Challenges for Children and Women in the 1990s [microform] : Eastern and Southern Africa in Profile

This report profiles conditions in the lives of children and women in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA), and attempts to identify and analyze trends and issues which are emerging in ESA and which have particular significance for UNICEF activities. During the 1980s, ESA experienced unprecedented economic decline due to falling commodity prices and rising interest rates. These conditions in turn led to increasing incidences of poverty throughout much of the region. Despite improvements in some areas of health care, large numbers of children and women continue to die from preventable diseases, the most serious of which is AIDS. Nutritional and educational resources in ESA need to be strengthened in order to help women and children better survive. Urbanization, war, abuse, and neglect have also taken their toll on children in many ways. In ESA, even at current depressed levels of growth, there remains untapped potential for gains in human development. Government spending can be made more efficient by reordering priorities away from the military and toward social programs, while ESA governments themselves can encourage more popular participation in development. Extensive tables present statistics on issues relating to the lives of women and children in ESA. An 86-item reference list is provided. (MDM)