In low- and middle-income countries, 417 million children face severe deprivation in at least two areas vital to their health, development and well-being. The number represents one in every five children living in the 130 countries analyzed in a report released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) this Thursday (20), World Children’s Day.
The aim of the study, called The State of the World’s Children 2025: Eradicating Child Poverty, is to assess the extent of multidimensional poverty, measuring deprivation in six categories: education, health, housing, nutrition, sanitation and water. The analysis shows that 118 million children in the world face three or more deprivations, and 17 million face four or more.
“Children who grow up in poverty and are deprived of essential rights such as good nutrition, adequate sanitation and housing face devastating consequences for their health and development,” said Unicef Executive Director Catherine Russell.
According to her, the scenario can be transformed when governments commit to eradicating child poverty through effective policies. “They can open up a world of possibilities for children,” he said.
However, the report points out that the proportion of children facing one or more severe deprivations in low- and middle-income countries fell from 51% in 2013 to 41% in 2023. This was mainly due to the prioritization of children’s rights in national public policies and economic planning.
The highest rates of multidimensional poverty among children are concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In Chad, for example, 64% of children face two or more severe deprivations.
Inequality
Lack of sanitation affects 65% of children who live without access to a toilet in low-income countries; 26% in lower-middle income countries and 11% in upper-middle income countries. The lack of adequate sanitation increases children’s exposure to serious diseases, such as diarrhea or arboviruses.
According to Unicef, despite conflicts, climate and environmental crises and demographic changes, it is still possible to make progress in eradicating child poverty. The study highlights that Tanzania, for example, reduced multidimensional child poverty by 46 percentage points between 2000 and 2023, driven by income transfer programs and empowering families to make financial decisions. In Bangladesh, child poverty fell by 32 percentage points in the same period, thanks to government initiatives that expanded access to education and electricity, improved the quality of housing and invested in water and sanitation services, reducing open defecation from 17% in 2000 to zero in 2022.
The report also looks at monetary poverty, which further limits children’s access to food, education and health services. According to the study, more than 19% of children worldwide live in extreme monetary poverty, surviving on less than US$3 a day. Almost 90% of these children are in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The analysis also included 37 high-income countries, showing that around 50 million children – or 23% of the child population in these countries – live in relative monetary poverty. This means their families have significantly lower incomes than most in that country.
Although poverty fell by an average of 2.5% in high-income countries between 2013 and 2023, progress has stalled or reversed in many cases. In France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, for example, child poverty has increased by more than 20%. Over the same period, Slovenia reduced its poverty rate by more than a quarter, thanks to a robust system of family benefits and minimum wage legislation.
Unicef highlights that the report is released at a time when many governments are reducing international humanitarian aid. Recent estimates indicate that the cuts could leave an additional 6 million children out of school next year.
“Even before the global funding crisis, many children were already deprived of their basic needs,” said Catherine Russell.
According to the executive director of Unicef, governments and companies must strengthen investments in essential services to keep children healthy and protected, “ensuring access to basic items such as good nutrition, especially in fragile and humanitarian contexts. Investing in children is investing in a healthier and more peaceful world – for everyone.”
