• by IPS Correspondents (santiago)
• Friday, November 25, 1994
• Inter Press Service

SANTIAGO, Nov 25 (IPS) - Poverty levels fell significantly in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela between 1990 and 1992, according to the Latin American Social Panorama, released Friday by the United Nations.

However, the report also warned that the region continues to suffer uneven income distribution, and called for increased and better-distributed social spending and improvements in women's and children's situations.

The third annual edition of the Social Panorama was presented in Santiago by the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) and the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Commission (Cepal).

Cepal Statistics Director Pedro Sainz acknowledged that poverty may have increased again in Venezuela over the two years since the period covered by the report.

He added regional poverty levels were difficult to calculate because not all Brazilian surveys were available for the study. An estimated 40 percent - some 193 million people - of the Latin American and Carribean population lives in poverty.

According to Cepal Executive Secretary Gert Rosenthal, the six successful cases of poverty reduction were in countries that have reestablished a macroeconomic balance together with social policies and redistributive measures.

Kristina Goncalves, Unicef representative for Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, said that issues of family, children's health and education are keys to sustainable social development.

For the first time, the Social Panorama included detailed statistics on women heads of households and the educational and employment situation of minors.

Figures on extreme poverty showed that the region's 22 percent of households with at least three children headed by a single woman are among the most vulnerable.

Latin America has shown some headway in the goals set at the World Children's Summit of 1990, but children from the poorest sectors still receive insufficient education.

According to Goncalves, education has a dual effect on household incomes, improving standards of living and helping families to overcome poverty.

In the cities of the region, between six and 32 percent of 13 to 17 year-olds have jobs, while three out of four of them have left their studies. In rural areas, between 15 and 55 percent of the adolescent population is employed.

© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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