Links

A Fair Go for All Children: Actions to address child poverty in New Zealand [pdf]

This report provides an analytical look at the extent and characteristics of child poverty in New Zealand and what can be done about it. (Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) August 2008)

http://www.occ.org.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/4932/OCC_ChildPoverty_070808.pdf

(Added: Mon Aug 18 2008   Hits: 58)

This is how I see it: children and young people's views and experiences of poverty

This website is accompanied by a Photovoices project which powerfully conveys children and young people's experiences of poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand. (Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) August 2008)

http://www.occ.org.nz/home/childpoverty/explore_the_issue

(Added: Mon Aug 18 2008   Hits: 73)

Unofficial schools aim to boost prospects of China's migrant children

This article by Anne Donohue argues that unofficial schools for the children of domestic migrant Chinese works are providing an important educational resource. This is because normally migrant children cannot attend Chinese public schools unless their parents hold residency permits for the area they are working in.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0711/p05s01-woap.html

(Added: Tue Jul 15 2008   Hits: 25)

Left behind : how social & income inequalities damage New Zealand children [pdf]

This report looks at how enduring and perhaps deepening social inequalities are damaging the lives of the poorest 20 per cent of New Zealand children.(Child Poverty Action Group, March 2008)

http://www.cpag.org.nz/resources/articles/res1209380220.pdf

(Added: Thu Jun 12 2008   Hits: 106)

Unicef - The State of Africa's Children

The State of Africa's Children 2008 highlights the need to position child survival at the heart of Africa's development and human rights agenda.

http://www.unicef.org/wcaro/soac08/report/report.php

(Added: Mon Jun 09 2008   Hits: 36)

Unicef Annual Report 2007

The Annual Report 2007 details UNICEF's work on behalf of children and their families in 155 countries and territories. The report outlines the challenges and accomplishments of UNICEF and its vast network of partners in their quest to fulfill the Millennium Development Goals.

http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Annual_Report_2007.pdf

(Added: Mon Jun 09 2008   Hits: 30)

Differences in Food Insecurity between Girls and Boys: Evidence from Zimbabwe (pdf)

Results show no gender differences in food insecurity for the children surveyed across all three measures of food insecurity utilized in this paper. While gender still did not matter, there was some evidence that age did, in addition to other household characteristics. (UNU-WIDER Research paper, September 2007)

http://www.wider.unu.edu/publications/working-papers/research-papers/2007/en_GB/rp2007-53/

(Added: Mon Feb 18 2008   Modified: Mon Sep 29 2008   Hits: 135)

ETHIOPIA: Strategy to focus on malnutrition

Ethiopia's new national nutrition strategy will target children younger than two years of age because a significant number suffer chronic malnutrition (IRIN, 11 February 2008)

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76673

(Added: Mon Feb 18 2008   Hits: 115)

State of the World's Children 2008

The State of the World's Children 2008 assesses the state of child survival and primary health care for mothers, newborns and children today. These issues serve as sensitive barometers of a country's development and wellbeing and as evidence of its priorities and values. Investing in the health of children and their mothers is a human rights imperative and one of the surest ways for a country to set its course towards a better future (UNICEF 2008).

http://www.unicef.org/sowc08/docs/sowc08.pdf

(Added: Fri Jan 25 2008   Hits: 166)

Child Poverty in Perspective: An Overview of Child Well-Being in Rich Countries

The UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre released the seventh report in its Report Card series: Child Poverty in Perspective: An Overview of Child Well-Being in Rich Countries. The report is the first of its kind to provide a comprehensive assessment on the well-being of children and young people in the world's advanced economies (21 selected OECD member countries), focusing on six dimensions: material well-being, health and safety, education, peer and family relationships, behaviours and risks, and young people's own subjective sense of well-being. The landmark report shows that among all of the countries studied, there are improvements to be made and that no single country leads in all six of the areas. Previous Report Card publications and other studies are available online via the Centre's publications page.

http://unhq-appspub-01.un.org/lib/dhlrefweblog.nsf/dx/14022007091703AMNGRJRR.htm

(Added: Tue Mar 20 2007   Modified: Wed Mar 21 2007   Hits: 68)

Children of the Dust: Abuse of Hanoi Street Children in Detention

Drawing on testimonies from street children interviewed over the past three years, this 77-page report ocuments cases of serious violations of the rights of street children in Hanoi. Police routinely round up street children in arbitrary sweeps and deposit them at state "rehabilitation" centers where they are detained for periods ranging from two weeks to as much as six months. Children there are locked up in filthy, overcrowded cells for 23 hours a day. Children are subject to routine beatings, verbal abuse and mistreatment by staff. (Human Rights Watch, 12 November 2006)

http://hrw.org/reports/2006/vietnam1106/

(Added: Mon Nov 13 2006   Hits: 47)

Rewrite the Future: Education for children in conflict-affected countries [pdf]

No child should have to pay the price for adults' wars, but increasingly they do. Millions of children are killed, millions more are injured, and millions spend their entire childhood in camps and other temporary shelters. Children cannot wait for conflict to end before we begin to address their educational needs. It is shameful that, in 2006, there are still 115 million children around the world who are denied their right to primary education. It is even more disturbing that one-third of these children are being kept out of school because of the effects of conflict. This report is part of Save the Children's five-year Rewrite the Future education initiative, which seeks to help millions of children in conflict-affected areas gain access to and reap the current and future benefits of a quality education. (International Save the Children Alliance, 2006)

http://www.savethechildren.org/rewrite-the-future/RewritetheFuture-PolicyReport.pdf

(Added: Wed Sep 13 2006   Modified: Mon Jul 02 2007   Hits: 133)

The State of Child Health and Human Rights in Nepal

Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. The high-intensity (more than 1,000 deaths per year) conflict between the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) rebels and the government forces led by the Royal Nepalese Army has affected the health, education, and other rights of the most vulnerable members of society, especially women and children. The conflict, which began in 1996, has resulted in widespread human rights violations by both parties as it draws the population into the conflict as both soldiers and victims. This article examines the evidence on the current state of child health and human rights in Nepal. The authors argue that time is running out for the children of Nepal, as they face an uncertain future if their health and human rights concerns are not addressed by local governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and the international community in a timely manner. They also suggest possible solutions to the current problem. (Sonal Singh, Erik Bøhler, Khagendra Dahal, Edward Mills, Public Library of Science Medicine, July 2006)

http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0030203

(Added: Thu Aug 17 2006   Hits: 151)

Pennies from heaven?

This article considers the dilemma travellers can face when in developing countries of whether to give money to beggers, and the arguments for and against child sponsorship schemes according to UK NGOs. (Ed Ewing, Guardian, 8 August 2006)

http://society.guardian.co.uk/aid/story/0,,1839743,00.html

(Added: Wed Aug 16 2006   Hits: 54)

My week with the rubbish-children of Peru

Two million children - starting at three or four - are forced to work in Peru, some never leaving the rubbish dump, or the stone quarry, where they make their maegre living. This author spends some time with them, as well as a determined band of Peruvian heroes, supported by Sport Relief, a British charity, who work to get children out of work - something made difficult by the dicates of the IMF. (Johann Hari, the Independent, 14 July 2006)

http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=924

(Added: Fri Jul 21 2006   Hits: 96)

Ignoring Abuse of Aboriginal Women, Children

Revelations of horrific levels of sexual abuse and violence suffered by women and children in Australia's aboriginal communities have surfaced, as the fifth session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) gets underway in New York. Some point to culture and close-knit kinship ties which have helped create a blanket of silence, and others blame government inaction and neglect for a tragedy that has its roots in racist subjugation by European colonisers. (Neena Bhandari, IPS News, 22 May 2006)

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33317

(Added: Tue May 30 2006   Modified: Wed Jun 21 2006   Hits: 104)

Journal of Children and Poverty

The Journal of Children and Poverty acts as a forum for the presentation of research and policy initiatives in the areas of education, social services, public policy and welfare reform. It seeks to promote intellectual debate and new ideas that will impact policy and practice in the field of child and family welfare. The Journal of Children and Poverty is a publication for the Institute for Children and Poverty in association with Homes for the Homeless.

http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/journal.asp?issn=1079-6126&subcategory=SS340000

(Added: Mon May 29 2006   Modified: Tue Jun 06 2006   Hits: 107)

Exploring the Linkages between Children's Independent Migration and Education: Evidence from Ghana [pdf]

Migrating for education is an insufficiently stressed aspect in the literature on children's independent migration and it is frequently assumed that migration undermines children's educational opportunities. What little research has been done suggests that the link between children's migration and education is very context-specific. In this paper the linkages between children's independent migration and education -- formal and non-formal -- is explored in a specific context by drawing on interviews with young migrants who have moved from rural, farming households in northern Ghana to rural and urban households in central and southern Ghana. The paper illustrates how, in contrast to the positive light in which education is usually presented, the findings of this research suggests a more ambiguous and complex picture, and illuminates both positive and negative aspects of the linkages between child migration and education. (Iman M. Hashim, Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty, August 2005)

http://www.migrationdrc.org/publications/working_papers/WP-T12.pdf

(Added: Thu May 25 2006   Hits: 159)

UN food chief: world unaware of major hunger crisis

Three hundred million children are hungry and 18,000 die every day for want of food while the world remains largely ignorant about the magnitude of the problem. "If the headline in the media tomorrow was 'Forty-five 747s crashed today, everyone on board was killed and oh, by the way, they were all children', the world would be outraged," says James Morris, executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), in this article. (Tom Pfeiffer, Reuter/Alertnet, 22 May 2006)

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/VOCHARUAllLatestEmergencyReports/8C038BFFDC26AB5A85257176006A703A?OpenDocument

(Added: Wed May 24 2006   Modified: Mon Sep 11 2006   Hits: 154)

Baby Milk Action

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 1.5 million infants die around the world every year because they are not breastfed. Where water is unsafe a bottle-fed child is up to 25 times more likely to die as a result of diarrhoea than a breastfed child. Baby Milk Action is a non-profit organisation which aims to save lives and to end the avoidable suffering caused by inappropriate infant feeding. This website offers latest news and other information on the issue.

http://www.babymilkaction.org/

(Added: Tue May 23 2006   Hits: 385)

The WHO Child Growth Standards

These standards were developed using data collected in the WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study. The site presents documentation on how the physical growth curves and motor milestone windows of achievement were developed as well as application tools to support implementation of the standards. The standards, adjusted for ethnicity, tell us about how healthy a child is.

http://www.who.int/childgrowth/standards/en/

(Added: Thu May 18 2006   Hits: 146)

From Camp to Community: Liberia study on exploitation of children (pfd)

The people of Liberia have experienced ongoing suffering over the past two decades as a result of war and displacement. This 20-page study focuses on children who are in internally displaced people camps and those who have recently been repatriated to their towns and villages of origin after the end of the war. Through focus group discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews, the researchers found that many children in the camps are agreeing to have sex with older men for money, food and other goods and favours. These men are people in authority such as camp officials, humanitarian workers, businessmen, peacekeepers, government employees and teachers. The study explores the ways in which children in IDP camps are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse as they attempt to meet their basic and other needs, and looks at the role and responsibilities of humanitarian agencies to provide more protective systems for the delivery of assistance. (Save the Children UK, 8 May 2006)

http://www.savethechildren.org/publications/liberia-exploitation-v4.pdf

(Added: Tue May 16 2006   Modified: Thu Sep 18 2008   Hits: 193)

State of the World's Mothers Report 2006

For most children in the developing world, the most dangerous day of their lives is their birthday. Of more than 10 million children under the age of 5 who die each year, about 1 in 5 - an estimated 2 million babies - die within the first 24 hours of life, according to the seventh annual State of the World's Mothers report issued by Save the Children, a global independent humanitarian organisation. According to the report, an additional 1 million babies die during days 2 through 7. A total of 4 million babies die during the first month of life. (Save the Children, 2006)

http://www.savethechildren.net/australia/publications/mothers_report/mothers_report.html

(Added: Wed May 10 2006   Hits: 63)

Urban Street Children Empowerment and Support (pdf)

This report provides a review of the Urban Street Children Empowerment and Support (USCES) programme in Indonesia, and goes over the lessons learned. Some of the achievements of the programme, according to the report, were enhancing the capacity of NGOs to deliver assistance to street children, increasing the access to and use of health services by street children, addressing the special needs of girl street children, and developing alternatives to the street. (Save the Children, USAID, 2006)

http://www.streetchildren.org.uk/reports/USCES%20Final%20Report.doc

(Added: Mon May 01 2006   Hits: 61)

Making Philippine Cities Child Friendly: Voices of Children in Poor Communities [PDF 2849 KB]

In the early 1980s, the Government of the Philippines, UNICEF, and local NGOs developed the community-based Child Friendly Cities (CFC) program to address those needs pertinent to children living in poor neighborhoods. The concept of Child Friendly Cities is anchored on nine building blocks: (1) children as active participants in decisions affecting them - with participation cross-cutting all the building blocks, (2) child friendly laws, (3) city-wide children's rights strategies, (4) children's rights units in government structures, (5) regular evaluations of the impact on children of city ordinances, policies and practices, (6) budget sections earmarked for children, (7) state-of-the-city report children, (8) programs disseminating awareness children's rights, and (9) strong advocacy for children by civil society, government and other groups. This report analyses the Child Friendly Cities strategy and finds that where it was adopted, greater attention is paid to the most excluded and vulnerable groups and interventions are developed on a wider spectrum of children's rights. (Institute of Philippine Culture (IPC), Ateneo de Manila University, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2005)

http://www.unicef-icdc.org/publications/pdf/philinsight.pdf

(Added: Thu Mar 30 2006   Modified: Thu Jun 01 2006   Hits: 99)

UNICEF: State of the World's Children Report 2005 [PDF - 6.5MB]

The UNICEF "State of the World's Children Report 2005 provides a comprehensive overview of the state of the World's Children. As Kofi Annan writes in the forward to the document "The State of the World's Children 2005 makes clear, for nearly half of the two billion children in the real world, childhood is starkly and brutally different from the ideal we all aspire to. Poverty denies children their dignity, endangers their lives and limits their potential. Conflict and violence rob them of a secure family life, betray their trust and their hope. HIV/AIDS kills their parents, their teachers, their doctors and nurses. It also kills them."

http://www.unicef.org/sowc05/english/sowc05.pdf

(Added: Mon Mar 27 2006   Hits: 260)

Poverty in a land of plenty - a report on the fifth anniversary of the Prime Minister's pledge to end child poverty [PDF]

By Lisa Harker, Clare Kober and Jonathan Stearn. This report, published by End Child Poverty, evaluates the progress made five years on from the British Government's 1999 committment to eradicating child poverty in Britain within twenty years. It reveals the tragedy that: "A baby born into poverty [in the UK] is more than twice as likely to die in the first year as a child born to better-off parents and as many as 1,400 lives would be saved if poverty were eradicated."

http://pegasus.xssl.net/~admin315/assets/files/reports/Poverty_in_a_land_of_plenty.pdf

(Added: Mon Aug 08 2005   Modified: Thu Feb 01 2007   Hits: 64)

Children International

Children International's mission is to help children living in dire poverty. Through the generosity of contributors we provide needy children with a variety of programs and services to meet their basic needs, enhance their human dignity and raise their physical and educational levels in a meaningful, lasting way.

http://www.children.org/home.asp?sid=C08F09CA-606C-4910-8DD3-613A8A8026EE

(Added: Wed Jul 16 2003   Modified: Mon Nov 14 2005   Hits: 160)

Campaign 2000

Campaign 2000 is a cross-Canada public education movement to build Canadian awareness and support for the 1989 all-party House of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. Since its inception, Campaign 2000 has grown to become a vibrant network of national, regional and local partner organizations that actively work on child/family issues from diverse perspectives. There are over 85 national, community and provincial partners actively involved in the work of Campaign 2000. Hundreds of other groups across the country work on the issue of child poverty everyday, such as children's aid societies, faith organizations, community agencies, health organizations, school boards, and low-income people's groups.

http://www.campaign2000.ca/index.html

(Added: Fri Apr 11 2003   Modified: Thu Jul 13 2006   Hits: 199)

Poverty and Exclusion among Urban Children

Series: Innocenti Digest, 10. Publisher: IRC, Date of Publication: 2003. The cities of the world are often regarded as hubs of wealth and priviledge, but they are also home to hundreds of millions of children for whom poverty and exclusion are a daily reality. Some of these children live on the street; many more live in dangerous, insanitary housing which often lacks the most basic amenities, including clean water and satisfactory sanitation. These urban children rarely have access to adequate services, including schooling, or to safe areas for play and recreation. The imperative of economic survival can mean not only that parents are unable to dedicate sufficient time to childcare, but also that children themselves are forced to work, often in hazardous conditions. Yet all this need not be the case: this Digest examines the potential of good urban governance founded upon human rights principles to promote positive change for and with children. The key to eradicating urban poverty and exclusion lies in the development of child-friendly cities where children's rights are made a priority in budgeting, planning and resource allocation and where children's voices inform the democratic process.

http://www.unicef-icdc.org/publications/

(Added: Mon Feb 10 2003   Modified: Mon Nov 14 2005   Hits: 116)

'Breaking the Cycle of Child Poverty' - Department for International Development

The new report from DFID says that ending world poverty means freeing children who are born poor from a lifetime of deprivation. It says that children with little or no education have fewer chances to secure a livelihood during adulthood. They, in turn, may be unable to adequately feed and care for their own children, send them to school, or obtain health care when they are sick. Malnutrition in childhood can lead to poor health and increased vulnerability during adulthood, and consequently reduced opportunities to secure a livelihood. (PDF)

http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/child-poverty.pdf#search=%22Breaking%20the%20Cycle%20of%20Child%20Poverty%20-%20Department%20for%20International%20Development%22

(Added: Tue May 14 2002   Modified: Thu Sep 14 2006   Hits: 161)

Children International

Children International's mission is to help children living in dire poverty. Through the generosity of contributors we provide needy children with a variety of programs and services to meet their basic needs, enhance their human dignity and raise their physical and educational levels in a meaningful, lasting way.

http://www.children.org/about.asp?sid=C2502580-8175-4BBE-AC6F-7044FF6B343C

(Added: Mon Mar 04 2002   Modified: Mon Nov 14 2005   Hits: 181)

Save the Children Fund

Save the Children Fund is the UK's leading international children's charity, working to create a better future for children. We are active in the UK, as well as more than 70 countries worldwide. We involve children in what we do - we believe in listening and learning from them.

http://www.savethechildren.org.uk

(Added: Mon Jan 14 2002   Modified: Mon Nov 14 2005   Hits: 181)

Hope and Homes for Children

Hope and Homes for Children is a dynamic young charity. Our mission is to give hope to children worldwide who have nowhere to live due to war or disaster through support for extended family, fostering and family homes programmes. We are pioneering new approaches to long-term childcare in 13 countries in Africa and Eastern Europe and work in partnership with local organisations.

http://www.hopeandhomes.org/

(Added: Mon Sep 10 2001   Modified: Mon Nov 14 2005   Hits: 178)