International Forum on the Eradication of Poverty United Nations, New York, USA Child Poverty Professor David Gordon Professor of Social Justice School for Policy Studies University of Bristol, UK 15 th November 2006

The Rhetoric of Child Poverty

Child Poverty in the UK The UK Government is committed to tackling the problem of child poverty. In March 1999, the Prime Minister Tony Blair set out a commitment to end child poverty forever: “And I will set out our historic aim that ours is the first generation to end child poverty forever, and it will take a generation. It is a 20-year mission but I believe it can be done.

...within a decade no child will go to bed hungry, [...] no family will fear for its next days bread and [...] no human being's future and well being will be stunted by malnutrition. No More Hungry Children? Henry Kissinger, First World Food Conference, Rome 1974

The Reality of Child Poverty

Age at death by age group, Source: The State of the World Population 1998

Make Poverty History: Click Video

“ The world's biggest killer and the greatest cause of ill health and suffering across the globe is listed almost at the end of the International Classification of Diseases. It is given code Z extreme poverty. World Health Organisation (1995) Seven out of 10 childhood deaths in developing countries can be attributed to just five main causes - or a combination of them: pneumonia, diarrhoea, measles, malaria and malnutrition. Around the world, three out of four children seen by health services are suffering from at least one of these conditions. World Health Organisation (1996; 1998).

Champagne glass of income distribution The stem of the glass is getting thinner. In 1960 the income of the wealthiest fifth was 30 times greater than that of the poorest fifth; now it's more than 80 times greater.

The Consequences of Poverty

Absolute and Overall Poverty After the World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995, 117 countries adopted a declaration and programme of action which included commitments to eradicate “absolute” and reduce “overall” poverty. Absolute poverty was defined as "a condition characterised by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services."

Over one billion children – half the children in the world- suffer from severe deprivation of basic human need and 30% (650 million) suffer from absolute poverty (two or more severe deprivations). Child Poverty in the World

Severe Deprivation of Basic Human Need for Children Almost a third of the world’s children live in dwellings with more than five people per room or which have a mud floor. Over half a billion children (27%) have no toilet facilities whatsoever. Over 400 million children (19%) are using unsafe (open) water sources or have more than a 15-minute walk to water. About one child in five, aged 3 to 18, lacks access to radio, television, telephone or newspapers at home. Sixteen percent of children under five years in the world are severely malnourished, almost half of whom are in South Asia. 275 million children (13%) have not been immunised against any diseases or have had a recent illness causing diarrhoea and have not received any medical advice or treatment. One child in nine aged between 7 and 18 (over 140 million) are severely educationally deprived - they have never been to school.

Percent of the world’s children severely deprived of basic human needs

Global Rural and Urban Absolute Child Poverty Rates

Shelter] Sanitation] Physical Capital Items Water] Information Food] Health ] Human Capital Items Education] The severe deprivations of basic human need which affect the greatest number of children are ‘physical capital’ problems - deprivation of shelter, water and sanitation. Whilst fewer children suffer from deprivations of ‘human capital’ – health, education and nutrition, most of the world’s anti-poverty policies are aimed at improving that human capital, particularly in urban areas

The cost of achieving universal access to basic social services NeedAnnual cost (US$ billions) Basic education for all6 Basic health and nutrition13 Reproductive health and family planning12 Low cost-water supply and sanitation9 Total for basic social services40 The Price of Life?

The Cost of Food and Health for All Over ten million of the world’s young children die each year and, in over half of these deaths, malnutrition is a contributory cause. The cost of preventing these deaths is relatively small: $13 billion a year for ten years would provide basic health and nutrition for every person on the planet (UNDP, 1997). By comparison, $30 billion was spent on pizza in the US in 2002 (Pizza Marketing Quarterly, 2003) and $12 billion on dog and cat food in the EU (Euromonitor International, 2003).

Justice and Fairness? If the misery of our poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin. – Charles Darwin, 1845