Webinar - Child Poverty in High-Income Countries
Event Date: 4th September 2024, Time: 8:00 AM EDT (14:00 CEST)
For the recordings see here and for the presentatios here.
Background: Child poverty is a global phenomenon and not only a problem in low and middle-income countries. More than 69 million children live in poverty in 40 of the world’s richest countries, showing that national wealth does not guarantee that a country will prioritize the fight against child poverty (UNICEF Innocenti, 2023).
Poverty is most commonly defined by income. However, for most children, it encompasses much more than just financial constraints. It involves growing up in a home without sufficient heating or nutritious food. Poverty also means not having new clothes, a telephone, or money for birthday celebrations.
Policies such as cash transfers to families are among the most immediately effective tools for tackling child poverty. Alongside financial support to households with children, the multidimensional nature of child poverty requires a second strand of policy to ensure that all children have access to basic services.
In this webinar the latest figures on child poverty in high-income countries as well as effective policies that have helped to reduce it were presented. In addition, the webinar included presentations on Poland and the US.
Speakers:
Gwyther Rees, Social & Economic Policy Manager, UNICEF Innocenti Global Office of Research and Foresight
Anne-Catherine Guio, Senior Researcher at the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER)
Anne Leong, Senior Director of Research, Evaluation and Research Partnerships, UNICEF USA
Ryszard Szarfenberg, Professor at the University of Warsaw
Moderators:
David Lambert Tumwesigye, Co-chair, Global Coalition to End Child Poverty
Sola Engilbertsdottir, Co-chair, Global Coalition to End Child Poverty
Resources:
UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight, Innocenti (2023). Report Card 18: Child poverty in the midst of wealth
ESPAN (2023). Access for children in need to the key services covered by the European Child Guarantee
European Commission (2024). The European Child Guarantee has a new framework to better monitor children's access to education, healthcare and housing conditions
Bornukova, K., Hernandez Martin, A. and Picos, F. (2024). Investing in Children: The Impact of EU Tax and Benefit Systems on Child Poverty and Inequality
De Schutter, O., Frazer H, and Guio, A. (2023). The Escape from Poverty - Breaking the Vicious Cycles Perpetuating Disadvantage
UNICEF USA (2023). Spotlight on Child Poverty in the United States. UNICEF USA Supplement to the UNICEF Innocenti Report Card 18