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At 12:04 a.m. on Oct. 12, 1999, Adnan Nevic was born in a hospital in Sarajevo.

The first child of Jasmin and Fatima was welcomed by camera flashes and the title of being the six-billionth person on the planet.

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The swaddled infant rested in the pinstriped embrace of Kofi Annan, then-UN secretary-general, who posed with the child moments after his birth.More than 11 years on, Adnan is in sixth grade and earning As, according to a report in Maclean’s magazine. He loves dogs and soccer.

However, much of the optimism that surrounded his birth has been superseded by reality.

He sleeps in the same room as his parents in their small apartment in Visoko, central Bosnia. Most of the people who promised help never came through with their donations.

The family is still poor and Jasmin has bowel cancer and can no longer work as a boiler operator.

The city of Sarajevo subsidizes the birth of its spotlight citizen with ¤100 a month ($140), but Adnan’s family still cannot afford to enroll him in a soccer league.

Every year, visitors check in with the boy to mark the momentous day.

“They stroke my head, and then they disappear,” he said.

National Post, with files from news services