15 January, 2009 — Amidst a worsening economic crisis, key leaders from around the East Asia and Pacific have met to look at ways to best protect children by maintaining or scaling up social spending despite tightening budgets.

More than 150 academics, policy advisors, finance ministers and senior officials took part in the UNICEF convened conference held in Singapore 6-7 January.

They shared lessons learned from the 1997-98 crisis and good policy practices in health, nutrition, education and family income maintenance.

UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific Regional Director, Anupama Rao Singh, says that the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which all countries in the region have ratified, says that children should have the first call on resources, especially in times of economic challenge.

The global financial crisis is amplifying the effects of the food and fuel price crises, seriously challenging the abilities of families to cope and of children to thrive. At this moment when women and children are most vulnerable, governments are faced with reduced revenues and hard choices.

Household income is falling, forcing some parents to remove children from school and some to enter the labour force too early. Reduced food consumption, particularly among poor families, can lead to stunted physical growth, and decreased intellectual capacity of children. These, in turn, damage national economic growth.

“Evidence from the 1997-98 crisis will help us support our governments to shape the best policies, said Dean of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, Dr. Kishore Mahbubani.

UNICEF is working with national governments in the region, including the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, where the two-day conference was held.

The close collaboration between UNICEF and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made it possible for senior government policy advisors and officials from throughout the region to attend the conference.

More information
Read a UNICEF NZ opinion piece “Poor children at risk in global downturn”