Report on the Argentine situation

Argentina is slowly recovering from an unprecedented economic crisis. However, enormous problems still remain to be addressed that are part of the UN Millenium Development Goals for 2015.

One of the main problems, and the first Millenium Development Goals is to erradicate extreme poverty. However, according to data from the permanent households survey form Indec (the national statistics bureau) from the second semester of 2006, from the total of 31 urban conglomerates (which covers 60% of total population), 26.9% of the population is below the poverty line. Also, 8,7% of the population is below the extreme poverty (indigencia) line.

Moreover, these data are calculated in relation to the canasta básica alimentaria (the basic food needs index), which for the first semester of 2007 was estimated by Indec to be 7,6% more expensive than in the second semester of 2006. However, a private group recently published their own estimation of the cost of the canasta básica, which resulted a 11,5% more expensive than last year.

The fourth Millenium Development Goal is a drop in child mortality. In Argentina, according to Indec data from 2004, the child mortality rate for the whole country is 14,4‰. However, the northern provinces have rates that are considerably higher: Formosa has a rate of 25,1‰, Catamarca's index is 22‰, in Chaco it goes up to 21,3‰ and in Tucumán to 20,5‰.

In relation to the last indexes, malnutrition in newborns (weight of less than 2500 grams) according to UNICEF's data from 1998-2005, is of 8%. Another suggestive number, form a 2003 study by Fundación CONIN on 75 pacients of their Rehabilitation Center, 56% suffered from primary malnutrition (not ingesting sufficient amounts of food) which is associated to poverty and 44% suffered from secondary malnutrition (related to other causes such as malabsortion, neurological or genetic problems, cardiopathy, etc.).

Another Millenium Development Goal is to make elementary education universal. In Argentina, early education according to Indec studies from 2001, is accesible to 52.9% of 3 to 4-year-olds, with very strong regional and socioeconomic differences.

In the metropolitan region, only 45.1% of boys and girls from low-income households go to early childhood education, while in families of higher socioeconomic level this rate goes up to 83.7%. This huge class gap is repeated in other regions, for example in the Argentine northeast, where only 9.2% of children from poor families go to early education, in comparison to 41.8% in higher-income households. In relation to mandatory pre-school (5 years old), there's access from 78.8% of the population.

According to data from 2001 from Indec, 296.000 boys and girls from 5 to 14 years old se are in a situation of child labor in urban conglomerates. The same source states that a total of 1.580.000 girls and boys from 5 to 14 years old do domestic labor in their own homes, attending to house needs, preparing food or taking care of siblings while the househod adults work outside the home.

With respect to health, sixth Millenium Development Goal, it is estimated by 2005 reports from the Ministry of Health that aproximadately 127.000 people live with HIV/AIDS in Argentina, of which 60% are unaware of their serologic situation.

Health problems are specially worrisome, since from the total Argentine population (36.260.130), 48,1% are uninsured (Indec, 2001). According to the same reporte this problem affects 54,1% of children 5 to 14 years old, 53,5% of teenagers 15 to 19 years old and 50,8% of adults 20 to 49 years old.

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