This book examines issues concerning how developing countries will have to prepare for demographic and epidemiologic change. Much of the current literature focuses on the prevalence of specific diseases and their economic consequences, but a need exists to consider the consequences of the epidemiological transition: the change in mortality patterns from infectious and parasitic diseases to chronic and degenerative ones. Among the topics covered are the association between the health of children and adults, the strong orientation of many international health organizations toward infant and child health, and how the public and private sectors will need to address and confront the large-scale shifts in disease and demographic characteristics of populations in developing countries.

The theme of leadership in this publication is related to the role of governments and international institutions in protecting the well being of children. It is in three sections; the first "birth and broken promises", contrasts the reality of the life of a child born eleven years ago with the promises made at the World Summit for Children, held in New York in 1990. The section, "to change the world with children", looks at the way UNICEF has called attention to the plight of children. The last section, "actions that can change the world", concludes that investing in children is the best investment a country can make and that no country has made a leap to sustainable development without investing significantly in its children.

Celebrating UNICEF's 50th anniversary in 1996, Children First examines changes in public attitudes and government policies which have put children at the top of the international agenda in the 1990s. Starting from the International Year of the Child in 1979, development historian Maggie Black studies the two movements which have done most to raise the visibility of children in the public consciousness: - the child survival campaign, which culminated in the 1990 World Summit for Children - the movement for children's rights, which resulted in the 1989 International Convention on the Rights of the Child, now ratified by 177 countries.Children First explores what brought these two movements such unprecedented success, and asks: Is this new found concern for the world's children likely to last?

Jim Grant was Executive Director of UNICEF from 1980 to 1995, during which period he launched a worldwide child survival and development revolution. The practical result was that by 1995, 25 million children were alive who would otherwise have died, with millions more living with better health and nutrition. This volume contains eight articles by Jim Grant's close colleagues which draw out the lessons of Grant's vision and leadership, which have relevance in many other contexts

The sixth issue of Progress for Children reports on the status of child-specific targets set by world leaders at the May 2002 UN General Assembly Special Session on Children. This special edition examines more than 35 key indicators in the four broad areas identified at the Special Session as requisite to building ’A World Fit for Children'. It also analyses the Millennium Development Goals and provides information on the state of child protection.

The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002 brought together thousands of delegates who mapped out the future of the global sustainable development agenda. The resulting technical document, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI), identifies priorities in the implementation of Agenda 21 and other international agreements, and commitments that will take these priorities forward. This plain language version provides an invaluable reference to the outcomes of the WSSD by explaining the JPOI clearly for the lay person and expert alike.