Latest update December 12th, 2024 1:00 AM
Oct 05, 2016 News
Guyana is arguably the third poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and children are the ones suffering the brunt of the associated poverty dilemma.
This deduction was made after consideration was given to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita which suggests that Guyana’s poverty situation follows what obtains in Haiti and Nicaragua.
The forgoing is contained in a recently launched Situation Analysis of Women and Children Report that was completed by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF).
The analysis was carried out between 2015 and 2016 by Government through the Ministry of Social Protection, with support from a number of partners. Technical support was provided by UNICEF.
It is expected that the analysis will pave the way for the systematic monitoring of the situation of children and women living in Guyana.
According to the Report not only is unemployment high but it is particularly disconcerting for the young population, which represents more than 60 per cent of Guyana’s population. “Since 2002, youth unemployment has been consistently higher than 30 per cent and is currently estimated to be about 40 per cent,” the Report outlines.
Guyana’s latest official poverty measurement was done in 2006, prior to the economic crisis that hit the world in 2008. According to that measure, 36.1 per cent of the population in the country was living in poverty, including 18.6 per cent that were living in extreme poverty.
And the Report has been able to ascertain that “poverty is higher in the interior of the country, and for those families living in the rural areas including rural in the coast.”
In fact the Report has concluded that “Poverty in Guyana has a child’s face.”
Similar to previous measurements, the poverty number from 2006 shows that younger age cohorts have a significantly higher poverty headcount than older ones. It has been revealed, too, that 33.7 per cent of young people aged 16-25 lived in poverty in 2006. Almost half of all children aged 16 and below were poor (47.5 per cent) in 2006.
Guyana, according to the Report, is susceptible to a variety of hazards including flooding, landslides, drought, fires, and severe weather systems, among others. Between 1990 and 2014, floods were the main natural disaster that happened in the country and primarily responsible for deaths.
Flooding was found to be common in the coastal areas and in the interior of the country. In the coastal area, an extensive sea defence system of sea walls and dams is the main defence against inundation of the coastal plain due to heavy rainfall, overtopping of the river networks, and breaches in the conservancies or seawall.
In the interior, heavy rains and the abundance of rivers create the conditions for constant increases in the water levels. Natural disasters create an extra stress on public finances and significant impact on homes, businesses and human life. In this sense, almost 94 per cent of the negative impact in the country’s economy resulted from past floods.
The country has a body of legislation that protects the rights of children, women and other vulnerable populations. Some of the legislation is considered to be updated and in line with international standards.
Nevertheless, the implementation of the legislation was identified as one of the major bottlenecks in the country for the three main sectors related to children (health, education and child protection).
Dec 12, 2024
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