MORE than 150 academics and policy makers gathered on Tuesday at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy to discuss the impact of the economic crisis on children.
The two-day conference organised by Unicef in conjunction with the school and Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will cover topics such as social protection, health and nutrition, education and child labour.
Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan, who attended the conference said that while discussions on economic resilience is important, it is equally important to focus on the 'social impact of this crisis, and in particular, its implications for children'.
He said that the recent crisis could increase low birth weight by five to 10 per cent, and increase overall under-five child mortality in severely affected countries of Southeast Asia and the Pacific regions by three to 11 per cent.
He called it a timely conference but added that the real impact would be determined by the actions taken beyond the meeting.
