Beijing, 9 October 2017- Putting children first in national poverty alleviation efforts is the most effective way of breaking the cycle of poverty, supporting children to grow and develop to their fullest potential, and driving national development and growth.
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©UNICEF/China/2017/Wu Kaixiang
Experts join a panel discussion at a parallel session under the Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum with the theme of “Towards a World Free from Child Poverty” in Beijing on 9 October, 2017. |
"About 50 million people are still in poverty in China. In order to solve the problems they face we need to understand the causes," said Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative to China. "This means local government need to be empowered to collect data that reveals all the different dimensions of poverty. This includes access to toilets, good food, and high quality schools, amongst other things. Once policy makers have a grip on each of the issues facing families, they can systematically address them, ending poverty for every child."
The Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum, hosted by China's State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development in cooperation with the United Nations, is held in Beijing to mark the upcoming International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on 17th October, with the theme of "Targeted Poverty Alleviation and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda". The high-level forum, for the first time, shines a light on the importance of ending poverty in childhood by holding a parallel session on the topic.
The session co-organised by the International Poverty Reduction Centre in China (IPRCC) and UNICEF will bring together high level officials from governments, development organizations, business, civil society and scholars from around the world to share experiences and challenges in ending child poverty.
Around the world and in China, children are over-represented in populations living in extreme poverty. The effects of poverty on young children are often irreversible because they can affect a child's physical, mental and emotional development. For example, if children do not get adequate nutrition in their first two years they can become stunted for life.
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©UNICEF/2017
Towards a World Free from Child Poverty |
"Experiencing poverty in childhood has a profound impact on the growth and development of children, as children's physical and mental health shape their futures. Reducing child poverty, especially with a focus on children living in rural areas, and promoting their healthy growth and all-round development, is an important way not only to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty, but also to implement the long-term poverty alleviation strategy, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and promote social development and social equity," said Dr. Zuo Changsheng, Director-General of International Poverty Reduction Center in China.
In 2011, in order to meet the needs of child development and break the transition of poverty from one generation to the next, the Government of China issued the China National Programme of Action for Children (NPA) (2011-2020), proposing major targets and policies on child development in five areas: health, education, welfare, social environment and legal protection. At the same time, the China Rural Poverty Alleviation and Development Program (2011-2020) clearly stipulates the importance of rural child development for poverty alleviation and requires government at all levels to regard women and children as special target groups.
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©UNICEF/China/2017/Wu Kaixiang
Participants watch an animation film on child poverty at a parallel session under the Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum with the theme of “Towards a World Free from Child Poverty” in Beijing on 9 October, 2017. |
China's experience turning this commitment into child poverty reduction programmes as part of the national poverty alleviation and development efforts will be explored in the meeting. Other issues addressed will include the importance of national child poverty measurements to track progress towards halving child poverty in all its forms by 2030. Poverty is usually measured by income or expenditure and this sometimes hides the 'non-income' aspects of poverty such as poor sanitation or nutrition and lack of access to school or health services. As many as 70 per cent of the poor may be missed if poverty is measured only by income. Most importantly, the meeting will review what works to address child poverty, including learning from China's own experience of child poverty programmes in Hubei Province.
The meeting will strengthen experience exchange and share between China and other developing countries on child poverty alleviation and development.
The child poverty analysis conducted in four areas of Hubei Province identified eight dimensions of deprivation - nutrition, health, education, information, water, sanitation, housing and protection – and uniquely gathered the experiences of children. Findings showed that many children suffer from at least one deprivation, with the greatest deprivations in access to sanitation facilities, childhood nutrition, the enrolment rate of pre-school children and access to safe drinking water. This makes the case that we need to understand each and every cause of poverty so we can target our interventions to those who need them most. This analysis was used by the Hubei Provincial Poverty Alleviation office to support child poverty programming in Hubei.
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About IPRCC
The International Poverty Reduction Center in China （IPRCC）was jointly established by the Chinese government,UNDP and other international organizations in May 2005.As an institution supervised by the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development （LGOP）,IPRCC is the world's sole international platform specialized in poverty reduction research,training knowledge sharing exchanges and cooperation.
About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of allchildren, everywhere. For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: http://www.unicef.org
For more information, please contact:
Wang Ruya, IPRCC, +8610 84419407, wangruya@iprcc.org.cn
Hai Mingwei, UNICEF China, +8610 85318422, mhai@unicef.org
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