LONDON, May 30 (Xinhua) -- More than half the world's children, or over 1.2 billion people, are threatened by widespread poverty, conflict or discrimination against girls, an international charity said in a report on Wednesday.
The report, launched by London-based Save the Children ahead of International Children's Day on June 1, examines how these three key factors are robbing children of their childhoods around the world.
It found that more than 1 billion children live in countries plagued by poverty, 240 million in countries affected by conflict and fragility and more than 575 million girls live in countries where gender bias is a serious issue.
Almost 153 million children are living in 20 countries affected by all three three threats, it added.
"While we're seeing some progress in many countries -- when it comes to childhood-disrupting events like early marriage, exclusion from education and poor health -- progress is not happening quickly enough for the world's most vulnerable children," CEO of Save the Children Carolyn Miles said.
The report also included an index depicting where childhood is most and least threatened among 175 countries.
Singapore and Slovenia both rank first. Eight of the bottom 10 countries are in West and Central Africa, the report said.
Miles called for urgent action from governments globally to meet their promises made at the United Nations to ensure every child is in school, protected and healthy by 2030.
