Despite economic growth, world still leaving millions of its poorest children behind: UNICEF

NEW DELHI – A new report by UNICEF warns that economic growth is still failing to help millions of the world's poorest children.

Data in the report released Tuesday shows that impoverished children are almost twice as likely to die before their 5th birthday as children from wealthier homes.

In India, there are millions enduring grinding poverty — sleeping on sidewalks, begging at traffic intersections or relying on state-run lunch programs that often provide their only full meal for the day.

UNICEF's Executive Director Anthony Lake told reporters that countries must focus on their most vulnerable people instead of on national data averages that can obscure stubborn inequalities. If they don't, another 68 million children worldwide will die before they are 5 by 2030, while another 119 million will be chronically malnourished.