Street, slum children most vulnerable to daily hazards

Street children and kids living in slums in four Asian cities, including Dhaka, are among those most vulnerable to everyday hazards, disasters and climate change amid rapid urbanisation in Asian countries, said a study of Plan International yesterday.
The study “Understanding Children's Risk and Agency in Urban Areas and Their Implications for Child-centred Urban Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia” was launched in Bangladesh yesterday at a local hotel in the capital.
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in partnership with Plan conducted the study on four cities -- Dhaka, Kathmandu, Jakarta and Manila.
A total of 341 youths belonging to three classes -- street children, working children and squatter and slum children-- were interviewed.
According to the study, street children in Dhaka identified their “dirty living environments” as the primary cause of diseases like diarrhoea.       
Those living on the street with either one or both parents face difficulties in accessing health care, but this depended largely on the availability of money for treatment at that moment.
Street children in Jakarta mentioned that they spend about one to two US dollars for three meals a day, but the estimated cost of three nutritious meals is about US$ 3.30 per day.
According to a World Bank study in 2011, these four cities lack resources to address the growing problem of slums, and the vulnerability of their inhabitants to disasters and climate change impacts.
The Plan International study recommends linking disaster risk reduction (DRR) programmes to long-term development plans of the respective governments. It views that there are few DRR programmes to address vulnerability of urban children living in poverty.
In her welcome speech, Senait Gebregziabher, country director of Plan International, Bangladesh hoped that the study would help humanitarian and development agencies to develop urban DRR projects.