Poverty : Children more exposed

More than 300 millions of children around the world survive with less than 2,15 US dollars per day. Is 1500 FCFA. This is what a report from the World Bank indicates. The analysis, Global Trends in Child Monetary Poverty According to International Poverty Lines, draws on a similar review of child poverty conducted in 2020. It contains data collected from 10,4 million people residing in 147 pays, taken from the spring version of the Global Poverty Monitoring Database 2022, which takes the year as a reference 2019. The study also makes some recommendations to States in order to correct the situation

The research support used brings together globally harmonized household survey data, collected by the Data for Goals team of the Poverty and Equity Unit of the World Bank. The experts produced their reports based on poverty estimates in 2020, 2021 and 2022. They are based on “nowcasts”. In other words it is said that the growth rates of gross domestic product (GDP) were used to forecast household income, assuming that the percentage growth in consumption would be equivalent for all households. The international poverty lines were updated in 2022.

The figures indicate that approximately 333 millions of children around the world survive with less than 2,15 US dollars per day, 829 million children remain below a poverty line of 3,65 US dollars and 1,43 billion children live with less than 6,85 US dollars per day.

Recommendations

In order to eliminate extreme poverty and offset the effects of the pandemic, UNICEF and the World Bank have made some recommendations to governments and partner organizations. These include, among other things, :

– Pay constant attention to children living in extreme poverty in low- and middle-income countries and fragile contexts ;

– Prioritize action programs aimed at combating child poverty, notably by extending social protection coverage to children from very poor households ;

– Ensure that public policies are designed to reach large families, those with young children and those living in rural areas. Investments in early childhood have emerged as one of the best ways to break the intergenerational persistence of poverty, by having positive impacts on individuals, families and societies ;

– Expand access to universal family allowances, as an effective measure to reduce child poverty ; and to

– Develop inclusive social protection programs, taking into account disability and gender-specific needs.

Source : World Bank