“As we look around the world today, we’re confronted with an uncomfortable but undeniable truth: Millions of children’s lives are blighted, for no other reason than the country, the community, the gender or the circumstances into which they are born. Unless we accelerate the pace of our progress in reaching them, the futures of millions of disadvantaged and vulnerable children – and therefore the future of their societies – will be imperilled.” Anthony Lake, Executive Director, UNICEF Published by UNICEF Division of Communication 3 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017, USA ISBN: 978-92-806-4838-6 [email protected] www.unicef.org © United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) June 2016 174 THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2016