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Financial crisis hits children and adolescents in Guatemala
The global financial crisis is having a negative impact on children and adolescents in Guatemala, according to a new report.
Guatemala baby.
The Survey on Remittances 2009: Children and Adolescents has been jointly produced by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The report says that decline in remittances from family members abroad has forced tens of thousands of children to leave school and find work to supplement the family income.
Among the 3,000 households interviewed by IOM and UNICEF, close to 9 per cent of the children between 7 and 17 years-old can no longer attend school.
The report says more than 90,000children of the same age have been forced to find jobs to supplement the family income.
According to the survey, more than one-and-a-half million Guatemalans are living abroad and the majority of them are men who send remittances home.
The report notes that unemployment in the United States, where 97 per cent of Guatemalan migrants abroad are living, is not deterring others from migrating.
Gail Walker, UN Radio.
Duration: 1'06''
