When United Nations secretary-general Kurt Waldheim signed off on the Year of the Child on January 1, 1979, it created a greater awareness of young people the world over, writes Grey Morris

THERE must be another International Year of the Child at a time when COVID-19 is doing its best to destroy the world and young people across the globe are dying … writes GREY MORRIS

TO borrow the words of the late crooner Frank Sinatra, 1979 was a very good year and in a lot of ways it was.

Right at the top was a decision by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to declare the 979th year of the second millennium and 79th year of the 20th century the International Year of the Child.

UNESCO proclaimed 1979 the Year of the Child with an accompanying television advertisement and a chorus that still rings through my brain more than 40 years later: “It’s important to care for kids.’’

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When United Nations secretary-general Kurt Waldheim signed off on the Year of the Child on January 1, 1979, it created a greater awareness of young people the world over, something that had never been achieved before and sadly has not been seen since.

So, I have to ask, where is the second, much needed edition of an entire year dedicated and devoted solely to the health and wellbeing of our kids?

Can Chief Minister Michael Gunner and Prime Minister Scott Morrison make it a point of urgency to resurrect the International Year of the Child? It is too many years after our kids and those across the world were put first.

It was a time when people everywhere started to realise the importance of children – those who were very young and those in their teens – who given the right opportunities and assistance by their families and governments, would grow up to be men and women.

Remember, the 1979 proclamation was a follow-up 20 years on from the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and was intended to draw attention to problems that affected children throughout the world, including premature deaths, malnutrition and a lack of access to education

In a new world gone mad with domestic violence and international and internal conflicts, innocent children are being killed before they have a chance to live their lives.

Not a lot is being done about it by successive governments right across planet earth because of a lack of awareness on how important our kids are and how they will be dads, mums, chief ministers, prime ministers and presidents not too far into the future.

Our children have become the silent victims of domestic violence many times over and a chronic lack of food and water in developed and underdeveloped countries.

They are consigned to the back room when decisions are made on what humanity needs to survive, when those kids cringing in their bedrooms while mum and dad argue and violence erupts or they are thrown off a bridge like a rag doll.

You have heard the horror stories, kids burnt in a car by a jealous partner, killed in their beds at night, thrown off a bridge or left in a stroller in a park by parents unable to cope with the responsibility of raising a child.

That is despite studies showing that diseases like pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria, in conjunction with birth asphyxia and trauma, and congenital anomalies remain the leading causes of death for children under five.

That is where basic lifesaving methods like skilled delivery at birth, effective post-natal care, breastfeeding and adequate nutrition, vaccinations and treatment for common childhood diseases can save young lives.

Those kids with acute malnutrition have a higher risk of death from those common childhood illnesses like diarrhoea, pneumonia, and malaria, with nutrition contributing to something like 45 per cent of deaths in those under five.

Deaths in older children reflect the underlying risks with this age group, with accidents and injuries relating to domestic violence, drowning and road traffic trauma at the head of the list.

Governments need to improve the delivery of education, transportation and road infrastructure while making sure water, the right sanitation and law enforcement work together to prevent premature deaths in older children.

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Why is a sports writer wading into an international debate on the importance of our kids?

Because I am a father twice over with six grandchildren they have presented me with, running around in the world with as much love and care as their dad and mum and my son and daughter can give them.

It’s why I often think back to 1979, when snow fell on the Sahara Desert for the first and only time, Collingwood lost another grand final and the cricket war between Channel 9 magnate Kerry Packer and the Australian Cricket Board ended in a truce after two years of bitter fighting.

There must be another International Year of the Child at a time when COVID-19 is doing its best to destroy the world and young people across the globe are dying in big numbers for all sorts of tragic reasons.

As the jingle from 1979 says time and again: “It’s important to care for kids. Find a minute to spare for kids. Such a lot you can share with kids.’’

Grey Morris is the sports editor at the NT News