24 March - 14 April 2014
Vast numbers of children worldwide continue to suffer from disproportionate levels of poverty, a problem that affects both developing and developed countries alike. A recent report from the World Bank estimates that 400 million children under the age of 13 are extremely poor. At the same time, economic crisis in the high income countries has seen child poverty increase in many, increasing the perception that children often bear the brunt of poverty. Poverty violates children’s rights, denies children and youth the opportunities they need to develop and thrive, and is especially unjust because children are not responsible and cannot be held responsible for their poverty.
Much remains to be defined within the new development agenda, but it seems likely that eradicating extreme poverty will form a central role of the new set of goals. Many consider child poverty a critical issue and yet, there has been little debate about how children, as a major group of the extreme poor, can be included as part of this worthwhile goal. To fill this gap, we are running an online discussion on child poverty.
The discussion is co-moderated by the UN Major Group on Children and Youth, ODI and UNICEF.
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