The Global Impact of Child Poverty

The Global Impact of Child Poverty
Child poverty has affected every area of child’s development in developing countries whether it is social, educational or personal. Child poverty refers to children who live in state of poverty. The children from poor backgrounds and orphans are raised usually with limited state resources. These children fail to meet acceptable standard of life. Usually, in developing countries these children suffer more hardship and poverty because their family has been living in poverty over so many generations. For this reason, child poverty has been one of the major issues for almost all governments in different parts of world, especially in some Asian and African countries. Of course, nation’s economic crisis is one of the main reasons for poverty that has left a deep impact on lives of millions of people. Strong evidences suggest that children of low income parents have an increased risk of intellectual and behavioural development problems. Children in poverty have higher risk of displaying behaviour and emotional problems, like impulsiveness, low self-esteem, disobedience and less positive relations. Child poverty is high on the political agenda in UK. In a recent analysis by the ‘Joseph Rowntree Foundation of Poverty and Wealth UK’, found that over past 15 years, more children have become poor, although fewer are very poor. Areas that are already wealthy have become disproportionally wealthier and there is evidence of more polarisations, whereby rich and poor now live further apart (JRF, 2007).

Child poverty affects a child on different dimensions like his physical health, birth outcomes, growth stunting, Cognitive Abilities, emotional and behavioural outcomes, it is one of the major problems which are giving rise to number of other problems such as child labour. In developed countries, it is considered inappropriate or exploitative if a child below a certain age works. An employer is usually not permitted to hire a child below a certain age limit. This age limit depends on the country and the type of work involved, minimum age convention adapted by the international labour organisation in 1973, have adapted minimum ages varying from 14 to 16. In Leicester UK 35.3% of children between 0-19 years are currently living within the official definition of child poverty. Many more families experience low income and the challenges that this brings. These children and young people are at risk of poor outcomes, reduced life chances and life expectancies. The poorest outcomes for children and young people are correlated with persistent poverty [Survey done by the city council's initial Leicester City Child Poverty UK].The Government is committed to the goal of ending child poverty. The Child Poverty Act 2010 introduced by the previous Government sets four income-based UK-wide targets to be met by 2020 and requires the Government to minimise socio-economic disadvantage for children. The targets are based on the proportion of children living in: relative low income (whether the incomes of the poorest families are keeping pace with the growth of incomes in the economy as a whole) - target is less than 10%; combined low income and material deprivation (a wider measure of people's living standards) - target is less than 5%; absolute low income (whether the poorest families are seeing their income rise in real terms) - target is less than 5%; Persistent poverty (length of time in poverty) - target is to be set in regulations by 2015.
Children are suffering because of poverty and this is not an issue which is posing a threat in front of UK or the European Economic Area, it is a global issue which is taking over the Asian and African countries and even the American continent. In recent years one of five American children- some 12 to 14 million- has lived in families in which cash income failed to exceed official service threshold. Another one to fifth lived in families whose income were no more than twice the poverty threshold. For a small minority of children-4.8% of all children and 15% of children whoever became poor- child poverty lasted over ten years or more? [brooks-gunn and Duncan, Columbia University]. Poverty is the condition of not having enough income to meet basic need for food, clothes and shelter. Because children are dependent on others, they enter or avoid poverty by virtue of their family’s economic circumstances. Children cannot alter family condition by themselves, at least until they reach adulthood. The chart below shows us child poverty rate in US from year 2001-2010.
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In Africa, Millions of children live in poverty and under condition where their rights in the constitution have not been realised. There are two main reasons for child poverty in Africa. The first being the legacy of Apartheid, this discriminatory policy resulted in very high levels of inequality adapted by outsiders who came to South Africa planning to take control of their land. At the same time, the productive resources of the country, farms, factories and financial capital, continue to be in the hands of a mostly white minority who came from western countries. This policy has left a deep impact on high level of discrimination and poverty in Africa. The second reason is very high level of unemployment in Africa. High levels of unemployment as the country lost jobs in sectors that struggled to compete in the global market such as agricultural sector and manufacturing “Bond, Looting Africa: The Economics of Exploitation, London, Zed Books, 2006, p. 41”.
There is a one more element at play here that is HIV/AIDS pandemic. Poor communities are most likely to affect by spread of HIV/AIDS. Families with these diseases are most likely to lose wage or self-employment income if an earner gets sick, while having health care and funeral expenses as a large proportion of their income he will definitely, in turn deepen down to poverty. The statistical reports by UNICEF (United Nation’s Children Fund) shows that, In European countries particularly South-Eastern Europe and some countries in the Commonwealth show that 25 % of children still live in absolute poverty. These children have not receiving any benefit from economic recovery as other groups in the society. Child poverty is noticeable in southern Europe but it exists even in the richer parts of Europe. Few children are living in extreme poverty, but the percentage of children in households with incomes below half of the national median is still above 15 % in countries such as UK, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Portugal. These figures are rising with an alarming speed and give an indication of the scope of the problem. There are certain organisations which are trying to deal with this problem but it is not a single problem, child poverty is the outcome of number of problems. That is why the UNICEF studies into poverty in Europe have focused on issues such as unemployment, health and safety, educational well-being, the family and the risk of violence. The chart below shows child poverty rates based on household incomes in Europe and other world.
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In Spain the poverty rates among households with children have been shown to be persistently higher than those among households without children. There are number of surveys conducted by different NGOs [Non-Government Organisations] and their results show differential effects of several individual and household characteristics on the probability of being poor for households with and without children. This research was conducted by the University of Vigo, Spain. In June 2002, a commitment was made by New Zealand Government to eliminate child poverty which was published in the Agenda for children report proposed by the Ministry of Social Development 2002. The working for families benefit reform packages represent the government implementation, this package is targeted at low-to-middle-income families with dependent children [Perry, social policy journal of New Zealand 2004].
A global study on child poverty was launched by UNICEF in 2007 to draw attention to the daily damage suffered by children throughout Asia and the pacific was based upon poverty developed in Cambodia, Mongolia, The Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Vanuatu. These countries carried out study comprises between 2007 -2010. This study estimated for the first time child poverty in the developing world using a Multi-dimensional methodology and child-specific indicators. The main objective of this study was to analyse the situation of child poverty in six countries was to access the evidence, themes and trends that emerges. The study results shows that out of 93 million children living in these countries 54% experience poverty as measured by deprivation of basic needs, 36% of children suffered severe deprivation in seven identified dimensions of child poverty: food, water, shelter, sanitation, health ,education and information. Further, 14% of them suffered on multiple dimensions [By Minujin with UNICEF East Asia Pacific]. In India, child poverty is one of the massive problems for Indian economy particularly in Andhra Pradesh (a state in India). Despite of recent news about growth in India’s economy, the improving wealth is creating the need to help to tackle child poverty in India. Economic deprivation and inadequate education infrastructure mean sending children out to work from as young as six which is acceptable in rural families in particular area like Andhra Pradesh. More than half of the children in this state drop out of their school before finishing seventh grade [research conducted by HEAL UK registered charity formed in 1992].

Conclusion: - The most urgent present moral challenge is the most obvious: Child Poverty. Roughly there are 6 billion people on the planet. In 2004, 2.5 billion survived on less than $2 a day says the World Bank. The solution of being poor is to get rich. Economic growth is must, we know this. Now, in different countries government has taken initiative to curb increasing number of children in poverty. Child allowance and tax benefits for children are a good example, regular payments made to families on behalf of their children. Usually, they are made regardless of family income and are available to all households and children below certain age. The purpose of these benefits is to raise household income, helping families to support their children. Family allowance has surprisingly showed poverty reducing impact. The UK also aid families with children benefits through its tax system. There is provision of tax exemption for children, each child gives a tax exemption to the households reducing its taxable income and decreasing the income tax it owes. Even though, there is some problem with using this policy to aid families with children. As noted above, low income household typically owes little or nothing in taxes; since the value of provision exemption is not recoverable to government. A recent research shows that government spends £12bn a year on services to remedy consequences of childhood deprivation like poor health, low educational attainment and other anti-social behaviour. The treasury commits additional £2bn as benefits and forgoes £5bn in tax and national insurance contribution from adult who do not get jobs as a direct result of an impoverished upbringing. And economy loses again a bit further £8bn from their lack of productive output. Actually, child poverty adds a significant cost burden to public expenditure in our local areas. Inequality is a main problem in area of poverty. It has been problem of all society. No society distributes income evenly. Despite, all the problems government has devised a widely cited poverty index that shows different consumptions of families depending on their size and composition, sex and age of the family head and on whether they are living in rural or urban areas. The poverty level for these families was, therefore, set at three times the cost of the economy food plan [Levitan, Sar A. And Shapiro, Issac. (1987)]. Child poverty is an indicator of the hardships experienced by an increasing number of families in UK. One in five children is growing up poor. Children are poor because their families are poor, the reason for poverty among their families can be lack of well-paying or unstable jobs. Children are this nation’s future and world’s most precious resource. Families are responsible to care for them, nurture and guide their children throughout the various stages of development for their bright future.

References:- Global Study on child poverty and disparities, January 25-2012 [UNICEF social and economic policy US]. Campaign 2000, Report Card on Child Poverty in Ontario US, 1999, pg. 13. Business premier source database [Child Poverty in the American States: The Impact of- -Welfare Reform, Economics, and Demographics Harrell R. Rodgers, Jr. and Lee Payne]. Working for families: The impact on child poverty, ‘Bryan Perry’ Ministry of Social Development New Zealand. Heal UK registered charity formed in 1992. Bond, Looting Africa: The Economics of Exploitation, London, Zed Books, 2006, p. 41. Brooks, Gunn and Duncan, Columbia University US. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) is a British social policy research and development charity 1904. London Child Poverty Commission Legacy Report February 2006 – 2010.