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May 8, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"U.N. Prepares for a Debate on Dire Needs of Children"

New York Times (www.nytimes.com) (05/08/02) P. A7; Sengupta, Somini

World leaders are gathering this week for a General Assembly Special Session on Children at the United Nations.  Much controversy abounds among the 189 member states attending the assembly centers on reproductive health services and the rights of children as based on a 1989 landmark treaty on children's rights.  The United States and Somalia are the only two countries that have refused to ratify it; at issue in the United States is the phrase "reproductive health services" and language in the treaty on the rights of children.  It is generally accepted by this year's assemblage that the United States will not agree to the terms of this new document either.  A report from the secretary general's office offered chilling evidence of progress and regress made in the lives of the 2 billion children around the world, including statistics showing that although more children than ever are enrolled in school, there are still 100 million unable to attend.  Polio has nearly been eradicated, and deaths associated with diarrhea have been cut in half; however, 10 million children still die every year from preventable diseases.  The conditions in sub-Saharan Africa are particularly bleak, with 17 percent of children in some countries dying before they reach age five.

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