UNICEF India head bats for developing child-friendly cities

Clean air, green spaces and a safe environment benefit not only children but the entire community, McCaffrey stressed.

Head of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) India, Cynthia McCaffery, has stressed on developing cities that are safe, accessible and friendly for children and youth.

Clean air, green spaces and a safe environment benefit not only children but the entire community, McCaffrey said.

She participated in the Urban 20 (U20) Mayoral Summit held in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad cities on July 7 and 8, as part of India’s G20 presidency, where discussions were held on the future of cities of the world.

"More than 56 percent of the population currently lives in urban areas. Estimates suggest that 70 percent of the global population will live in cities by 2050, adding an additional 2.5 billion people to the urban population mostly in Asia and Africa. This means that there will be more than 1.6 billion children living in urban areas by 2050, McCaffery noted.

"Every week, around 1.4 million people move to urban areas worldwide and many of the people will find themselves living in temporary and informal settlements," she said.

"The Urban 20 Mayoral Summit provides us an opportunity to build the foundation for inclusive cities that cater to the needs of all residents," said the India head of the UNICEF.

"India has done two things. They are discussing how to make cities safe and friendly for children and youth and they are involving technologies for the same," she further added.