Publications

This is an overview to the Innnocenti Social Monitor 2006 which studies child poverty in a fast-changing region. Since 1998 almost all countries of the South-Eastern Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States region have shown signs of economic recovery. The numbers of people living in income poverty has fallen, living standards have generally improved and opportunities for many children in the region have expanded. This signals a turning point in the dramatic decline in social and economic conditions experienced by most children in the region in the early 1990s. Yet there is a serious risk that a part of the new generations of children born since the start of the transition is being left behind. The study shows that not all children are benefiting from the economic growth and that Governments in the region need to give higher policy priority to tackling disadvantage and deprivation endured by children. Pursuing a child rights perspective, the study set outs to measure and understand better the nature and scale of child poverty, as distinct from adult poverty; it highlights the large disparities in child well-being which have emerged in this period of economic expansion, between countries, between regions within countries, and between families; it points to ways in which governments in the region could more effectively address marginalisation and disparities among children. The Innocenti Social Monitor 2006 provides practical examples of ways in which children can be given distinct attention and visibility in the analysis of poverty and in policy priorities, while also stressing that data collection has to be improved and made more accessible in order to allow the impact of policies on children to be effectively assessed and addressed.

The MONEE project was initiated in 1992 to monitor, analyze and disseminate information on social and economic trends affecting children in Central and Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltics as these countries entered into a new era of political, economic and social change. Correspondents in 27 National Statistical Offices contribute data, and in recent years also a Country Analytical Report on aspects of economic and social trends affecting children in their country. Their contributions form the backbone of the research carried out at the Innocenti Research Centre (IRC) on the region, including for the Innocenti Social Monitor which has been published regularly since 2002, and the annually updated TransMONEE database which contains a wide range of statistical information covering the period 1989 to the present on social and economic issues relevant to the welfare of children, young people and women.The purpose of this report is to present key data, child indicators and selected findings from the information collected in the 2005 edition of the TransMONEE database.

Осуществление проекта MONEE было начато в 1992 году в целях мониторинга, анализа и распространения информации о социальных и экономических тенденциях, затрагивающих детей в Центральной и Восточной Европе, Содружестве Независимых Государств и государствах Балтии, в связи с тем что эти страны вступили в новую эру политических, экономических и социальных перемен. Сотрудники 27 национальных статистических органов представляют данные, а в последнее время также страновые аналитические доклады, касающиеся различных аспектов экономических и социальных тенденций, затрагивающих детей в их странах.

This paper looks at the well-being of children in transition economies in the light of greater economic integration. The different stages of integration of the transition economies into the world economy are marked by substantial variations in trade and capital flows. International labour mobility remains limited, and unemployment has been high since the beginning of transition. Because employment is the main determinant of household income, this has had a negative effect on the well-being of children. At the national level, a high degree of variation in regional unemployment rates has emerged which is symptomatic of the lack of integration of labour markets. High regional unemployment rates are further associated with increases in non-participation, while adjustments via wages and migration have been largely absent, or insufficient. Indicators of child well-being – such as infant mortality rates – are positively correlated with unemployment rates, suggesting that public service provision is, in general, not sufficient to offset the negative effect of unemployment on child well-being. A closer look at unemployment benefit schemes reveals not only large differences between countries but also scope for broader coverage and better targeting of programmes in order to reduce the risk of families falling into poverty when parents become unemployed.

This Innocenti Insight looks at how children with disabilities and their families have fared in the rapidly changing environment of this region since transition in the early 1980’s. It builds upon the significant body of research and policy reflections accrued at the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre (IRC) with the support of national statistical offices in the 27 countries of the region. UNICEF IRC has tracked and explored the impact on children and their families of economic and social changes in the region since transition began. This report draws upon three new pieces of research that include data, a qualitative survey and first-person interviews. The results highlight the legacies of the past, the momentum for change and areas where action is further needed. Institutionalisation, segregation and discrimination are still prominent features of the environment in which children with disabilities live across the region.

В настоящий доклад включены три новых элемента ис- следований, которые содержат данные, качественный анализ и личные интервью. Результаты исследования отражают наследие прошлого, стремление к изменени-ям и области, требующие принятия мер. Помещение в специализированные учреждения, сегрегация и дискри- минация все еще являются характерными чертами сре- ды, в которой повсюду в этом регионе живут дети с ог-раниченными возможностями. Тем не менее становится все очевиднее, что отношение общества к инвалиднос- ти меняется, и можно привести много конкретных при-меров интегрирования детей с ограниченными возмож- ностями в общество. Первое и главное условие, необ-ходимое для обеспечения соблюдения прав детей с ог-раниченными возможностями в регионе, заключается в том, чтобы положить конец общепринятой практике помещения таких детей в специализированные детские ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ Я хочу, чтобы вы написали, что я не считаю себя больной. Наоборот – хорошо- жить и быть молодой. Валя, 17 лет, с ограниченными возможностями, живет дома, Болгария учреждения и особые школы. Это требует от местныхвластей выделения бoльших ресурсов и оказания боль-шей поддержки семьям, имеющим детей с ограничен-ными возможностями – важных шагов в пер- од истори- ческих усилий по восстановлению демократического гражданского общества в этих странах, переживающих переходный период.

Innocenti Social Monitor 2004 reviews recent socio-economic trends in the 27 countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It examines child poverty in an integrating world from four different perspectives: Economic Growth and Child Poverty looks at children in poverty related to family income and indicates that since the late 1990s steady economic growth has reduced the proportion of people living in households with incomes below national subsistence minima. Despite years of good intentions and more recent economic growth, large numbers of children in the region remain trapped in poverty. Economic Integration, Labour Markets and Children finds that integration into the global economy, as measured by trade and volumes of foreign direct investment, has grown across the region, but is particularly concentrated in the new EU member countries. It shows that conventional market adjustment mechanisms have impoverished children in disadvantaged areas of many countries. Migration Trends and Policy Implications finds that migration has grown greatly in the region since the 1980s; reasons for this upsurge include the fragmentation of nations from eight countries into 27 at the start of the 1990s, causing many people to migrate. The article stresses the need for governments in both originating and receiving countries to better manage migration and increase avenues for legal migration across the region. Young People and Drugs: Increasing Health Risks, investigates the health consequences of the use of tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs by children and young people, particularly the links between drug use and young people’s deaths across the region. Additionally, the Statistical Annex covers a broad range of indicators for the years 1989 to 2002-2003,including population trends, births and fertility, mortality, family formation, health, education, child protection, crime, income, as well as a comprehensive statistical profile of each country in the region.

L’Innocenti Social Monitor 2004 prende in esame la povertà dei bambini in un mondo sempre più integrato, affrontando il problema da quattro diversi punti di vista: 'Crescita economica e povertà dei bambini' fa un esame della situazione dei bambini che subiscono la povertà legata al reddito familiare e registra che dalla fine degli anni novanta una costante crescita economica ha ridotto la proporzione di persone che vivono in famiglie con reddito inferiore al minimo nazionale di sussistenza. Questo significa che una quota crescente della popolazione di bambini in tutta la regione corre il rischio di crescere nella povertà. 'Integrazione economica, mercato del lavoro e bambini' si occupa del processo d’integrazione nell’economia globale, misurata sulla base del commercio e del volume di investimenti esteri diretti. L’integrazione economica è aumentata in tutta la regione, ma è particolarmente concentrata nei paesi dell’Europa centrale e del Baltico che sono diventati membri dell’UE. L’analisi mostra perciò che i convenzionali meccanismi di adeguamento del mercato hanno impoverito i bambini nelle aree svantaggiate di molti paesi. 'Tendenze dei movimenti migratori e implicazioni per le politiche pubbliche' rileva che dagli anni ottanta in poi le migrazioni sono notevolmente aumentate in tutta la regione. Tra le ragioni di ciò vi sono la frammentazione delle nazioni, con il passaggio da 8 a 27 paesi all’inizio degli anni novanta, il che ha spinto molti ad emigrare, in molti casi per fuggire da conflitti o persecuzioni. L’articolo sottolinea l’esigenza che i governi dei paesi sia di origine sia di destinazione gestiscano meglio il fenomeno e rafforzino i canali legali di emigrazione nella regione. 'I giovani e le droghe: aumentano i rischi per la salute' indaga le conseguenze sulla salute dell’uso del tabacco, dell’alcol e degli stupefacenti illegali sui giovani, in particolare il legame tra consumo di stupefacenti e decessi di giovani nella regione.

Процесс международной интеграции ярче высветил многие проблемы, и не в последнюю очередь рост масштабов бедности и неравенства между странами и внутри стран. Это относится как к странам Центральной и Восточной Европы и Содружества Независимых Государств, так и к другим регионам мира. После краха коммунистических режимов вместо 8 стран, существовавших в 1989 году, к середине 1990-х годов образовалось 27. Рыночные реформы не только принесли ногочисленные выгоды и преимущества, но и породили нестабильность. Сегодня жизнь детей в этом регионе совсем не такая, как у их родителей, – шире перспективы, больше свободы и возможностей выбора, но при этом и больше бедности, неравенства и риска.

There are worrying indications that official infant mortality counts, based on administrative data, may underestimate the true gravity of the problem in 15 countires in the CEE / CIS region, including 11 out of 12 CIS countries. However, the paper also finds that surveys are rather blunt instruments, and that the confidence intervals that surround estimates from these surveys are often large.

After more than a decade of coping with transition challenges in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the need for the reform of family and child welfare systems has been widely acknowledged. The mindset is changing, policies are increasingly embracing new directions, reform efforts are underway, but the lives of hundreds of thousands of poor families with children have yet to improve. Every year a large number of children are still at risk of being separated from their families and being placed in institutional care. Through 'Changing Minds, Policies and Lives', UNICEF and the World Bank have teamed up in an effort to increase the understanding of the essential challenges of the system changes, and to propose strategies to advance the reform of child and family services. The results of the joint work are the concept papers and corresponding tools that suggest how to change three important system regulators, decision making, standards and financing.

The quality of care children receive, their learning experiences and relationships, are critical in shaping their future. This is particularly true in their first years of life. Quality child protection services play an important role in enhancing learning and achievement throughout children’s lives, in providing more positive lifelong opportunities and outcomes, and in reducing poor health in adult life. The key to a high-quality child protection system is to have clear, agreed standards based on evidence of best practice and effective systems to implement and monitor them. Given the importance of promoting quality, this paper provides a framework for designing tools to specify and use standards as part of the reform of the child protection system. This is to ensure that, wherever possible, families are supported to care for their children themselves.