KEY CHALLENGES FOR CHILDREN IN UKRAINE
Poverty: Ukraine has experienced economic growth since 2000, though prior to that there was considerable economic decline and an estimated 29% of the population is living below the poverty line, with 3% in extreme poverty. It will take years to regain the 1990 level of GNI per capita - currently standing at US$1,260 according to the World Bank - and although the official unemployment rate in 2003 was 3.6%, the International Labour Organisation estimates it to be at 9.1%. The economic decline of the last decade is seen as the main reason for the falling population and fertility rate. Ukraine has the world's third fastest decline in population, decreasing at the rate of around 1% each year, according to the projected figures for 2000 to 2005. HIV/AIDS. Ukraine has the third fastest growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in Europe (after Estonia and the Russian Federation) and the number of reported cases of HIV infection has increased 20 times in the past five years. Some 12.5% of those infected are children under 18 and the rate of children born to HIV infected mothers is rising dramatically (to date more then 10,000) and 186 HIV-positive children have already died. Child Health: The official infant mortality rate (deaths before the age of one for every 1,000 live births) for 2005 is 10.0, down from 15 in 1993. However, fewer than 10% of children are 100% healthy when they reach adulthood. Iodine deficiency is a national public health problem and every year some 80% of newborns are unprotected from such deficiency. However, according to a 2005 multiple indicator cluster survey only some 17% use enough iodised salt to protect themselves from iodine deficiency (the world's leading cause of mental retardation). Only half of mothers report that their baby was handed to them in the delivery room.
Children in institutions: Children in institutions are a matter of growing concern. Progress in reforming the system and the provision of alternatives is slow, and government financial support for these institutions is inadequate. The number of orphans and children without parental care doubled during the 1990s and rose to 96,000 in 2004. The causes of child abandonment include family poverty and childbearing by under-age mothers. Children are often removed from families through legal action as a result of family breakdown or other reasons. The number of children living or working in the streets is reported to have increased steadily over the last decade, with a consequent rise in risk-taking behaviour. There is a policy trend towards seeking institutional remedies to the growing number of problem children and youth. This leads to further alienation and stigmatisation, especially in the case of HIV/AIDS victims. Trafficking in human beings: Trafficking in human beings is a serious issue for Ukraine, which is both a source and transit country for the trafficking of women for sex work, domestic labour and marriage. In 2003, the Anti-Trafficking Unit filed 234 trafficking cases covering 413 victims. Between 2000 and the end of 2003, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) assisted 1,153 trafficked people - the only trafficking victims assisted during that period. In 2002, Interpol Ukraine received 742 notices from 30 countries concerning the trafficking of Ukrainians. The overwhelming majority of trafficking victims are women with a small proportion of children. Violence: Trafficking is closely linked to domestic violence and 68% of women - some 18 million women - report that they have experienced violence in the home, with 20% suffering from violence on a regular basis. The Ministry of Family, Youth and Sport is the appointed state body responsible for the implementation of the Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence adopted in 2001.
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