Economic crisis could kill In the Pacific

Economic crisis could kill 800 more children each year in the Pacific

Wellington, 6 August 2009 – Many countries in the Pacific are yet to suffer the full impact of the global financial crisis but it is about to hit the region with all the devastation of a tsunami, the UN Children’s Fund is warning.

UNICEF’s Chief of Policy in the Pacific, Dr Will Parks, has warned there is a critical ‘window of opportunity’ to act but this opportunity is steadily slipping away.

“Beneath the current financial crisis lies a development emergency with catastrophic implications if we fail to respond effectively. And those in the teeth of this economic storm are women and children,” Dr Parks said.

“If we include Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste, 18,000 Pacific Island children under five die each year – 50 children per day. Forecasts based on the impact of the global financial crisis estimate the number of child deaths could increase by a further 800 each year.”

Dr Parks said there was time for governments to readjust fiscal and monetary policy to create a safety net for the most vulnerable. “Governments in the Pacific must not stray from their commitments to children and women at this time of crisis,” he said.

“There are already alarming signs, with budgets being cut and more cuts on their way. But a bold and innovative move would be for Pacific governments to use budget cuts in some areas to increase spending on children.”

“Irrefutable evidence has now accumulated to show the economic and social benefits of investing in children, in good times as well as in bad. Investing in children is not just a moral imperative, it is smart economics.”

Dr Parks said many Pacific countries lack the reserves to respond fully to such an economic crisis. It was therefore important that donors, such as New Zealand and Australia, maintain their aid commitments to the Pacific and ensure investments benefit those most in need.

Dr Parks is in Brisbane and available for interview

ENDS

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