Chloe Hall

Why children’s views matter when assessing child poverty

When it comes to defining and researching child poverty on a national or global basis, it might strike some people as counter intuitive to involve children in the preparatory groundwork at all. Yet by consulting with children and young people in a meaningful and engaging way, they are likely to feel empowered by the process and become engaged with it. Moreover, they may sense that their rights, as well as their views, are being respected. What better way is there to represent the experiences and opinions of children concerning their own circumstances. In estimating differing levels of poverty and differing needs it may in fact be of paramount importance to take into consideration the views of children.

An example of a child-centred approach to analysing child poverty

A study from 2015 attempted to examine the priorities of South African children who were living in poverty by asking them to formulate and then subsequently arrange an itemised list of commodities, services and everyday essentials onto a scale between what they considered an absolute necessity through to an out and out luxury.

Those children undertaking the surveys were first asked to compile a list of essentials for their day to day lives. The top 25 choices were selected for the comparative survey. The results are shown below in table form and contrast with sample responses from adults who were asked to perform the same exercise.

(Barnes, H. and Wright, G. (2015) Defining child poverty in South Africa using the socially perceived necessities approach. Available at: https://www.unicef.org/reports/world-free-child-poverty)

Contrasts and similarities

Of the 25 items on the list, only six coincide in the priority ranking from both the adults’ and children’s surveys: three meals a day (1^st), toiletries(1^st), storybooks(5^th), a computer (7^th), a Play Station (10^th) and an MP3 player (10^th). Perhaps it is unsurprising to see the four items which coincide in first and tenth positions.

More interesting are the items with contrasting rankings, for example, adults placed new clothes 4^th, whereas children voted them 8^th. Does this say something about self-esteem from these differing vantages? Conversely a mobile phone was rated 4^th by the children, and 8^th by the adults. That result may reference universal issues of utility, practicality, cost, and a sincere desire to be connected to the world beyond home. From a young person’s viewpoint, perhaps having personal access to the internet and social media is likely to seem more important than having their own bed or room because of the broadening and aspirational appeal of a phone. A desk and a chair are ranked 6^th by the adults and 10^th by the children, which implies that children are happy to work anywhere that is available, convenient and reasonably appropriate.

Educational toys (2^nd and 6^th), and toys (3^rd and 7^th) are also ranked in marked contrast by each group. Once again, the educational significance and (in the latter case) the social and cultural value of these commodities should not be underestimated. These five examples speak loudly about differences in perception that children may have when it comes to assessing and evaluating what matters to them most in their everyday lives. It might also say something about their ages. There is, however, the vital matter of the children’s first-hand experience, which chimes with the positioning of school transport (1^st and 3^rd). For a child trying to get to school that selection affirmingly amounts to a top priority, of equal necessity to having access to a doctor. It also sheds light on the child’s perception of the importance of school, especially given the equal ranking of school equipment.

Therefore, it is little surprise, given the above, that children voted the school trip 2^nd, while adults considered that much less of a necessity (5^th). Another marked contrast is sports equipment (like toys, also 3^rd and 7^th), which, importantly, may be linked as much to aspirational motivations, as to notions about the beneficial nature of exercise.

What these results show us

Results, such as this table highlights, confirm that there can be a significant difference in the values which children and adults place on everyday essentials, fundamental services and commodities. It would be intriguing and informative to run this sort of exercise on a cross-cultural, global scale.

Implications for future research and programmes targeting child poverty

When it comes to tackling child poverty, taking children’s views into account is not only morally worthwhile, but it is also potentially ground breaking. This is because it is likely to prove genuinely insightful when evaluating their needs and values, and therefore help to shape the form and goals of future assistance. If decisions about issues like these are simply taken by adults then it is highly probable that the outcome will transpire be partly at odds with what really matters to the children in question. And in turn, those children are likely to wonder how and why such a programme was designed in the first place, and reflect on how beneficial it is to them. Developing an effective campaign to address child poverty is likely to benefit from an inclusive approach which embraces the opinions and values of the people for whom it is essentially intended. In other words, alongside evidence backed views of politicians, researchers and managers at non-government organisations (NGOs), relief agencies and charities, it is equally important to take into consideration children’s opinions about their own needs and values.

Obstacles to tackling child poverty

Across the world organisations attempting to research and roll out programmes to tackle child poverty have encountered political, economic, ethical and cultural arguments put forward to resist addressing children’s needs. This blog asks why child poverty is sometimes not promoted into the political spotlight. Here are eight reasons.

1: emotional and cultural associations

From time to time in their roles of campaigning against child poverty and implementing relief programmes, non-government organisations (NGOs) and charities like Save the Children and Oxfam have experienced political and cultural obstacles to designing policies and rolling out initiatives which are intended to tackle child poverty. A central difficulty is the emotive nature of the issue. In short, child poverty is a very sensitive matter.

A need for new approaches

At first glance this sort of sensitivity may simply seem to be uncooperative, but it is vital that its significance is appreciated and addressed for genuine progress to be made. Regrettably, it may seem all too easy for NGOs or international organisations, albeit unintentionally, to appear to antagonise political and cultural sensitivities. If there is even a hint that an organisation appears to be aiming to meddle in a political agenda, or impose what could be judged as external values in a uniform fashion across different cultures then there is little surprise that insular resentment, solidarity or even denial may be consequential. Empowering people on a national and local level to formulate campaigns to end child poverty appears to be a good way to proceed. Achieving this, however, is a hugely complex goal.

UNICEF and The Global Coalition to End Child Poverty suggest that a nuanced shift of emphasis is one possible solution. Instead of addressing child poverty per se, perhaps addressing child wellbeing may help to ease understandable concerns. A UNICEF-endorsed report concludes that ‘measures and conclusions may be similar, but it may be a more constructive way to open discussion’.

2: the overarching context

If there appears to be little political motivation to discuss, research or formulate strategies to tackle children’s circumstances specifically, then addressing in general terms the wellbeing of citizens across various communities which collectively comprise a nation may open up opportunities for some consideration of children. It is from an overarching context which focuses on people’s wellbeing that child poverty may naturally emerge as an important area of concern and so be drawn into mainstream discussions. This should open up the means to introduce new stakeholders in forming a new alliance with policy makers, in turn enabling constructive consultation, funding and planning.

3: structural issues and conflicting research programmes

From time to time organisations encounter a contrasting problem, namely, a policy designed to counter child poverty which has been enthusiastically supported in the formative stages, but lacks fully fledged research or a strong core team to coordinate its effective implementation. Perhaps different research groups have been approached to compile data but have employed different statistical methods. This could mean that any data collated would not necessarily be comparable or compatible, undermining the credibility of the initiative. Constructing multidimensional estimates of child poverty is certainly a more challenging prospect than relying on a simple financial summary based on the arbitrary poverty line of $2.15 per person per day. Appointing a single agency to oversee this vital research could mitigate potential problems. Meanwhile, assembling a purposeful, experienced and connected core team should give momentum and focus to developing, coordinating and rolling out future programmes.

4: Solutions to poverty and child poverty are very similar

If policy makers and government ministers believe that measures to tackle child poverty and poverty in general are very similar, they are likely to consider that solutions to these issues are also very similar. This means that they may see no obvious benefit in subdividing poverty as an economic, social and cultural circumstance. In that scenario, it is quite feasible that there would be little motivation to put in place initiatives to address child poverty in isolation.

However, UNICEF demonstrates that potential solutions to tackling poverty and child poverty can be surprisingly different. For example, child-centred approaches are likely to involve a questionnaire-backed consideration and analysis of the provision, support for and enrolment within education programmes and future vocational training. Ongoing and endline surveys are also vital to update progress through the production of revised data. Naturally, analysing and tackling systemic poverty will not wholly focus on child specific issues.

5: In crisis areas measuring child poverty is counterproductive

A plausible-sounding case can be made that if political and social conditions facing individual communities are fragile, or in crisis, then there is little point in attempting to collect data specific to child poverty. For example, in areas experiencing an ongoing humanitarian crisis, it is simply not a practical priority to research child poverty. Yet maintaining support for a rolling research programme which collates data on child poverty can help to clarify specific and developing circumstances and inform agencies in coordinating strategic responses to both child poverty and any ongoing emergency.

6: Prioritising child poverty only benefits children

UNICEF highlights the fact that addressing child poverty helps to tackle poverty in general. In fact an innovative way to focus on tackling poverty within society is to centralise the significance of child poverty. By addressing the circumstances, needs and rights of children, all members of their communities are likely to feel the benefit of specific policy changes. Building alliances with organisations and stakeholders whose work tackles poverty is vital and forming a coordinated agenda around child poverty helps to benefit everyone. For example, enrolling as many children as possible within education programmes will naturally lead to a better educated workforce, potentially fostering personal aspirations and opening up improved prospects.

7: Concentrating on child poverty is not the best use of resources

An argument can be made that because there are many issues facing children and young people living within culturally disparate communities in a country, child poverty is not necessarily the top priority. Perhaps healthcare or rights should be considered the pre-eminent concerns. Yet by highlighting child poverty and focussing resources on that, it is likely that support will naturally emerge for those other areas which are obviously crucial for young people’s wellbeing. An informed, holistic overview will be a likely outcome of addressing child poverty. Researching and tackling its causes can also shed light on everyone’s living standards, rights and needs.

8: The poorest households have to bear costs of research

Any research programme, policy formulation and the subsequent implementation of a new initiative need to be financed. Interested observers appreciate that such policies are not necessarily paid for by comparatively wealthy tax payers, or international donors, charities, or NGOs. If there is any suggestion that people from low socio-economic backgrounds may be obliged to fund poverty research programmes through personal taxes or even out-of-pocket expenditure, it would be vital to investigate the financing structure of policies and programmes to formulate more appropriate ways to finance direct political intervention.

Compounding the problem of poverty within communities, even with sincerely altruistic goals, is unlikely to lead to welcome, or acceptable, solutions. If the target community feels in any way resentful then such action would also be counterproductive. Before any research begins, it needs to be appropriately funded in an equitably acceptable manner, preferably through associated stakeholders. The fiscal burden cannot be borne by the poorest in the community.

Conclusions

Arguments and obstacles put forward against tackling child poverty arise from genuine economic, cultural, and ethical concerns. Addressing these is very important to ensure that campaigns against child poverty can be conducted effectively and in a coordinated manner. An appropriately respected core team can build constructive working relationships with researchers and key stakeholders to put in place suitable finance and a rigorous, innovative rolling programme, informed and publicised by ongoing data collection.

All discussions and planning need to be undertaken in culturally sensitive, constructive and supportive ways. Moreover, where possible the benefits of detailed analysis, research, and measurement of child poverty need to be set into a holistic context and be clearly appreciated by policy makers and other interested parties. Emerging aims and policies to address the complexities of child poverty should therefore be based on well informed agreement.

Save The Children has published a report into the promotion and benefits of reading for all children, irrespective of geographical and cultural background.

Reading helps children to develop literary skills, improve cognitive skills and it can fire their imagination. Reading can often be entertaining, educational and engaging. It can become an important hobby, enrich a young child’s vocabulary and instil a sense of critical and emotional awareness through empathy. Moreover, reading is broadening because of its cross-cultural insights and potential.

Reading really can help to empower children in the battle against poverty

Remarkably, researchers suggest that reading for just half an hour each week can improve children’s mental wellbeing, enhancing self-esteem and confidence. In the long term, reading may even help to stave off symptoms of mental illness like dementia. There is little doubt that good literacy is potentially life-enhancing. Reading from a young age can boost future employment prospects. Good literacy from a young age can ultimately open doors to higher education which in turn can lead to better paid jobs.

How young should children begin reading?

Researchers believe that it is never too young to experience a child’s picture book. These are designed to be eye catching. Their storylines are often inspirational and introduce exciting, amusing, and poignant themes. In short, they help to stimulate cognitive development. So, certainly before school age it is beneficial for children to experience simple text which will help to enrich their vocabulary.

Save the Children estimate that around the world about 50% of all 3-6 year old children do not have access to preschool learning. That amounts to approximately 160 million children. Therefore, NGOs and charities are working with local communities to raise awareness of the significance of reading. Ideally, parents should be supported in encouraging their children to begin to read. If a young child enjoys looking at a book, then as she develops she is likely to embrace further opportunities to read more sophisticated material.

A lack of age-appropriate material

Early readers are in short supply in many communities. Regrettably, recent research from USAID undertaken across eleven sub-Saharan countries revealed that the biggest shortage of children’s books, written in local language, is in pre-school literature. For instance, in Nigeria, of the 500 spoken languages only six were represented through young children’s books.

Save the Children worked in four regions to attempt to increase access to high quality children’s books. In Bhutan, Cambodia, the Philippines and Rwanda, the charity has worked alongside publishers to promote and increase supplies of high quality children’s books, written in local languages. Unsurprisingly follow up research has demonstrated that an increased availability of appropriate books has led to improved levels of child literacy.

The most important catalyst

Parental interest and support for young child literacy is very important in raising reading standards. Since across the developing world many children do not spend long in class, and therefore do not spend long practising and developing reading skills at school, it is very important to promote reading to children as a leisure activity beyond a formal educational curriculum.

Steps to nurture an interest in reading beyond school

NGOs and charities have experimented by establishing community-based reading clubs, book buddies and book banks, where children are able to borrow and exchange reading material. Save the Children has set about promoting the benefits of children’s reading through parental workshops. The charity has also rolled out Literary Boost, a literacy programme designed to support and foster reading skills in under resourced areas.

Literary Boost led to improved letter recognition, greater fluency and confidence with basic reading, and deeper understanding of a story.

Programmes like Literary Boost help teachers too

Across the globe many teachers are not specifically trained to develop children’s reading and literary skills. Therefore, they need support and training to help effectively convey principles of literary education to young children. In Rwanda, for example, a manual was produced to advise teachers how they can teach reading skills in the most practical and effective way, given that Literary Boost is designed to target these five reading skills:

• Recognition of the alphabet and commonplace words
• Awareness of phonetics and pronunciation
• General fluency and accuracy
• Vocabulary enrichment
• Understanding context, characterisation, and themes

These key skills address the fundamental components of reading and help to ensure more accomplished literacy and comprehension.

Did Literary Boost make a uniform cross-cultural impact?

As Literary Boost was implemented it became clear that it improved child literacy, irrespective of local contexts. The programme was rolled out at twelve community sites in developing countries, ranging from an urban setting in Indonesia to another in rural Ethiopia. In each one, children’s literacy improved.

Researchers conclude that reading and writing practice and development need to be conducted in a language which the children concerned understand and speak at home. While this may sound like common sense, it is important in schools where children speak different languages to make reading as child centred and specific as possible. Rich cultural contexts in classrooms are always challenging for teachers, especially in big classes.

Does speaking a minority language disadvantage children in terms of literacy?

Sadly, minority languages can marginalise a community, politically, economically and educationally. Those people who live in a linguistic minority are also disadvantaged as they attempt to find appropriate education for their children. Because children develop linguistic and literary skills through practice and everyday use, the more opportunities they have for speaking, reading and writing the greater the likely benefit. Self-esteem and confidence are also linked to developing literacy skills. If in school some children speak, read and write a different language to the one they speak at home, then they are unlikely to keep up with peers who operate in just the one language.

Moreover, opportunities for practice are most overtly beneficial to young children when they are enjoyable. Hence the undisputed links between children enjoying reading as a hobby and developing good literary skills. Research from the Literary Boost programme reveals that the more time a child can devote to reading in and out of school, the more positive the impact on their literary key skills is likely to be.

It is not just in developing countries that initiatives like this operate. For example, in the UK, Save the Children designed Families Connect, another programme which is intended to help parents when they read stories with their children.

The purpose of school reading assessments

In principle, assessments inform teachers about two important aspects of their reading schedules. First, they shed light on the developing skills and progress of each child within a particular class or year group. Second, they enable regular, evidence-led adaptation of programmes to cater better to the needs of individual children. Moreover, formalised data from schools can help to inform and shape policy makers’ decisions about revisions to the curriculum.

Conclusion: when a reading policy and programme are most effective

Save the Children’s experience is conclusive. They have found that targeting better literacy rates is most effective when they achieved an alliance between teachers, parents, and policy makers to improve opportunities for children to read. The broader range of stakeholders concerned the more impact the programme is likely to make. Essentially an acknowledged culture of reading, funded by educational budgets and steered by adaptable policies will ensure that more children learn to read well from an early age. For those children the future will be more exciting and aspirational as a result, because ultimately reading can help to empower people in the battle to defeat child poverty.

It has long been reasoned that, globally speaking, all children matter, but sadly not every child is taken into consideration when it comes to collating data and surveying statistics on a national basis.

Some children tend to be omitted from national surveys

Regrettably, surveys tend not to be as inclusive as might be intended or presumed. For it is likely that strategic efforts to research the personal circumstances of those living on the fringes of their cultures will not reach far enough towards the periphery of society. For example, families which happen to live as squatters, or in unregistered slum housing, tend to be overlooked or not consulted. In other words, the poorest and most vulnerable children may not be fully represented in surveys of child poverty. The more apparently chaotic nature of domestic situations, the less chance there is of formulating an appropriate survey to assess the situation. UNICEF’s collaborative work alongside the government in Egypt presents an interesting example. This saw the development and successful use of a specifically tailored survey to assess the scale of child poverty within urban slums and unplanned housing.

Why might some people not be included in surveys?

For one thing, it is not always administratively easy to consult with people who live in unofficial or unregistered circumstances. Nor might it be considered safe for researchers to reach out to consult a representative sample of these people. Statistically it is likely to be difficult to establish precisely what would comprise a representative sample group, wherever accurate census records do not exist. For example, in Madagascar there was no officially sanctioned census conducted between 1973 and 2018. This means that for decades many people’s living conditions and circumstances were officially unrecognized. Moreover, the people in question might not have wanted to participate in a national statistical survey.

Why people might be suspicious of statistical research

There are many people who remain undocumented members of their societies, who naturally fear officially registering with authorities because they believe that the process might compromise their personal safety and wellbeing. Although data research into child poverty is a broadly anonymous process, it might appear to be otherwise to the most vulnerable people who live on the edge of society and who do not want to risk formal contact with state officials or state appointed organisations. If people intended to benefit from the findings of research remain suspicious of it then it’s findings and any subsequent policy decisions are likely to be intrinsically flawed.

People who live beyond the reach of researchers

People who live in an area that could be classified as a war zone, or where breakdowns in social order are thought to present high risks to researchers, are likely to be omitted from a mainstream consultation. Yet these are the very people whose status will likely fall into low socio-economic groups of which a high proportion would probably be classed as impoverished. If these people do not feature in consultations, then the statistical findings will not be representative of the reality across the country.

Nomadic peoples

People whose lifestyles are traditionally nomadic whether through their cultures or through their trades are also likely to be underrepresented in national surveys simply because they are not easy to locate or consult. Limited resources mean that researchers are unlikely to be able to monitor and sample nomadic peoples.

Street Children

Many children continue to live on the streets. Some are orphans, some have been abandoned, some have run away.  It is not an easy prospect to conduct surveys which consult with them and represent their circumstances in accurate analysis. This is partly because of the unknown numbers involved.  There is also a moral issue regarding the right of a child to give consent to data collection and representation, if no appropriate adult is available. Therefore, it is vital that the beneficial purposes of research surveys and the anonymous uses of data are carefully and sensitively explained.

Other children beyond the scope of national research

For a variety of reasons, some young people live in fairly informal households, in which children themselves act as the head of their family group. If research is conducted through a representative sample of households and schools these children are unlikely to be represented on a survey. There are inevitably some children who are removed altogether from their societies at the hands of child traffickers. These are essentially beyond the reach of any research programme, however comprehensive and exhaustive.

The scope of UNICEF’s Strategic Development Goals

There is a purposeful emphasis that arises within the SDGs in relation to children and child poverty, namely that no child should be left behind. This notion is important in informing the nature of research into child poverty. Innovative and all-embracing methods of data collection need to be rolled out and estimates need to be produced without excluding any of the groups cited above. Acknowledging these limitations in statistical research is an important milestone in achieving more representative data to inform strategic planning to counter child poverty.

Missing numbers

Household and school based surveys are inherently useful in assessing and clarifying levels of child poverty, preparing the ground for appropriately targeted legislation and relief campaigns. Without them much of the success in reducing child poverty on a global scale would have been impossible. However, it is vital to build in fail safe mechanisms to the research which ensures that the poorest and most vulnerable children are formally represented and taken into consideration. Sampling frameworks may have missed many millions of people and children from their data. In 2016, problems like these prompted over 175 organisations to write an open letter to the UN Statistical Commission on SDG indicators, arguing for the potential benefits of more culturally specific data collection and analysis to ensure that countries acknowledged and represented all children in their assessments of child poverty. Organisations like UNICEF have championed that sentiment ever since.

The benefits

While no data research can be one hundred percent accurate, and while accessibility may continue to be problematic, culturally sensitive research surveys can afford more than an overarching sense of the uncounted child populations who live in conditions like those cited above. Moreover, they can help to shed light on particular challenges they face. By consulting and engaging members of local populations more appropriate surveys can be designed and a deeper appreciation of target areas should be the result. Representatives from local communities will naturally contribute accurate knowledge of their social environments.

ATD Fourth World in Antananarivo, Madagascar

Prior to the 2018 census, ADT Fourth World reached out to local communities in Antananarivo. Through local knowledge they ascertained that a majority of households living on a refuse dump in the north of the capital were unregistered with the state. By collaborating with households, ATD Fourth World was able to undertake mapping research which clarified circumstances of people living in the area. For instance, approximately 70% of those living on the dump were younger than twenty, and a majority did not have official documentation such as a birth certificate. Because local people were warmly engaged in the research, the process actually helped to bring people together, and garnered a sense of identity as well as information about common challenges which they faced.

Technology and its ethical use in research

Satellite imagery as well as mobile and GPS technology could potentially be employed to identify migrant and homeless groups. As mobile phone use continues to spread, there remains an ethical concern regarding data collection and observation which could expose some populations to political dangers. It goes without saying that vulnerable populations need to be overtly protected.

Conclusion

The 2016 open letter from those 175 organisations succinctly summarises the need for better research into child poverty and living conditions:

‘The post‐2015 global monitoring framework must establish mechanisms to integrate household-based data with additional information on children temporarily or permanently living outside of households… The post‐2015 global monitoring framework offers an opportunity to do more and better on behalf of the world’s most vulnerable children – ensuring, first and foremost, that they are no longer invisible.’

Essentially all children matter, but they will only benefit from research and new political initiatives if they are represented in bespoke surveys designed to aid them.

Supporting farmers in Tajikistan can be transformative in fighting child poverty.

Tajikistan is situated in central Asia, north of Afghanistan, west of China, south of Kyrgyzstan. It is a rugged, landlocked republic. Approximately ten million people live there.

The biggest employment sector is agriculture. The World Bank estimates that about 48% of the national workforce is employed in farming and its derivative trades. In total, agriculture amounts to approximately a quarter of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Arable land in Tajikistan

Only about 7% of the land is classified as arable. Farming in Tajikistan is not based around large scale corporations. There are many farmers who own or manage a small holding where they produce crops for their own consumption and sell on excess produce into the local community via markets. Their land ranges from an allotment sized strip to two or three acres. So it is mostly small scale and family run.

Technology is not prevalent in Tajikistan’s agricultural industries

It is challenging for small holder farmers to develop their businesses because they have little opportunity to draw on modern technology. Farming is steeped in traditional methods, and labour intensive. Training is rare, which means that local farmers do not have the necessary business acumen, or motivation, to exploit upscaling and updating. This restricts them to a local focus, inhibits their income prospects and limits access to fundamental resources like fertilisers and seeds.

Financial assistance

Farmers in Tajikistan face difficulties in securing loans. They tend to live from season to season, which means that they are especially vulnerable to fluctuations in the weather. Some farmers rely on relatives to help them with planting, general maintenance, and harvesting a crop. Those relatives are likely to be young, sometimes children and either not well paid, or unpaid.

Women farmers in Tajikistan

The World Bank estimates that about one in ten workers emigrate from Tajikistan for employment. They are mostly men, compelled to move abroad because of a lack of job opportunities at home. This means that wives, daughters and sisters tend to be responsible for managing the family small holding. This is a burden in terms of time and energy, given that many women are also mothers and primary caregivers.

How the World Bank is helping to change lives in Tajikistan

The World Bank tells the story of Shiringul, a woman small holder farmer from the district of Shahrinav. She desperately needed financial support to sheer up her business, enhance its efficiency and protect it against weather fluctuations.

Shiringul’s land

The area of Shiringul’s land amounts to about three acres (that’s approximately the size of three football pitches). Shiringul approached a Tajikistan credit institution for a loan. Through the endorsement of the World Bank not only was Shiringul awarded the loan she applied for, but also an additional grant made through the Agriculture Commercialisation Project (ACP), a financial support facility backed by the World Bank.

The difference that the combined loan and grant made to the small holding

The injection of new finance helped Shiringul transform her small holding. For example, she was able to construct a large green house. This was an innovative addition because a greenhouse essentially extends a growing season. It gives protection from cold weather snaps, frost, etc.  It also means that Shiringul can continue to farm some crops in any weather when it might otherwise prove very difficult to cultivate her land. Moreover, a greenhouse can keep pests at bay, or make them easier to control, while allowing a farmer to keep beneficial insects inside the controlled environment. A green house also usually leads to a more bountiful crop. Shiringul can now grow cucumbers for the first time.

How else do farmers like Shrinigul benefit from additional agricultural technology and infrastructure?

Being able to grow crops for longer ensures that Shiringul can sell produce during colder months and extend her income throughout the year. This is hugely beneficial for the family business and the local community, and not just in terms of providing a more secure food supply. Shiringul now employs seven local people from her village, including three women, to assist her in the green house.

The benefit of this sort of employment opportunity for everyone

If local women from rural communities find it difficult to manage to support their children and families, this type of work is a financial lifeline. It guarantees a way out of poverty and its associated worries. It also brings a sense of achievement and self-esteem, partly arising from workplace camaraderie. There are also perks associated with the job. For example, Shiringul provides a hot meal each working day for her employees.

The ACP particularly aims to support women, young people and members of the disabled community. Securing a loan is one aspect of the role, but equally important is support for formulating business plans. The personal, environmental and economic impact of financial support like this is transformative. Promoting job creation in rural areas helps to keep families out of poverty, ensuring that children and young people enjoy a higher standard of living. Enhancing traditional farming methods leads to more efficient practice and productivity, but it also creates business opportunities to benefit the whole community.

The success of the ACP scheme

Over the last five years loans and matching grants awarded from the ACP scheme have supported rural farming projects across Tajikistan. Nearly 3,000 farmers, about half of whom are women, have been awarded grants and loans totalling $4 million. Moreover, 130 small holder farms have been established as a result of financial intervention. In all $1.8 million has been injected into the Tajikistan economy at a local level to help start up businesses. Of the 130 new businesses supported, 35 were established by women, 90 by young people and the remaining five by disabled people.

How Shiringul is intending to spend her profits

The World Bank quotes Shiringul’s ambition to invest in her children’s future: ‘My dream is to be able to afford to give all my children higher education, especially my daughters.’ Such a heartfelt revelation demonstrates just how significant the ACP’s scheme is for people living in rural Tajikistan. This far sighted financial intervention and support not only empowers local people; it helps to bring rising prosperity to local communities; it naturally fights against poverty, and it is truly aspirational in terms of the potential impact that can be made on families and children in particular.

An overview

Cholera is a bacterial illness which infects the intestines. It is ingested through contaminated water or food. The disease spreads where there is no clean water supply. Poor sanitation and dirty water are the perfect spawning grounds for the bacteria.  Therefore, children who face life in slums and refugee camps, and people displaced by conflicts or natural disasters are most at risk. Over the past 15 years, the vast majority of cases were to be found in regions which had the worst water and sanitation services, if any.

Cholera is curable

While cholera is a very serious disease and can be fatal, especially to children under the age of five, those who are undernourished are particularly vulnerable to the most serious symptoms. This is certainly ironic but yes, cholera can be treated, cured and, with appropriate foresight, prevented in the first place. There are vaccines available.

Where Cholera strikes

Cholera thrives wherever there is abject poverty. The disease has become poverty’s bellwether, announcing the appalling toll which the illness continues to wreak on the poorest and most under resourced communities.

Those most at risk

People, particularly children, who live in unstable circumstances, who have been displaced from their homes or have inadequate basic services and resources. UNICEF estimates that 1.1 billion people are at risk, however many cases are not recorded at all. Officially, researchers suggest that there are over four million cases every year and approximately 150,000 cholera-related deaths. This makes the fatality rate about 4%.

UNICEF’s goal

UNICEF aims to significantly reduce the threat that cholera poses by 2030.

What makes a region cholera-endemic?

UNICEF defines this as any place where cases of the disease have been found for three consecutive years, implying local transmission. However, outbreaks can occur in any communities which have poor sanitation and dirty water supplies.

Climate change also adds to the threat of cholera. Unusually heavy rainfall and consequent flooding can overwhelm and disrupt normal water supplies and sanitation services. If families and communities have to rely on unsafe or tainted water, they are at much greater risk of exposure to water-borne illness.

Symptoms of cholera

Many infected people have few symptoms. Some have mild or even no symptoms at all. The most common are diarrhoea and dehydration. After initial infection, symptoms can appear any time between twelve hours to five days.

The link between poor sanitation and cholera

Cholera bacteria remain in human faeces for up to ten days. Unfortunately, wherever there is poor sanitation, the bacteria are recycled into the immediate environment which only compounds the problem and can result in further cases of infection.

Available treatments

UNICEF and other NGOs supply orally taken rehydration solutions (ORSs). The primary components are salt and sugar. They are powdered, light weight, distributed in sachets and easy to ingest, but they need to be dissolved in clean water, and therein lies another irony. To cure cholera people need clean water. Moreover, if children are severely dehydrated, they may need emergency medical care when fluids can be supplied intravenously alongside courses of antibiotics. Zinc is also an important trace element which helps to reduce the severity of the disease.

Available vaccines

There are three orally administered vaccines endorsed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dukoral, Shanchol and Euvichol-Plus. These need to be taken in two doses. The International Co-ordinating Group (ICG) stockpiles these vaccines and supplies them to areas where there are outbreaks. The ICG has overseen the administration of more than 100 million doses of these vaccines. Anyone who survives a bout of cholera acquires long lasting immunity to the disease.

Progress made in the fight against cholera

In the decade 2010-2019, total deaths from severe cases of diarrhoea among infant children fell by approximately 60%. Researchers point to the increased distribution of ORS formula treatments as a major reason for this dramatic change. Moreover, supplying clean water to communities also makes a huge difference. However, during the past three years, outbreaks have unfortunately been on the rise.

Danger zones

In 2022 there were cholera outbreaks in thirty countries. That amounted to a 145% rise on the previous five-year average. In the middle east, Syria and Lebanon reported cases for the first time in many years.

In south and east Africa, a cholera epidemic is ongoing. In January 2023, it was reported that Malawi was suffering its worst outbreak to date. Cholera has struck all 29 districts within the country and thousands of children have been infected.

During 2022 Haiti witnessed thousands of cases and hundreds of people died, among them many children. Infants account for 40% of cases. Community conditions in Haiti are still mired by the aftermath of the 2021 earthquake, a malnutrition crisis, political instability and clashes between armed militia gangs.

Action to help these people

UNICEF and other aid organisations are working with governments and others NGOs to help coordinate the distribution of water treatment tablets to ensure that water in vulnerable and affected communities is safe.

UNICEF and its partners are also supplying ORS sachets, zinc and antibiotics to local medical departments.

Moreover, local people are also receiving training to recognise and respond to symptoms of cholera, administer its treatment and to educate to help its prevention. Raising awareness through local media and schools is also important.

Forward planning

The top priority is to ensure that vulnerable communities and displaced refugees have access to clean, safe water and appropriate sanitation. A second priority is to make available the World Health Organisation’s oral vaccines. Likewise efficient and targeted supplies of ORSs, zinc supplements and antibiotics are essential. Local communities need to be empowered to look after their own wellbeing at the most basic level. For example, simple measures like handwashing, personal hygiene awareness including the safest possible disposal of human waste will also help to control the spread of the disease.

The statistical target

Prompt and formal treatment and educational campaigns should bring the fatality rate down from 4% to below 1%. Hand in hand with the efficient roll out of treatment is active and reactive monitoring for the disease. Accurate data relating to cholera need to be collected, collated and circulated at regional, national and local levels.

Is the end of Cholera in sight?

It is always worthwhile to plough resources into eradicating a disease which is preventable (through vaccinations) and curable (through treatments). In 2021 UNICEF issued more than 93 million zinc tablets and over 30 million ORSs. However, in societies where everyday life is unstable because of natural disasters, forced migration, or conflict, outbreaks of cholera remain a deadly threat. For the time being, further humanitarian help is vital to control outbreaks of this disease.

UNICEF and its partners are reaffirming their commitment to tackle cholera so that by 2030 it is no longer a serious threat to vulnerable populations around the world, and especially the world’s poorest children. To that end, UNICEF is focussing on fifty countries where it considers the greatest risk lies.

This blog asks which organisations are central to assessing child poverty. UNICEF has attempted to summarise the roles and influence of major bodies involved in research, analysis and publication of data relevant to child poverty. The research demonstrates that collaborative work can form the most effective basis of campaigns to raise the political profile of child poverty. Here are half a dozen important stakeholders.

1: A national office for statistics. This is usually a civil service style department which is administered and funded under a government umbrella. These departments are officially authorised to conduct research, collate data and results, carry out discrete analysis, publish findings and make evidence-based recommendations. If their research programme and findings concern the overarching field of poverty, then it may be possible to extrapolate discrete data which particularly concerns child poverty. An office for national statistics is very likely to oversee and implement a regular national census as well as surveys relating to household income and expenditure. Data generated by these activities is vital to shed light on issues relating to child poverty and should help to inform strategic planning to tackle it.

2: A government finance ministry. This is a likely source of information and data on poverty in general across a country. Official recognition, endorsement and ongoing support of such a ministry is vital for the timely funding, launch and ultimate effectiveness of a rolling campaign against child poverty.

3: UNICEF. Over the past twenty years the role of UNICEF has been instrumental in raising awareness and promoting the importance of child poverty on the global stage. One reason that child poverty is reducing on a global scale is because of the coordinated work undertaken by UNICEF. It has led negotiations with various stakeholders on a country by country basis, organised international efforts and initiatives, promoted research, data collection and analysis, fostered official discussions, helped to formulate appropriate policies, and worked behind the scenes to bring about programmes to reduce child poverty.

UNICEF has worked alongside governments and organisations in dozens of low income countries to ensure that reports and studies exploring child poverty have been undertaken, together with specific assessments, for example investigations examining conditions in urban slums or the impacts made by an individual grant from the government. UNICEF has access to an increasingly vast data bank which is important for informing planning. Much of this data is regularly updated, which enables trends to be traced and the impact of a policy or campaign to be effectively measured.

4: The World Bank. This international organisation has for many years promoted and supported poverty analysis in lower and middle income nations. It produces and updates the monetary measure of poverty, currently $2.15 per person per day. However, it has expressly documented why a multi-dimensional approach to measuring poverty is vital. The World Bank also provides a wealth of resources informing the measurement of global poverty, and in addition it publishes reports on poverty on a country by country basis.

Partly prompted by the Global Commission on Poverty, the World Bank has also adopted a policy to research and publish poverty profiles specifically for children (under 18 years of age). Its research and analysis of multidimensional poverty has highlighted the benefits of defining poverty from a lifestyle viewpoint, taking into consideration factors like rights, access to a reliable electricity supply, sanitation and hygiene, nutrition, education programmes, medical care as well as safe housing.

5: Charities, non-government organisations (NGOs), civil society organisations and research bureaux. Each of these groups of stakeholders plays a significant role in raising the profile of child poverty, and helping to keep it on the political agenda, both nationally and worldwide. They help to raise awareness and secure finance. This can be done by collecting data, undertaking research and investigations, conducting appropriate interviews with people concerned and other stakeholders, as well as by actively campaigning, fundraising and implementing new measures. They also work with media and journalists. Such contributions can help to influence and shape government policy.

Small charities can also play important roles in measuring child poverty. For example, alongside their other campaigns, they can raise awareness and help to shape discussions by regularly airing issues on an active blog, or through their online presence.

In a country which undertakes no official research into child poverty these bodies can give a lead in formulating estimates, from which it is possible to raise the profile of child poverty in terms of public awareness. Such publicity and promotion can generate political pressure and help to build momentum which can lead to a review of government policy. Charities such as Save the Children, Oxfam and the remarkable Médecins sans Frontières often catch the headlines for their roles at the forefront of interventionist humanitarian relief. Often this follows in the wake of a specific emergency, whether the result of an environmental event, war, breakdown in law and order, or economic crisis. Data and evidence from their experience on the ground, and campaigns organised as a consequence, can help to inform decision making about, and raise awareness of, child poverty.

6: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is an outreach network which aims to connect governments and organisations to facilitate mutually beneficial exchanges of experience, knowledge and resources to help improve lifestyles for the global population. Poverty reduction is at the heart of their mission. They operate in 170 countries, fostering development research, planning and initiatives to formulate solutions to political and cultural challenges. While the UNDP promotes sustainable development, climate and emergency resilience, peacebuilding and democratic governance, it also assists in attracting aid.

The UNDP was responsible for constructing the multi-dimensional poverty index. This method of assessing poverty in general and child poverty specifically has helped to rationalise the arbitrary-seeming income-based poverty line. Together with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), the UNDP publishes regular country specific analyses of poverty.

The importance of alliances

The above stakeholders often formally collaborate in their collective missions. Developing such partnerships is central to forming influential and respected alliances which can more readily help to advise and shape political responses to child poverty. While naturally the role and relative importance of these stakeholders varies from country to country, they are nonetheless central to achieving the goal of constructing a national pathway to tackle and eradicate child poverty.

In conclusion, thorough and effective measurement of child poverty leads to its reduction. These stakeholders all contribute to that end.

What happened off Crotone on 26^th February 2023?

A migrant tragedy unfolded in the early hours of the morning. At least 73 people lost their lives in heavy seas off Crotone, a seaside town in Calabria, southern Italy. Of those who drowned, a dozen were children, including a baby just a few months old, and a six-year-old boy. The 20-metre wooden boat which carried them sailed from Izmir, Turkey, had spent four days at sea on route to Italy. This is a favoured destination of traffickers who promise a safe passage to Europe in exchange for people’s life savings.

Why do migrants risk their lives to travel to Europe?

Many migrants are searching for what they hope will be something better, whether employment opportunities, higher living standards, better quality accommodation and access to good medical and educational facilities. Many are fleeing persecution, drought, natural disasters, war zones, and the breakdown of law and order within their societies.

During their journeys they may have spent quite long spells in refugee camps or holding centres. They find themselves a long way from home and they have nothing.

What does research suggest about what awaits those refugees who safely reach their hoped for destinations?

Regrettably, life in their new homelands does not often transpire to be what migrants and refugees were hoping for. Aside from facing ongoing prejudices, refugees also have to cope with challenging language barriers, day to day cultural clashes, and renewed poverty in several ways. For example, many typically end up living on, or below, the poverty line in whichever country they settle. For a family which has lost everything this is a desperately harsh reality. Moreover, many refugees have handed over their life savings to people traffickers who have promised them safe passage overseas.

This means that survivors of the Crotone shipwreck have arrived in Italy poorer than they were before they set out. And now many of them have lost close relatives who were travelling with them. Sergio Di Dato, a project manager from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), highlighted one sixteen year old survivor from Afghanistan who had lost his sister. The boy could not bring himself to contact his parents to break the news.

Why would a brother and sister have fled from Afghanistan?

The country has struggled in the face of long running political upheavals, war and natural disasters. This situation has been compounded by the Taliban who seized back political control in August 2021. They have isolated the country from the international community by implementing a series of legal reforms which have curtailed people’s rights, especially those of women and girls.

What about other factors?

UNHCR estimates that approximately two thirds of Afghanistan’s population are struggling with food shortages, drought, access to medical and nutrition centres, intermittent water supplies and unreliable sanitation. In short, poverty is affecting millions of people.

Moreover, girls are facing educational restrictions at secondary school age which will deny them life enhancing opportunities. This may lead them into early marriage.

Is the cost of living rising as well?

The average income is estimated to be a third lower in early 2023 than it was in 2020. Moreover, higher costs are curtailing millions of people from accessing health services. Some medical facilities are also understaffed and have limited resources.

Are these conditions leading to migration?

In a word, yes. Families and unaccompanied children are leaving the comparative safety of their homes in search of broader freedoms and better opportunities. This leaves them exposed to unscrupulous traffickers and other criminal cartels.

How are NGOs responding?

Some organisations are concentrating on raising awareness. UNHCR is working on the ground in Afghanistan to bring practical relief as well as advocating for the right of all children to enjoy educational services, especially girls of secondary school age. UNICEF is exploring remote options whereby some educational programmes can be presented through television, radio and online.  

What did UNICEF achieve in Afghanistan in 2022?

In the first half of 2022, UNICEF oversaw the treatment of 300,000 children (aged 6 months – five years) for acute malnutrition; supplied cash payments to approximately 100,000 families; delivered safe water to 3.5 million people; provided outpatient care to more than 17 million people; and supplied child protection services to 1.7 million children.

Will these initiatives help to reduce migration?

Addressing the causes of poverty will reduce the root factors which lead to migration. Ringfencing people’s rights and establishing access to reliable services are central to this work.

Politicians and representatives from NGOs across Europe continue to wrangle about the complexities of migration, its causes and ways to address it. They hold one another responsible for compounding the situation. Meanwhile charities and international stakeholders are continuing to deliver life enhancing services on the ground. By raising awareness about ongoing programmes, we can continue to help to improve conditions for millions of people. This in turn will help to ease factors which lead the most desperate to risk their lives by leaving their homes and undertaking dangerous journeys which too often end in tragedy.

How many people have died attempting to cross the Mediterranean?

Between 2014 and the end of 2021 UNHCR estimates that approximately 25,000 people have gone missing or drowned attempting to cross the Mediterranean. Of those who did make it to safety, many experienced traumatic journeys and violations of their rights.

How many migrants are there globally?

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that in 2020 there were 281 million migrants across the world. In other words, 3.8% of the global population.

What will help to save lives in the Mediterranean?

A central tenet of the IOM’s mission statement is to promote ‘humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all’. In the aftermath of this disastrous migrant story, it seems like a reasonable goal to stop people trafficking and help prevent further tragedy. This sentiment was echoed by UN Secretary General, António Guterres, who addressed the Human Rights Council on 27^th February. He appealed to countries to do whatever they can to help migrants and refugees. He also called for safer routes and improved rescue resources. By implementing measures along these lines and through greater political cooperation, it should be possible to end migrant tragedies once and for all.

The header image is the Gateway to Lampedusa, a memorial by the Italian artist Mimmo Paladino.

Around the world, robust and engaging education programmes enshrined within a comprehensive and evolving policy such as the UK’s National Curriculum should go a long way to providing opportunities for every child, anywhere. They ought to give everyone, irrespective of their financial circumstances, the chance to flourish by nurturing aspirations for the future. Hence a high-quality, all-embracing education is vitally important to fight child poverty. UNESCO expresses it remarkably succinctly, education transforms lives. With one in nine of the world’s 15–24-year-olds illiterate, it remains crucial to continue cherishing and addressing this issue. Education is, after all, a fundamental right for everyone.

How can education open up opportunities for young people?

Education helps to develop children’s awareness of the world around them. It affords context and knowledge. This is naturally empowering, but crucially children’s personal skills are also fostered by their educational pathways. Among the development of interpersonal, cognitive and emotional skills, it is the ability to think logically, sensitively and critically which is at the heart of many school courses. In theory children who benefit from a good education should acquire life skills which will be attractive to future employers, opening up opportunities and inspiring ambitions.

Education is a way out of poverty

Because education is broadening and nurtures aspirations, it is a very good way to empower people to lift themselves out of poverty. This means that by increasing literacy and science skills whole communities should benefit economically as their potential workforce becomes more skilled.

What about girls?

Gender discrimination means that millions of girls around the globe are deprived of formal education. UNESCO estimates that over 118 million girls are presently not attending school. Figures like this are sometimes cited to emphasise that girls are unfairly discriminated against within educational systems. Yet UNESCO confirms that over 125 million boys do not currently attend school either. However, huge numbers like these can appear to be misleading. For instance, of all adults who cannot read or write it is women who comprise almost two-thirds. Why is this the case?

Long term school attendance

Put simply, around the world, more girls than boys drop out of school. Amy Kerr’s blog for Poverty Child explains the destructive impact of bullying, violence, child marriage, as well as gender biases ingrained within schools and local cultures. While certainly not immune, boys are less vulnerable to these social and political issues.

What strategies are being implemented to reverse gender discrimination in education?

UNESCO has devised two policies to reverse discrimination in education, Strategy for gender equality in and through education (2019-2025) and the Gender Equality Action Plan. The implementation of these policies focuses on system-wide transformations aimed at benefitting all children in three areas: first, researching, recording and publicising detailed data, which should inform better understanding and targeted practice. Second, better legal and policy frameworks, which should enhance girls’ rights. Third, more effective teaching and learning practices, which should empower all children. Of course, addressing cultural expectations and prejudices against girls remains a politically challenging and complex matter. However, where gender inequality can be successfully addressed in schools, over time there is likely to be a cultural shift within community expectations.

The link between poverty and classroom performance

Why does poverty affect classroom performance? The answer seems to lie in the challenges arising for young people from their personal circumstances. Children who live in low-income households tend to experience greater domestic disruption than other children. Greater stress. Changes in child care arrangements and demands on stretched parents mean that children can be forced to forge their own way, to become more independent earlier than others. However, their independence – in whatever form it takes – does not naturally rationalise the importance of education in their minds.

Moreover, it is likely that children from lower socio-economic backgrounds experience less academic stimulus at home, for example, less encouragement to read, or less parental emphasis placed on routines like homework. Consequently, some children do not have consistently positive exposure to cultural expectations or the skills necessary to consolidate and improve their academic performance. Nor do they necessarily feel as much incentive or encouragement to pursue academic interests as some of their more affluent peers.

How can poverty disadvantage children in the classroom?

While these are important issues, it is not just the quality of food on the table, or the stability of a caring family which influence children’s academic outlook and commitment. Vocabulary enrichment is perhaps the single most important issue for primary school children. It is a fact that children from more challenging socio-economic backgrounds tend to encounter and use fewer words in their everyday speech. At school this can become disincentivising and impact on self-esteem. As a result, children may not want to read or wholeheartedly join in with class activities if they do not understand as many of the terms in use around them as some of their peers.

Falling behind and absenteeism

If children self-consciously feel that they may look foolish in front of others, for example, because of their literacy, then they are more likely to avoid participating academically, whether that simply means not putting up their hand to ask for help, or just not concentrating. This is the top of the slippery slope to falling behind. It all too readily develops into motivational and subsequent behavioural issues. Finally, children may resort to absenteeism, with all of its detrimental impact on their personal, social and educational wellbeing.

How do authorities and schools inclusively promote the value of education?

There are several practical enrichment steps which schools aim to implement. For instance, alongside cultural or sporting activities, they offer before school, lunch time or after school clubs with an academic focus. Children are naturally inquisitive. Some merely need an appealing insight or academic hook to spark an initial interest in a new or mainstream curriculum area. School resources such as a library, however simple, can be made as accessible as possible in terms of presentation and appeal. Classrooms can become bright, inspiring places and children can be at the centre of designing them to be that way.

The importance of reading

Above all else reading any material in any form can be presented in a positive light. This is vital because illiteracy and poverty are inextricably linked. Children need to understand that illiteracy will blunt their potential as they grow up, they need to realise that academic interests are not for a talented elite. Fostering and incentivising a positive work ethic goes a long way to ensuring academic progress. And that helps to open up those future opportunities which may prove to be life changing.

Tackling motivation and offering support in schools

There is a proven link between socio-economic status and self-esteem. If children appear to be unmotivated it is likely to be because they assume that school is not for them, that it is for high achievers. For instance, for all those children in the UK’s education system whose first language is not English, progress and success at school is always going to seem daunting. At home those children are unlikely to speak or read much English, simply because their parents do not.

Educational support

While home background and environment are factors that contribute considerably to motivational outlook and performance at school, it is also the quality of teaching and the daily experience at school which matter. Inspirational teachers and effective schools do not just catch the attention of children from affluent backgrounds. In addition, frequent encouragement and support can make a huge difference to children’s motivation. Many teachers go way beyond the call of duty in looking after their classes, and consequently many children benefit in terms of their overall educational experience. Moreover, individually targeted learning support programmes, as well as one to one extra help, can be transformative.

Education is central to eradicating child poverty

For decades the UN has highlighted the central importance of teacher training programmes and classroom equipment in the fight against poverty. Governments, trade unions, think tanks, pressure groups and charities around the world accept that education remains a powerful means by which people can be empowered to tackle poverty. Poverty remains a complicated set of personal and political circumstances, and bringing about its eradication remains equally complex. However, at the heart of initiatives to lift children out of poverty, and break its cycle, lie educational policy, funding and the means towards achieving the broadest possible implementation, because empowering people to help themselves is the most sustainable, long-term solution to child poverty.