http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/geted.pl5?eo20051222a1.htm
Poverty collides with U.S. children's rights
By CESAR CHELALA
Special to The Japan Times
NEW YORK -- The haunting images of African Americans stranded in New
Orleans are powerful evidence of the fate of the dispossessed in the United
States. The extent of the divide between rich and poor was clearly shown during
a recent visit to the U.S. by Arjun Sengupta, an independent expert on human
rights and extreme poverty for the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
The U.S. was chosen for the expert's visit to illustrate that poverty is a
global problem, regardless of a country's gross domestic product, and that it
should be more seriously addressed.
Sengupta visited six different states, going to poverty stricken urban areas,
and holding consultations with groups of homeless people and with several
national civil society organizations. From meetings held with both workers and
unemployed people, he was able to analyze the impact of poverty on the poorest
sectors of the population.
Although there are several federal and state social-benefit systems in the
U.S., a variety of obstacles such as the high cost of health care and the lack
of adequate housing lead people further into poverty and can be considered an
abuse of their human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
recognizes everyone's "right to a standard of living adequate for the health
and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing
and medical care."
Official statistics show that 12.7 percent (or 37 million) of the population in
the U.S. lived in poverty in 2004, 15.7 percent (45.8 million) lacked health
insurance coverage, and 11.9 percent of households (38.2 million people
including 13.9 million children) experienced food insecurity.
It is estimated that 33 million Americans live in households without an
adequate supply of food. According to statistics from the Bread for the World
Institute, 3.5 percent of U.S. households experience hunger (9.6 million
people, including 3 million children.) Children are a disproportionate share of
the poor in the U.S. Although they are 26 percent of the population, they
constitute 39 percent of the poor.
UNICEF states that although the U.S. is still the wealthiest country on earth,
with income levels higher than any other country, it also has one of the
highest incidences of child poverty among the rich industrialized nations.
Denmark and Finland have child poverty levels of less than 3 percent (closely
followed by Norway and Sweden), thanks to higher levels of social spending.
Seventeen percent of U.S. children live in poverty.
Young minority children have significantly higher poverty rates than white
children. For example, the poverty rate for young black and Hispanic children
under age 3 is three times higher than that of white children. Statistics show
poverty levels of 24.7 among blacks, 21.9 percent among Hispanics and 8.6
percent among non-Hispanic whites.
Poverty has been recognized as one of the most powerful factors that can affect
children's brain development. As poor children grow into adolescence and
adulthood, they are more likely to drop out of school, have children out of
wedlock and be unemployed.
Poverty is a multicausal problem that demands different approaches. Several
factors such as poor education, discriminatory practices against minorities,
limited job opportunities, racism, unstable family life, mental illness and
substance abuse all contribute to poverty. Limiting the impact of poverty and
eventually eliminating it, therefore, demands acting on all these factors.
The U.S. has enough economic, technical and social resources to abolish
poverty. What is needed to solve this problem is political will and a strong
commitment to human-rights principles. U.S. President George W. Bush has stated
that he wants to strengthen the "ownership society." The best way to do it is
by responding to the most basic needs of America's poor.
Dr. Cesar Chelala, a international public health consultant, wrote "Children's
Health in the Americas," a publication of the Pan American Health Organization.
The Japan Times: Dec. 22, 2005
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