The Child in Latin America: Health, Development, and Rights

Although most Latin American countries are considered middle-income nations, their child health and well-being statistics overall compare poorly with those of the United States. This volume, representing the fifth part of Project Latin America 2000 from the Helen Kellogg Institute, brings together contributors from the U.S., Latin America, and organizations such as UNICEF to consider the physical, educational, social, legal, and economic status and progress of children throughout Latin America, focusing especially on health and rights issues.

In chapters concerning health, experts in biology and medicine address such topics as trends in malnutrition and undernutrition, iron deficiency, inadequate sanitation, and contaminated water. Other articles on children’s rights by contributors from the social sciences and public policy consider a wide range of issues, including youth violence and homicide, child labor and education, adolescents and the penal system, and future prospects for children’s rights. All of the articles contribute to a more complete understanding of the situation of children in contemporary Latin American development, creating a storehouse of information that will be useful to both scholars and policymakers.

These contributors show that as long as children in Latin America remain victimized by poverty, malnutrition, injustice, and violations of human rights, the many challenges of development must be addressed in ways that will protect children as well as support growing economies. They bring into focus the interdependence of all aspects of change, which must be acknowledged if children are to be both rightful beneficiaries and effective participants in the continuing development of Latin America.