusion. And inequality has grown more in Spain than in most other developed countries, the family income gap exceeding 60%.
Only rock-bottom Romania, plus Bulgaria, Mexico, Greece and Israel were ranked worse.
The Unicef report states: “This measure of bottom-end inequality captures how far the poorest children are being allowed to fall behind the ‘average’ child in each country.”
Researchers analysed 41 countries from the European Union, and within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), for inequality changes over time.
Denmark topped the charts for the lowest levels of inequality in income, health, education and life satisfaction. Israel lounged at the bottom!
Spain, in particular, which was hit hard by the global economic crisis, featured one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe. And this trait is impacting the well-being of its youngest citizens.
The report adds: “The financial and economic crisis of the recent years has impacted in particular boys and girls in developed countries.
“The past few years have become a laboratory for the effects of inequality for the most vulnerable members of society.”
Since 2008, the average Spanish family’s household income has fallen, with the poorest 10% experiencing an even sharper drop, “leaving the poorest children increasingly lagging behind”, said Unicef.
But despite the youth of Spain facing steeper challenges when it comes to financial struggles, the country has improved all the children’s conditions for health and nutrition.
In fact, it was among the top-10 countries for having a low inequality gap when it came to health, and took 12th place when it came to education. And only Spain and the US displayed improvement in all health indicators since 2002.
Sadly, Spanish children fell in the bottom third of the life-satisfaction category, which meant there was a sizeable gap between how the happy kids reported feeling.
And Unicef has called on the Spanish Government, when formed, to take up the battle against childhood poverty.
“The Report Card provides a clear reminder that the well-being of children in any country is not an inevitable outcome of individual circumstances, or of the level of economic development, but is shaped by policy choices,” said Dr Sarah Cook, director of the Unicef Office of Research, Innocenti.
“As our understanding of the long-term impact of inequality grows, it becomes increasingly clear that governments must place priority on enhancing the well-being of all children today, and give them the opportunity to achieve their potential.”
More... (http://www.canarianweekly.com/spanish-youngsters-facing-breadline/)
It was ranked the sixth-worst developed country for childhood income inequality,
According to last week’s Unicef “report card”, 36% of children are facing poverty or social exclusion. And inequality has grown more in Spain than in most other developed countries, the family income gap exceeding 60%.
Only rock-bottom Romania, plus Bulgaria, Mexico, Greece and Israel were ranked worse.
The Unicef report states: “This measure of bottom-end inequality captures how far the poorest children are being allowed to fall behind the ‘average’ child in each country.”
Researchers analysed 41 countries from the European Union, and within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), for inequality changes over time.
Denmark topped the charts for the lowest levels of inequality in income, health, education and life satisfaction. Israel lounged at the bottom!
Spain, in particular, which was hit hard by the global economic crisis, featured one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe. And this trait is impacting the well-being of its youngest citizens.
The report adds: “The financial and economic crisis of the recent years has impacted in particular boys and girls in developed countries.
“The past few years have become a laboratory for the effects of inequality for the most vulnerable members of society.”
Since 2008, the average Spanish family’s household income has fallen, with the poorest 10% experiencing an even sharper drop, “leaving the poorest children increasingly lagging behind”, said Unicef.
But despite the youth of Spain facing steeper challenges when it comes to financial struggles, the country has improved all the children’s conditions for health and nutrition.
In fact, it was among the top-10 countries for having a low inequality gap when it came to health, and took 12th place when it came to education. And only Spain and the US displayed improvement in all health indicators since 2002.
Sadly, Spanish children fell in the bottom third of the life-satisfaction category, which meant there was a sizeable gap between how the happy kids reported feeling.
And Unicef has called on the Spanish Government, when formed, to take up the battle against childhood poverty.
“The Report Card provides a clear reminder that the well-being of children in any country is not an inevitable outcome of individual circumstances, or of the level of economic development, but is shaped by policy choices,” said Dr Sarah Cook, director of the Unicef Office of Research, Innocenti.
“As our understanding of the long-term impact of inequality grows, it becomes increasingly clear that governments must place priority on enhancing the well-being of all children today, and give them the opportunity to achieve their potential.”
More... (http://www.canarianweekly.com/spanish-youngsters-facing-breadline/)