What is the Global Study on Child Poverty and Disparities?
What is the scope and purpose of the Global Study?
Despite some progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, millions of women and children are still left behind – even in countries that have demonstrated overall improvement. With the deadline of 2015 fast approaching, UNICEF has taken on an enhanced organizational commitment to leveraging evidence, analysis, policy and partnerships to promote gender equality and deliver results for all children. As part of that effort, UNICEF is undertaking a Global Study on Child Poverty and Disparities, launched end of 2007, built around decentralized research and analysis in 53 countries in seven regions. These studies serve as critical policy advocacy tools which identify vulnerable populations and provide concrete recommendations on how legislation, policies and programmes could best support child rights.
The aim of the Global Study is to strengthen the profile of children at the national policy table, influencing the economic and social policies that affect resource allocations, and to make children a priority in national programmes addressing: 1) the poverty of families raising children, and 2) the health, education and protection needs of children living in poor, vulnerable households, unsafe circumstances, and/or disadvantaged communities. Country analyses argue that unless appropriate measures are in place, child deprivations will only intensify.
While country reports are at the heart of the global study, it is envisaged that these reports will also be the building blocks for regional and global reports.
Which countries are participating in the Global Study?
- Americas and the Caribbean: Bolivia, Brazil, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua
- Central and Eastern Europe/Commonwealth of Independent States: Kosovo, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
- Eastern and Southern Africa: Burundi, Indian Ocean Islands, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe
- East Asia and the Pacific: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Viet Nam, Vanuatu
- Middle East and North Africa: Djibouti, Egypt, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Yemen
- South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
- West and Central Africa: Cameroon, Congo DR, Congo, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo
How is child poverty defined in the Global Study?
"Children living in poverty experience deprivation of the material, spiritual, and emotional resources needed to survive, develop and thrive, leaving them unable to enjoy their rights, achieve their full potential or participate as full and equal members of society.”
- The State of the World’s Children, UNICEF, 2005
The Global Study combines the income approach with the Bristol deprivations approach that looks into how children are deprived in seven critical dimensions, that is shelter, sanitation, safe drinking water, information, food, education and health. The Global Study adopts a child poverty concept that builds on existing measures of poverty, and considers:
- both income and non-income factors and how these determine whether or not a child enjoys her/his right to survive, grow and develop;
- how resource allocations and deprivations directly impact children;
- childhood as a space that is separate from adulthood (life-cycle approach); and
- that children who are deprived of a safe and caring environment are also more likely to experience other deprivations.
The Study looks at gaps and opportunities in national poverty reduction strategies, including the demographic and economic context, employment, public and private social expenditures, fiscal space and foreign aid, and looks in detail at how public policies could more effectively reduce child deprivations by providing better services and protection for all children and for all families caring for children, including measures that promote gender equality.
What are the Guiding principles of the Global Study?
National Ownership: Although children’s rights are universal, every country participating in the study has its own history, culture and sense of responsibility for its citizens. The analyses aim to stimulate discussion and provide evidence on how best to realize child rights in each country.
Multidimensionality: No single measure can fully reflect the poverty that children experience. A multidimensional approach is therefore imperative to effectively understand and measure children’s wellbeing and the various forms of poverty that they experience.
Equity: The analyses aim to influence policies that reduce disparities, in order to protect the future of children living in poor, vulnerable households, unsafe circumstances, and/or disadvantaged communities.
Interconnectedness: Today’s world is increasingly interconnected through economic, social, technological, environmental, epidemiological, cultural and knowledge exchanges. These exchanges have important implications for child poverty – and can also help provide avenues for its reduction.
Who prepares the Global Study Analyses?
The country analyses are conducted by teams of national experts representing academia, national statistical offices, research institutes, ministries of finance and planning, among others, in collaboration with UNICEF focal points (country, regional, headquarters). The country teams engage in participatory processes in order to reflect the views of multiple stakeholders.
