• Submitted by: Luis Manuel Mazorra
• Health and Medicine
• 03 / 02 / 2012

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José Juan Ortiz Bru, UNICEF representative in Cuba, said the plight of many of the children of the world, where millions of them live in rural areas hit by marginalization and lack of resources.

Many of these infants are not even registered, so no statistics exist and are much more vulnerable imbalance is compounded by the emergence of so-called emerging neighborhoods where no services or basic rights, such as water, he said.

In introducing the report on the World's Children 2012, Ortiz stressed the need to invest in the most needy, and to design long-term public policies based on equity, and include, by national law the needs of children.

Recommended design strategies to reach all, focusing on public policy based on the child, eliminating the barriers of exclusion. The exclusion promotes violence, he said.

You can not measure the development of children in economic costs, the guarantee of universal rights is invaluable, said Ortiz.

Also raised the need for political will of states and governments to combat the equity, since it depends on human development. It is a matter of wealth, is a matter of political will, he said.

He noted that Cuba, a country with economic problems known, is an example of political will, with an equitable society in which all children attend school and have health care, he said.

The rulers have to take responsibility for that it can achieve equity, and policies should focus on children to achieve a more just world, he added.

The World's Children Report 2012 is titled Girls and boys in an urban world, and reflects the hardships suffered by this population in poor urban communities, perpetuated by statistical averages based development programs and decisions on the allocation of resources.

Increased urbanization is inevitable. According to the report, in a few years, most children grow up in cities and towns, not rural areas. 60 percent of urban population increase is for children who were born in cities.

UNICEF calls on governments to give children a central place in urban planning processes, and expand and improve services for everyone.

The study calls for recognition further the efforts of communities to address urban poverty and also provides examples of effective partnerships with urban poor people, including children, and adolescents.