Atlas of south asian children and women

The Atlas of South Asian Children and Women is designed to provide insight into human survival, protection and development in one of the world's most complex regions.

For 5,000 years, South Asia has been a major centre of civilization, a land of monumental architecture, classic literature, magnificent art and lively politics. The varied landscape sprawls across four million square kilometres. There are Himalayan snow peaks, hills, plains, deserts, jungles and tropical islands. There are large cities and remote villages with diverse people, languages and religions. Even time itself is full of contrasts. Mod ern technology co-exists alongside traditional cus toms that have been unchanged for centuries.

Although South Asians share this rich cul tural and natural heritage, most of the 1.2 billion people do not adequately share the region's con siderable human, economic and organizational re sources. Whether in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka, poverty is a fact of life-and human survival is a constant struggle.

Poverty profoundly affects the most vulner able South Asians, some 482 million children and their mothers, whose lives are continuously jeopardized by malnutrition and disease. Each year, far more young South Asian children die from these causes than in the worst Indian famine of the 20th Century the Bengal famine, which claimed three million lives.

Each year, nearly five million South Asian children die before they reach age five. Most of these-some 3.2 million infants - die within the first twelve months. The majority of young child deaths are caused by the combination of prevent able and curable illnesses such as diarrhoea or res piratory infections and malnutrition.

Because many pregnant women are malnour ished, a third of South Asia's newborn infants weigh less than 2.5 kilogrammes - low birth weights which severely diminish their chances for survival. Most women-some 70 per cent - give birth without help from trained attendants. Each year 180,000 women die from complications of pregnancy - half the annual maternal deaths in the world.

Two-thirds of surviving South Asian children are malnourished - and a fourth of these are se verely underweight. Only half complete primary education. Some children are exploited as bonded labourers and sex workers. Thousands more beg on urban streets.