The Progress of Nations Report 1998

Points out that society has largely overlooked the vulnerabilities of adolescence in developing countries -- and that young people, who make up one sixth of the people on earth, need the support of their elders if they are to fulfil their promise and avoid the inevitable perils that lie ahead. 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.

This year, for the first time, we look at children's civil rights, beginning at the beginning: with the right to be registered at birth. 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. But the struggle is far from over: 2 million children still die each year because they lack access to this basic and inexpensive public health service. [author]