Poverty

UNICEF has long advocated and provided technical support for measuring child poverty and developing national responses to reduce it. This includes promoting monetary child poverty analysis which can lead to tangible results in the lives of children living in poverty. This note provides guidance to expand the child poverty analytical toolbox, with…

“The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have been widespread and disproportionately affected vulnerable segments of the population, including children and their families. The modest progress made in reducing child poverty has been reversed in all parts of the world by COVID-19. Impact of COVID-19 on the welfare of households with children – a joint…

NEW YORK, 10 March 2022 – At least two thirds of households with children have lost income since the COVID-19 pandemic hit two years ago, according to a new report published today by UNICEF and the World Bank. Impact of COVID-19 on the welfare of households with children – which presents findings from data collected in 35 countries – notes that…

“My daughter learned to walk in a homeless shelter.” This is not just the powerful opening line of Stephanie Land’s memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive, on which the Netflix show was based. It’s the lived experience of many women and children across the world. Land’s story depicts a single mother struggling to survive…

NEW YORK, 9 December 2021 – COVID-19 has affected children at an unprecedented scale, making it the worst crisis for children UNICEF has seen in its 75-year history, the United Nations Children’s agency said in a report released today.  The report  https://www.unicef.org/reports/unicef-75-preventing-a-lost-decade Preventing a lost decade: Urgent…

This comprehensive review aims to unpack and understand the ways that multidimensional poverty measurement and analysis can impact on national policies, programmes and accountability mechanisms and ultimately lead to the reduction of multidimensional child poverty.  The focus of the review is on actual country examples of the policy use of…

  “Strengthening the evidence on the correlation between fiscal equity and social outcomes for children” This report analyses the impact of equity in Government social spending, specifically, social protection spending, on absolute poverty and inequality, using a dataset from 101 countries. It also analyses how the distributional outcomes could be…

The combined health and economic crisis resulting from the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic risks long-term repercussions for children’s development and well-being around the world. These losses will affect not just children themselves, but also the future of their families, communities and economies, possibly for decades. Ensuring an inclusive…

The COVID-19 pandemic will have long term economic consequences for children, communities and countries around the world. Children who were already poor and vulnerable will be the most affected , as they suffer the impacts of lost education, poorer nutrition, increased child labour and child marriage, and greater mental ill health. More than 142…, 1. Safeguard critical social spending to ensure that social systems and interventions are protected from spending cuts and are expanded where inadequate, Investments in children, such as reducing child malnutrition, expanding pre-school and primary education, particularly for girls, and in reducing child poverty through social protection, are vital to protect human capital and consistently provide the highest social and economic returns. Investments in early childhood development are critical,…, 2. Ensure the best, most equitable, effective and efficient use of financial resources across social sectors for human capital development, An inclusive recovery requires extra efforts to ensure public services are reaching poor and excluded children, to enhance short-term recovery and contribute to reducing future inequality. To increase efficiency, governments should eliminate wasteful or duplicative expenditure, adopt more efficient public finance practices to improve budget…, 3. Direct adequate finance towards an inclusive recovery that protects children, especially the poorest and most marginalized, Priority actions include providing additional finance for COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine delivery; taking meaningful action on the part of all creditors to restructure unsustainable debt and avoid the looming debt crisis ; agreeing to a new allocation of IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDRs); scaling up and faster disbursement of both bilateral and…

In 2020, COVID-19 exposed deep inequalities that have existed for too long, with the worst impact on children in the poorest countries and communities and those already disadvantaged by discrimination, social exclusion, fragility and conflict.  Responding to COVID-19: UNICEF’s 2020 key achievements highlights how COVID-19 affected children and how…

Seventy-four years after UNICEF was established and 31 years since the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the organization’s mission to promote the full attainment of the rights of all children is as urgent as ever.  The UNICEF Strategic Plan 2018-2021 is anchored in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and charts a course…, In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic unleashed an era-defining challenge which has put a sobering spotlight on inequalities in every country, laying bare the increasing risk to children growing up in poverty, exclusion or conflict.  The most harmful effects have fallen on the poorest countries and communities. Those that were already marginalized and…, Ending child poverty by 2030, Icon representing poverty - child with an empty bowl 1 in 6 children in the world is living in extreme poverty Icon representing children - boy and girl holding hands Nearly 20% of children under 5 are extremely poor, compared to 7.9% of adults Icon representing chart - bar graph 1.2 billion children are estimated to be multidimensionally poor, up…, Child poverty in fragile contexts, While COVID-19 has had fundamental impacts on increasing child poverty, underlying threats of conflict, fragility and climate change are also crucial long-term drivers. About 40 percent of children who live in fragile and conflict-affected countries live in extreme poverty compared to 15 percent of children in other countries. With the impacts of…, Public finance for children, Icon representing government building - building with flag flying In 124 UNICEF country offices as part of the COVID-19 response, UNICEF worked with governments, development partners and International Financial Institutions to protect and leverage resources for children  Icon representing country office - shape of undefined country In 119…, Making public spending on children’s rights more efficient and effective, The COVID-19 crisis has created major pressure on public budgets and social sector spending as governments faced decreased revenues and increased pressure on spending for pandemic response. Focusing on efficiency and effectiveness of public budgets during the COVID-19 response and recovery has been key to ensure the sustainability of social sector…, Strengthening social protection systems, Icon representing cash transfer - hands protecting child 115 countries were supported with building inclusive and shock-responsive social protection systems supporting emergency responses Icon representing children - boy and girl holding hands Over 130.7 million children in 93 countries were reached through UNICEF-supported cash transfer…, UNICEF's support to build social protection systems, Supporting childcare and adolescent employability, UNICEF works towards enhancing quality childcare services and family-friendly policies, particularly for working mothers; and improving access to employment, job-placement and skills-development programmes for adolescents and youth. COVID-19 further increased the care burden on women and adolescent girls given that schools, childcare centres and…, Linking humanitarian cash transfers to social protection systems, Children in fragile and humanitarian contexts face additional vulnerabilities and strengthening social protection in these contexts is particularly important. For the first time, UNICEF has included social protection in its Core Commitments for Children in humanitarian contexts and worked in almost 80 countries to help ensure their social…, Promoting positive gender norms and socialization, Icon representing social norms - a man and a woman with a rainbow over their heads 49 UNICEF country programmes carried out interventions to confront gender-discriminatory roles and norms and promote positive gender socialization Icon representing children without parental care - two protective hands around a heart An estimated 2.6 million mothers…, Supporting children with disabilities to reach their full potential, Icon representing children with disabilities - child in a wheelchair 2.2 million children with disabilities across 144 countries reached with UNICEF disability-inclusive development and humanitarian programmes  Icon representing computer connected to the internet Over 152,000 children provided with assistive technology (AT) and accessible products…, Furthering inclusive education, Disability-inclusive education means that all children and adolescents with disabilities can enjoy their right to education on an equal basis with their peers. UNICEF works with partners to promote accessible and inclusive learning spaces and materials. More importantly, it works with teachers and school administrations to promote inclusive…, Reducing stigma and invisibility through advocacy and communication, Stigma and discrimination are key barriers to inclusion of girls and boys with disabilities. UNICEF works to transform attitudes and social norms around disability to support the full inclusion of children with disabilities in society. The COVID-19 crisis shifted many priorities and created an urgent need for inclusive Risk-Communication and…, Supporting adolescents to engage in shaping their future, Icon representing skills development - pencil and wrench 7.7 million children over 3.2 million girls – participated in UNICEF-supported skills development, empowerment and employability training programmes  Icon representing gender quality - male and femal symbols with equals symbol 61 countries supported to institutionalize gender-equitable…, Building skills and capacities of adolescents, UNICEF approaches skills-building by strengthening systems to integrate life skills into education systems, using community platforms to reach the most disadvantaged, working with adults to support adolescents and young people, applying experiential and innovative approaches, and using digital platforms. YuWaah - Generation Unlimited India YuWaah…, Looking forward, A young woman standing in a classroom in front of a blackboard A boy standing in front of solar panels and waving A girl standing in front of a white wall with colourful butterflies and flowers painted on it UNICEF will define its next Strategic Plan in 2021 addressing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic while contributing to accelerate the…, With thanks, This report highlights the achievements made possible by the generous contributions of softly earmarked thematic funding received from various partners. UNICEF would like to express it's sincere appreciation for these contributions. June 2021, Global Annual Results Report 2020 GOAL AREA 5 Every child has an equitable chance in life Cover image: UNICEF/UNI389019/Mussap Telma Paz, 36 years old, and her children, 11, 9 and 4 years old, benefit from the Bono Familia programme granted by the Government of Guatemala, with support from UNICEF and the World Bank. Telma sells pancakes and works…

FLORENCE/NEW YORK, 11 December 2020 – Child poverty is expected to remain above pre-COVID levels for at least five years in high-income countries. Yet, only 2 per cent of government-provided financial relief across OECD and EU countries was allocated specifically to support children and families raising children during the first wave of the…