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American Morning

Millions of Children Worldwide Facing War, Poverty and AIDS

Aired June 20, 2001 - 10:25   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It's not just the virtual world that children and adults have to worry about. Disturbing new figures from UNICEF show millions of children worldwide now suffer from the effects of war, poverty and AIDS.

CNN's Margaret Lowrie has that story for us from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARGARET LOWRIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From Kosovo to Congo, Baghdad to Belgrade, Sudan to Sri Lanka, the numbers are staggering, according to UNICEF: some two million children killed in conflicts over the last 10 years. And today, UNICEF estimates more than a million children are growing up alone, orphaned or permanently separated in the wake of war.

DAVID BULL, UNICEF: The effects of conflict and displacement are destroying children's childhood and damaging, almost irreparably, their entire future. If they lose out on school, if they don't have the protection and care of their families, their future is very seriously compromised.

LOWRIE: The new UNICEF report says, since 1990, fighting has displaced some 20 million children, more than half in their own countries. Across the world, six million have been injured or disabled.

From Angola to Afghanistan, land mines kill more than 8,000 children each year. Some 300,000 children are forced to take part in conflicts.

In Sierra Leone, UNICEF said, nearly a third of some factions may be child soldiers. In Liberia, more than 20 percent of soldiers demobilized five years ago were children. And UNICEF says in some countries, such as Rwanda, children face a triple jeopardy: conflict, poverty and AIDS.

BULL: We really need to focus everybody's attention on these things. There are many things which can be done, not only in terms of humanitarian aid, but in terms of government policies, including those of governments in the West.

LOWRIE: UNICEF wants those governments to tighten export laws on small arms and light weapons. Some 500 million are circulating in the world, causing millions of deaths and injuries. It wants all nations to abide by international agreements regarding the protection of children in conflict.

(on camera): Beyond emergency food and shelter, UNICEF says children exposed to conflicts need ongoing health care for physical and mental wounds. And they also need an education to prevent the damage not only from carrying into adulthood, but into the next generation.

Margaret Lowrie, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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