Make Childhood Poverty History - Id21 Insights issue June 2005

The June 2005 issue of Id21 Insights (#56), entitled "Make Childhood Poverty History", contains a wealth of contributions by members of the Young Lives team:

Javier Escobal's article illustrates how women's education has addressed the critical issue of child nutrition in Peru. Evidence shows that each additional year of maternal education can lower the risk of premature child death by about eight percent. Comprehensive health care services are also essential as is ensuring food security through food supplements, income support and subsidies. Cash transfers, too, as part of broader social protection programmes, can address immediate needs and contribute to the longer term aim of breaking poverty transfers. [click here for article: "Educating women = healthier children?"]

Economic policies should aim at enhancing family income but should not compromise children's well-being by forcing women and other carers to migrate for work or by making children work. However, as Jo Boyden's article points out, if child labour is neither hazardous nor exploitative and if it offers a way out of poverty or into school then a blanket ban on child work is not necessarily the solution. [click here for article:"Does child labour always undermine education?"]

Public commitments to equity in meeting basic needs and government accountability are crucial. Poverty Reduction Strategies provide a good opportunity for countries to discuss children's issues and commit themselves to ending childhood poverty. But as the Ethiopian experience highlighted by Nicola Jones shows, childhood poverty has not received much attention. Governments can be challenged to define and identify priorities and can be held accountable. [click here for article: "Children's issues ignored in Ethiopia's PRSP process"]

The circumstances and conditions that have helped ten countries to reduce childhood poverty, as explained in Santosh Mehrotra's article, provide powerful evidence that childhood conditions can be improved. [click here for article: "High achievers’ prioritise social policy"]

Download your copy of this Id21 issue at www.id21.org/insights/insights56/index.html