This is from the Daily Observer of 24th August 199, one can get the full
report in the UNICEF website.

PEACE

TOMBONG SAIDY

       Gambian children  faring well – Unicef

According to the Unicef progress of Nation's Report, 1999, children in The
Gambia are  faring much better than most of their counterparts in Africa in
terms of under-five  mortality, HIV/AIDS infection, primary schooling,
conflict. These are the main factors of
'child risk measure,'(CRM) a new initiative by Unicef to highlight some of
the risks a child faces until the age of 18.

The report published recently, gave the Gambia 35 points on the CRM, the
best in West Africa and trailing only Gabon, South Africa and Mauritius.

Angola and Sierra Leone top the table with 96 and 95 points in the CRM
respectively making their children most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS infection,
conflict, mortality and  malnutrition.

The report indicates an under five mortality rate of 87/1000 for The Gambia,
the lowest in West Africa, a primary school enrollment of 65 per cent, the
highest in Africa. According to the report there are 120 children orphaned
by AIDS in The Gambia.

In his forward to the report, the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, said the
Progress of  Nation's Report, "plays an essential role in monitoring global
advances towards the goals set in 1990 as well as recording the setbacks."

The executive director of Unicef, Carol Bellamy, said in the report,
"anything that  improves the prospects for children's well being improves
the prospects for the world.".



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