International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

Children and families speak out against poverty

In the developing world, about 1.4 billion people, or one in four, live on less than US$1.25 a day. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), most of them are children.

In recognition of the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, this year’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty focuses on the plight of children and families living in poverty, emphasizing the need to fulfill children’s rights in keeping with the Convention.

The 2009 observance will take place on Monday, 19 October at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

This follows World Food Day, observed on Friday, 16 October, with the theme “Achieving Food Security in Times of Crisis.”

Poverty is multidimensional

“Poverty is not simply a lack of money,” says Rodney Cooke, Director, IFAD Technical Advisory Division. “Poverty is lack of access to basic human needs such as food, clean water, health care, clothing, education and shelter.”

Children who miss out on these basic needs, especially in the critical first years of their lives, may have impaired physical and mental development.

They will be more vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, violence and discrimination. They may be forced to drop out of school so they can work to contribute to family income.

“All of this means that children will have a more difficult time reaching their full potential to develop and sustain themselves in the future,” says Cooke.

Child nutrition as a measure of project success

IFAD’s system for measuring and reporting the results and impact achieved by the programmes and projects it finances is called the Result and Impact Management System.

In recognition of IFAD’s commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the framework includes two mandatory indicators to measure the impact of IFAD’s work on the ground: a household asset index to measure poverty, and an index to measure malnutrition among children under five years of age.

International research has shown that a change in the levels of chronic malnutrition is a practical indicator of the impact of poverty reduction programmes.

“It is worth emphasizing that an IFAD project does not need to have explicit nutrition interventions, such as nutrition education or the prevention of micronutrient deficiencies, to influence nutritional status,” says Annina Lubbock, IFAD Senior Technical Adviser, Gender and Poverty Targeting.

“The factors determining nutritional status are multisectoral.

Any project activity that increases household income or improves household conditions related to food, health or caring practices has the potential to decrease chronic malnutrition. And research shows that such activities are particularly effective when they target women.”

Support for women benefits children

The well-being of children is directly linked to their mothers’ well-being, knowledge and income-earning capacity. As the primary caregivers, women are more likely to use resources to benefit children.

“Many IFAD programmes and projects give special attention to women, who are often the most vulnerable members of rural societies,” says Maria Hartl, IFAD Technical Adviser, Gender and Social Equity. “We know that improving the socio-economic status, health and education of women has an immediate and lasting impact on the well-being of the entire family.

With increased economic opportunities, women can become empowered to transform their lives and the lives of their families and communities.”

Studies have shown that education and training for women has a direct impact and trickle down effect on the schooling of children, especially girls.

In 1984, the Belgian Survival Fund (BSF) and IFAD formed a partnership to pursue a common goal: to help poor people in rural areas overcome poverty and improve food security. Since 1984, the BSF Joint Programme has cofinanced 44 projects focused on improving the food security of poor rural people.

The Joint Programme supports projects that target the most vulnerable populations in the most fragile parts of Africa. Under the Joint Programme, IFAD loan support is complemented by BSF cofinancing in the form of grants to support health, water and sanitation, and education components.

Women who have improved access to water have about 30 extra minutes a day to invest in other activities such as economic pursuits, childcare and personal development. In places where improved access to water used for agriculture is combined with adequate training and extension services, there are significant positive effects on productivity, poverty reduction, food security and nutrition.

Significantly, women who are literate take a more active role in reducing poverty and establishing preventive health measures in the household.

Eliminating child labour in agriculture

In June 2007, as part of the World Day Against Child Labour, IFAD joined with five other international organizations to strengthen the worldwide movement against child labour in agriculture.

The organizations signed a Declaration of Intent to work together to develop coherent policies and programmes on child labour and to mainstream child labour concerns into existing activities; to help agricultural agencies understand how eliminating child labour in agriculture, especially hazardous child labour, contributes to achieving organizational mandates; to ensure that children do not carry out hazardous work in agriculture; and to promote opportunities for decent youth employment in agriculture and in rural areas.

The Declaration signatories are:

Convention on the Rights of the Child

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history. It sets forth a wide range of provisions that encompass civil rights and freedoms, family environment, basic health and welfare, education, leisure and cultural activities and special protection measures.

The Convention has several “foundation principles” that underpin all other children’s rights. These include: non-discrimination; best interests of the child; right to survival and development; and views of the child.

Non-discrimination means that all children have the same right to develop their potential – all children, in all situations, all of the time, everywhere.
The best interests of the child must be “a primary consideration” in all actions and decisions concerning her or him, and must be used to resolve confusion between different rights.
The right to survival and development underscores the vital importance of ensuring access to basic services and to equity of opportunity for children to achieve their full development.
The views of the child means that the voice of children must be heard and respected in all matters concerning their rights. Countries must promote children’s active, free and meaningful participation in decision-making that affects them.

The CRC has been ratified by over 190 countries since it was adopted unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly in November 1989.

Ratification commits countries to a code of binding obligations towards their children. Thanks to the CRC, child rights are now at the cutting edge of the global struggle for human rights, to be ensured by adult society as a matter of legal obligation, moral imperative and development priority. In the years since the CRC was adopted, the world has seen dramatic gains for children.

However, children’s rights are intimately tied to those of women.

Realizing the rights and equality of women is not only a core development goal in itself, but it is also the key to the survival and development of children and to building healthy families, communities and nations.

Discrimination against women hurts both women and the next generation of children, boys and girls alike. Starting even before birth, a child’s health and development prospects are closely linked with the mother’s health and socio-economic status. Women are, moreover, the primary caregivers for children. Resources put in the hands of women are more likely to be used to benefit children.

Source: UNICEF