Dubai: Picture a child. Do you see a happy one, with his or her favourite soft toy tucked under an arm, running towards parents who wait with outstretched arms?
According to worldorphans.org there are at least 163 million children in the world who do not match that description. These are the orphans - children who have lost one or both parents and are in need of help.
In addition to the trauma of losing a parent, orphans are often subject to discrimination. They may be less likely to receive healthcare, education and other needed services - all of this keeping in mind they are not adopted.
Due to the vast number of children who are not receiving any assistance, and with many of them living in poverty, problems such as trafficking, prostitution and slavery continue to haunt the developing countries. Adverse poverty conditions in some countries forces food consumption to drop by 40 per cent putting children at risk of malnutrition.
More than half the children in the developing world are severely deprived of one or more of the necessities essential to childhood, according to Unicef. This includes adequate shelter, sanitation, safe water, healthcare services, school and food.
According to worldaidsorphans.org, an average of only 12 per cent of orphans receive basic external support. Estimates made by Unicef suggest that less than $500 million is currently being invested globally to implement a comprehensive response.
With so many children going unnoticed, what does their future hold?
