A UNICEF report, The State of the World's Children
1993, which has been adopted by 150 countries including India, says US$ 25 billion is the annual cost of ending malnutrition, preventable diseases and illiteracy for
all the world's. children. To put the figure in perspective,
the report says "the amount is considerably less than the
amount the Japanese government has allocated to a new
highway from Tokyo to Kobi" and it is significantly less
than what the Europeans will spend this year on wine or
the Americans on beer. UNICEF wants every child to be
assured adequate nutrition, clean water, basic health
care and primary education by the end of the decade.
The report cautions that these goals will remain "paper
promises" unless the signatories accord sufficiently high
priority to them.
UNICEF estimates that two-thirds of the cost could
be met by the developing nations themselves, with onethird coming in as development assistance. Even with
present resources, says the report, such sums could be
made available if 20 per cent of government spending in
developing countries and 20 per cent of all international
aid were to be allotted to basic services for the poorest.
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