Meeting Basic Needs

Efforts to reduce poverty are essential to the achievement of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), which asserts in article 27 that children have the right to “a standard of living adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development”.

In low- and middle-income countries, nearly half of the population lives on less than $2.00 per day. Millions of children lack access to nutrition, clean water, shelter and decent healthcare. Children living in poverty are less likely to attend school and more likely to work to support their family. Poor children are more likely to die young than their richer counterparts, and those that survive have worse health outcomes throughout the life course.

Ensuring adequate parental income through minimum wage legislation and replacing income during periods of unemployment are two types of policies that can increase and protect the incomes of poor families. Further, a wealth of evidence shows that family benefits, in the form of direct financial benefits, reduce poverty levels for low-income children and families.

In light of the evidence surrounding the importance of policies addressing poverty, the maps in this section present data that aim to provide an overview of countries’ poverty reduction policies, and consequently, on the prospects that children living in such countries are likely to face as a result.