More children go to bed hungry in South Asia than anywhere else: UN report

South Asia is the poorest and most illiterate region in the world, yet it buys more weapons than anyone else.

So finds a United Nations-funded report on South Asian development released on Wednesday.

"The region has been sinking fast into a quagmire of human deprivation and despair, emerging as the most deprived region in the world,'' says Mahbub-ul Haq who authored the report. Haq is the founder of the Pakistan-based Human Development Centre.

In his 153-page report -- which defines South Asia as Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka -- Haq offers a litany of statistics to support his claim:

* More children go to bed hungry every night in South Asia than anywhere else in the world, including sub-Saharan Africa.

* There are an estimated 134 million child labourers in the region. Many of them work over 15 hours a day and are often physically abused.

* For every 100,000 children born here, nearly 600 mothers die. In Bangladesh and Bhutan, the averages are even higher -- 850 and 1,600, respectively.

* The region has 40 per cent of the world's absolute poor who survive on just one dollar a day.

* On health and education, India spends just 14 dollars per person and Pakistan $ 10.

The report lists political instability, corrupt governments and general lawlessness as main causes for south Asia's slide.

The two powers of the region, India and Pakistan, are believed to have the capability to build a nuclear bomb, and are on the verge of a missile race. "The most frightening aspect of the current Indo-Pakistani confrontation is the rapid acquisition of modern weaponry by both countries,'' the report says, "Such huge investments are pre-empting scarce financial resources urgently needed for human development.''

Haq lays out a tough agenda, costing nearly $ 129 billion over the next 15 years, for bettering the situation. It provides for primary schooling for 126 million children, basic health care for 690 million people, safe drinking water for 770 million, adequate nutrition for 87 million children and family planning services to 287 million married couples.

Tough decisions would have to be made like massive reductions in defence spending. Just a five per cent cut in defence spending could mean an additional $ 80 billion in the next 15 years, the report points out.

"It can be done. It's amazing how much change a good government can bring about. And unless we bring about these, we will really go under," Haq warns.

UNI