THE Unicef report on the State of the World's Children released Thursday portrayed the imperilled plight of children across the globe. Their rights to existence are threatened, not to speak of their mental and physical growth and overall welfare due to three major factors: poverty, armed conflict and HIV/AI DS. Even though in some regions and countries, Bangladesh included, child mortality has gone down, enrolment in primary school has increased and overall improvement in access to water and sanitation has been achieved, such advances risk being negated by the 'three threats' mentioned above.

As for Bangladesh it is poverty that puts the children's fate in jeopardy. The sheer prevalence of poverty kills off quarter of a million children annually with fifty per cent of the entire child population remaining malnourished or undernourished at any given time. Thirty-six per cent of the babies are born underweight. They are victims of trafficking and repression. The floating children, in particular, are vulnerable to juvenile delinquency and crime.

Yes, armed conflict is not much of a problem here, although child labour is yet to be eradicated in Bangladesh, particularly the various invisible forms of it. HIV/AIDS related impoverishment and destitution of children may not have assumed any problematic character in Bangladesh; yet the need for mounting guard over it cannot be made a short shrift of.

It is hardly any solace to see Bangladesh ranked 130th among the 192 countries evaluated for the state of the global children. The child immunisation programme in Bangladesh has been a model of success but we have a long way to go in terms of securing healthy childhood in a wider sense of the term.

Unicef country representative Morten Giersing's emphasis on incorporation of child welfare in the poverty reduction strategy paper, empowerment of local body institutions and commitment to a fair and sound childhood to address children’s deprivation in Bangladesh merits attention.