N’Djamena - Much progress has been made in recent years to improve the situation of children in Chad, but there is still a long way to go, Bakary Sogoba, chief of Children Protection Program of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Chad, told Xinhua on Tuesday.
Between 2010 to 2015, infant mortality rate fell from 106 per 1 000 to 72 per 1 000, Bakary said on the occasion of the publication of UNICEF annual report on “the situation of children in the world.” In the same period, the number of children in Chad vaccinated has tripled from 8 percent to 25 percent, and the number of children sleeping under mosquito nets went up from 12 percent to 36 percent, he said.
“Looking at these numbers, we imperatively need to help millions of disadvantaged and vulnerable children,” he said, adding, “the barriers to help these children are not technical. It is rather a question of commitment, it is a question of resources and it is a question of collective will.
”Based on current trends in the world, says the report of UNICEF, 69 million children will die of reasons which can be prevented, 167 million children will live in poverty and 750 million women will be married as children by 2030, the deadline for realising the Sustainable Development Goals.
Xinhua