Championing children's rights Each year, The Progress of Nations ranks countries, not by the traditional yardstick of economic growth, but by the well-being of their children. One might expect the richest nations to be at the top of the class when it comes to providing for children. But the report confirms that monetary progress does not guarantee social development. In fact, some of the most impoverished nations are making the greatest strides towards achieving the goals set at the 1990 World Summit for Children. Because they have made fulfilling the basic needs of children a priority.
Charity is no longer enough.
With only two holdouts preventing universal ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the community of nations is rapidly coming to grips with the fact that each and every child is entitled to a whole series of fundamental rights. In recognition of that shift in thinking, The Progress of Nations is also expanding its focus. For millions of children, the lack of birth registration means exclusion from the rights and privileges a nation offers its citizens, such as education and health care. This year's report also charts the dramatic progress in child immunization over the past 20 years, a legacy of which we can be proud. In addition, this year's report outlines the growing shame of homelessness in the richest countries, where there is an ominous rise in the proportion of families and young people lacking permanent shelter.