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Number of poor children increasing in the Philippines

Children in Philippines. Close to 13 million children live in poverty dbgg1979/Flickr
Close to 13 million children live in poverty
A new study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), estimates that 12.8 million children under the age of 15 are living in poverty, an increase of one million over a three-year period.

"Forty-four percent of all Filipino children are living in poverty and also suffer from other dimensions of poverty like deprivations of food, shelter, health and education," Vanessa Tobin, UNICEF country representative, told IRIN.

Released on 16 September, but based on data compiled from 2003 to 2006, the key findings of the study demonstrate clear trends across the country, with 9.2 million of the 12.8 million children living in rural areas.

According to the study, 5.4 million children were deprived of at least one of the three dimensions of well-being - shelter, sanitation, and water - in 2006. In June 2009, the Child Development Index, released by the National Statistics Coordination Board, indicated the human development of children deteriorated in the period 2003-2006, when the poverty rate rose.

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This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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