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According to the UN Children's Fund, worldwide, about 1 billion children currently live in poverty. Of these children, 674 million are living in absolute poverty. Further, the International Labor Organization estimates that 218 million children engage in some form of illegal, hazardous, or exploitative child labor. The Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS estimates that 143 million orphans live in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean, and that every minute a child under age 15 dies of an AIDS-related illness. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 10 million children under age 5 die each year from preventable or treatable diseases, such as diarrhea, malaria, measles, and pneumonia, while more than half of that number die from malnutrition. Clearly, as these statistics demonstrate, millions of children around the world live in poverty and are subject to exclusion, vulnerability, disease, and exploitation.

However, child poverty is not only a phenomenon in the developing world. Child poverty is also rising in the developed world. According to UNICEF, since at least the year 2000, in 17 out of 24 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, the proportion of children living in poverty has increased. Determining the poverty level in these countries is a combination of three factors: social trends, labor market conditions, and government policies. Unfortunately, commitments to reducing child poverty in OECD countries often do not match resources or social spending.

Poverty is a sustained low standard of living and lack of resources. In real terms, poverty is hunger, lack of shelter, no access to medical care, no access to education, no job, powerlessness, and lack of representation and freedom. Moreover, an intrinsic link exists between poverty and vulnerability. Because children are still developing and are dependent on adults for their survival, they are especially vulnerable to the impact of poverty. Research shows that children are more sensitive to and affected by poverty than adults generally appreciate or understand. Children keenly feel the effects of poverty from the lack of basic goods and services, as well as its associated divisiveness, stigma, and humiliation. Thus, any attempt to address child poverty must tackle the problem holistically, dealing with both physical and psychosocial needs.

Recognizing the need to eradicate poverty, achieve universal access to education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and build a global partnership for development, the international community committed itself to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the year 2015. These goals serve as a framework for measuring development progress, since their achievement will have a significantly positive impact on the lives of millions of children around the world.

However, current poverty reduction strategies do not reach the poorest and most vulnerable. Most countries are currently off target to achieving the MDGs, especially those goals focused on the most poor. In some countries, the indicators are negative and gains have been reversed. Thus, achieving the MDGs by 2015, especially for children, will require new and innovative global partnerships--partnerships among governments, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, and individuals. In order to achieve the MDGs, many poor countries need financial and technical assistance and look to the rich and donor countries to provide it. In turn, rich and donor countries will need to respond to the needs of poorer countries.

Although children over age 12 make up about 30 percent of children in the 0-18 age range in developing countries, they receive little attention. Youth are vulnerable to unemployment and idleness; lack access to and retention in school; engage in risky behaviors (early pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, violence, and crime); have few skills or prospects; and have limited participation in society.

In many poor countries, some progress has occurred in providing basic education to children. However, these school systems are ill equipped to face the learning needs of youth. Today, a big challenge for many countries is providing access to secondary education, especially lower secondary school. Notably, almost half of all unemployment is among young people of legal working age, with the unemployment rate for youth 2 to 3 times that of adults.

Given the size and vulnerability of this global group of youth, and the risks they face, targeted attention and programs are necessary to address their needs, such as programs promoting healthy behavior and life skills, as well as programs on livelihoods and employment, including nonformal and vocational education. Social tensions may increase around the world if governments are not able to meet the needs of their youth.

The World Bank maintains that children can flourish only if equipped with advanced skills beyond literacy. In order to stay healthy, they must face the challenges of new diseases, such as sexually transmitted diseases and obesity. Ensuring that children are well prepared for the future is vital to reducing poverty and increasing economic growth. Missing the opportunity to educate, prepare, and invest in today's children will be costly to reverse. However, poverty and vulnerability are unlikely to be reduced unless adults and children have access to social services and protections.

In order to combat child poverty, parents and caregivers must have equal access to employment and livelihood opportunities so that they can provide for their children. Children and youth must have access to health care and safe, free, quality, and relevant education. Youth must have access to life skills training and employment opportunities. Governments must ensure that basic services (access to food, clean water, shelter, etc.) and social protections are available to all children, especially those who are poor and vulnerable, and that their rights are protected and respected.

References:

1) Gordon, David, Shailen Nandy, Christina Pantazis, Simon Pemberton, and Peter Townsend. 2003. Child Poverty in the Developing World. Bristol, England: Policy Press.

2) International Labor Organization. 2006. The End of Child Labour: Within Reach. Geneva, Switzerland: International Labor Office.

3) UNICEF. 2005. The State of the World's Children 2006: Excluded and Invisible. New York: UNICEF.

4) UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. 2005. Report Card No. 6: Child Poverty in Rich Countries. Florence, Italy: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre.

5) Wordsworth, Daniel, Mark McPeak, and Thomas Feeny. 2005. Understanding Children's Experience of Poverty: An Introduction to the DEV Framework. Richmond, VA: Christian Children's Fund.

6) World Bank. 2006. World Development Report 2007:Development and the Next Generation. Washington, DC: World Bank.

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