CHILDREN MUST DEVELOP IN A HEALTHY, FAMILIAL ENVIRONMENT

VATICAN CITY, MAY 22, 2003 (VIS) - Archbishop Javier Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council of Health Care Ministry, spoke in Geneva, Switzerland during the 66th Plenary Assembly of the World Health Organization.

In his speech, which was made public yesterday afternoon, Archbishop Lozano indicated that "in the past decade more than 2 million children have been killed in armed conflicts, 6 million have become invalids, and thousands have been mutilated by land mines; in 2002, 300,000 children were recruited as soldiers; more than 4,300,000 children died from AIDS, every day in Africa alone 7,000 children become infected by AIDS and, as a result of the disease, 14 million children became orphans. Poverty is still the principal cause of disease in children. ... Even in the richest countries, one out of every 6 children lives below poverty level. The gap between rich and poor is widening; 30% of children under age five go hungry or are mal-nourished, and 50% of the entire Sub-Saharan African population lack potable water."

The president of the council recalled also that "250 million children under age 15 work, and of these children 50 to 60 million do so in dangerous conditions. According to the World Organization of Labor, 120 million children between age 5 and 14 work full time, many of them work six days a week and some seven. They are forced to do so, and often are enclosed in places without ventilation, that are poorly lit and with armed guards who prevent them from escaping."

"Today, many children and adolescents are abandoned and left to themselves," he continued. In addition, "many families have neglected the duty to educate their children."

Archbishop Lozano affirmed that "priority must be given to maternal and pediatric health, ... especially concerning water, hygiene and health care, ... and to attention to children especially in high risk situations."

"We insist," he added, "on two urgent points in order to create an appropriate environment for the child: we must fight against poverty with proper means within the present globalized economy. ... Existing inequality among developed countries and those that are developing is absolutely unacceptable. No less important is the conduct and psychological development of children" who "must know who they are, what they want, that they can build and destroy it; and in this complexity, they need clear and firm direction."

The president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry concluded by highlighting that "the main atmosphere for self-comprehension of the child is affection and love and stable direction starting with their parents and their whole family. ... The school within the educational community that truly forms the child must be an environment that sustains the family and extends it."

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