Poverty and Children

Abstract

Each country has its own definition of the poverty line, or the minimum annual income necessary for an adequate standard of living. In developed countries such as the United States, this is relatively high. However, for billions of other people around the world, living in poverty means living on an income of approximately one dollar a day. This condition affects not only adults, but the children in their care as well. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, more than half of the children living in developing countries had a severe deprivation of one basic human need and over one third of the children in these countries were living in conditions of absolute poverty in which basic human needs are not being met, including the need for adequate food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education, information, and access to social services (Gordon, Nandy, Pantazis, Pemberton, & Townsend, 2003). The Millennium Development Goals articulated in 2000 by the United Nations addressed these issues with the hope of severely reducing poverty by the year 2015, and subsequent reports have addressed the progress made and the work to be done post-2015 (United Nations, 2015). However, although progress has been made toward meeting these goals in many areas, other areas still show little or no progress. Much more work is still needed.

Keywords Economic Development; Globalization; Human Rights Movement; Operational Definition; Poverty Line; Social Justice; Society; Socioeconomic Status (SES)

Stratification & Class in the US > Poverty & Children

Overview

For most of people living relatively comfortable lives in Western societies, it is difficult to truly grasp the idea of poverty either within their own country or across the globe. Statistics published by the United Nations and other official agencies, for example, can seem remote. It is difficult to imagine that globally nearly half of those living in poverty are children.

While it is difficult to imagine the lives of those living in abject poverty, at a multi-day meeting concerning social needs, attendees were given some insight. At lunch time, the leader of the meeting announced to the attendees that rather than having a catered lunch, each person going to be handed an envelope and asked to go out and eat on the local economy using only the money in the envelope. The amounts in the envelopes ranged from $1.00 to funds sufficient enough to enjoy a reasonably priced lunch at a local restaurant. The point of the exercise was clear: To help the group better understand from first-hand experience what it means to survive on a poverty level income. In the end, the attendees were still mere observers rather than true participants: Those who for medical reasons needed to eat at a certain level were excused from participating and virtually everyone had money in their wallets if they did not want to abide by the rules (as more than one person did not). Further, even if the group had been forced to skip one meal to show "solidarity" with the poor, everyone had had breakfast that morning and would go home in the evening to a healthy dinner. Yet, according to the widely reported statistic, 20 percent of those living in developing countries in 2014 did so on less than $1.25 per day, according to the United Nations.

Despite its flaws, however, the underlying principle for the exercise was solid. Think, for a moment, of the budget on which you have to live, then think about what things you would have to give up to live at or below the US poverty level of $15,852 for individuals (US Census Bureau, 2023). Then imagine trying to live within the $30,900 poverty threshold for a four-person household of two adults and two children (US Census Bureau, 2023). Then imagine being a child living in such a situation, often going to bed hungry, without adequate medical care, and not being able to afford your school supplies. Across the globe, the poverty line is significantly lower. This figure is drastically reduced in many other countries. As mentioned above, globally, the poverty line is typically considered to be approximately $1.00 per person per day. However, this figure varies depending on the country and its level of economic development.

Childhood Poverty Statistics

The statistics of childhood poverty are very sobering. One-third of the children in developing countries live in accommodations with mud floors and in which more than five people share a room. In 2022, more than 1.5 billion people did not have access to toilet facilities and at least 1.7 billion people relied on drinking water sources contaminated with feces; every day, thousands of children die or become ill from health issues linked to unsafe sanitation and water resources (World Health Organization, 2023). The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that in 2023, 395,000 children younger than five years who died annually could have been saved if hygiene issues including sanitation and drinking water were addressed. Furthermore, hygiene-related diseases that require medical treatment further stress impoverished families and prevent children from attending school. These improvements could have a significant positive long-term effect on children.

In many developing countries, even when sanitation facilities are available, they are often unsuitable for children (e.g., too large, intimidating at night). Given the fact that children are more affected by poor sanitation than are adults through the link to serious childhood illnesses, this is an important factor of childhood poverty that needs to be addressed. Poverty-related issues regarding water would evolve around both the quality of the available water as well as its quantity. When forced to live in overcrowded dwellings, children are more likely to contract diseases (e.g., respiratory infections, measles) and can also experience increased stress and mental health problems, as well as accidents and injuries. In addition, the needs of children in the 21st century with its increasing reliance on technology are different from those in past centuries. Severe information deprivation can result in a situation where children are not only not as well educated as their peers in more developed countries, but also less able to compete for the type of jobs that are necessary to help them raise themselves to a higher socioeconomic status.

An Issue of Human Rights

Aside from obvious standard of living concerns, severe poverty can result in irreparable physical and psychological damage to children by stunting their development and destroying or reducing their opportunities for fulfillment. Childhood poverty is an issue of social justice because it denies children their basic human rights. To successfully combat childhood poverty, research and administrative data alike indicates that the development of an infrastructure of social services is necessary to help alleviate childhood poverty. Further, literature indicates that a minimal level of family resources is also necessary to help parents meet the needs of their children. However, when such resources are not available, a chain of events may be put into play that will result in other opportunities or relationships to diminish as well. For example, if parents cannot afford to buy the school supplies needed to send their children to school or are living at a level where the only way to survive is if the children work instead of going to school, the children will never receive the education that they need to be able to get a better job, be eligible for better opportunities, and raise their own socioeconomic status.

A National & Global Concern for Success

According to UNICEF, as of 2022, an estimated 333 million children lived in extreme poverty. These figures can sound rather dry and as if they are not relevant to more comfortable lives in more developed countries. However, the plight of children living in poverty is an issue that affects many. In the United States it is a matter of improving society's ability to be competitive and keep the standard of living high. However, it is not only within one's own society or culture that the poverty of children is an important issue. As globalization of world markets continues and the United States becomes an increasingly postindustrial nation, nations around the world become increasingly dependent on one another. Further, the issue of poverty in general and children living in poverty in particular should be one of social justice, for the children are the next generation that will keep our respective societies as well as the global marketplace strong. Even if one were to take a view that childhood poverty was an issue belonging to another culture, country, or neighborhood, the truth is that in today's atmosphere of increasing globalization, the problems occurring in those other cultures, countries, or neighborhoods affect us all as we become increasingly interdependent and need others to provide us with the raw materials, parts, or other elements that we need to make us strong.

A General Poverty Problem

There are many issues related to the poverty of children that need to be both better understood and overcome. However, the poverty of children does not occur in a vacuum: One cannot eradicate this social problem without simultaneously working toward eradicating the poverty of their parents and improving the social and economic conditions in which they live. Children are dependent upon their parents, guardians, or other caregivers. If these individuals do not have the resources to give their children the care necessary to meet their basic needs, the children will continue to remain in poverty. With the exception of cases of child abuse and neglect, children are typically better off with their parents or guardians rather than in an institution or system. Therefore, reducing childhood poverty will by necessity mean reducing poverty in general as well.

The COVID-19 global pandemic led many countries to increase social support programs. Such programs reduced the number of people living in poverty temporarily. In the United States, where programs such as the Child Tax Credit expired in early 2022, poverty rates rebounded. In 2021, 5.2 percent of American children were living in poverty, while in 2022, the rate was 12.4 percent.

Applications

United Nations' Millennium Development Goals

The problem of poverty is so great that in 2000, the United Nations published their Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to help improve the standard of living for those in need across the globe by the year 2015. Of the eight goals set by the United Nations, five are particularly relevant to the issue of children and poverty (United Nations, 2015):

• Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
• Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
• Goal 5: Improve maternal health
• Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases

Although these goals are not specifically targeted toward reducing the poverty of children around the world, as discussed above, these goals do impact the needs of children in poverty and ways to improve their condition.

Progress: Goal 1

Progress has been made on these goals since they first were published in 2000, although none were met in full by the target date of 2015. Regarding Goal 1, the eradication of poverty and hunger—albeit an admirable goal—is one unlikely to be achieved in its entirety. However, significant inroads can be made in this direction. This goal was operationally defined to halve the proportion of people whose income is less than $1.00 per day (using 1990 figures) by 2015. In 1990, approximately half of the population of the developing world lived in extreme poverty; by 2015, this figure had dropped to 14 percent (United Nations, 2015). Another part of the operational definition of this goal was to halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger in the world within this same period. Although chronic hunger (measured in terms of the proportion of people lacking the food necessary to meet their daily needs) has declined in developing nations, the overall progress in this area is not fast enough to reduce the absolute number of people going hungry (which has actually increased as the general population has increased).

Goal 2

Goal 2 was to ensure that by 2015 all children will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling. The United Nations reports that significant progress is being made toward meeting this goal, although education levels in sub-Saharan Africa continue to lag behind other areas of the world. In addition, this continues to be a greater problem in rural areas than in urban areas.

Goal 4

Goal 4 of the Millennium Goals was to reduce child mortality. This was operationally defined as reducing by two-thirds the mortality rate for children under the age of five between the years of 1990 and 2015. Once again, progress is being made toward this goal. However, 5.9 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2015, according to the WHO. Further, most of these deaths were preventable. The health of children can also be positively impacted by improving the health of their mothers. The health of the mother during pregnancy is related to the health of the baby. In addition, healthy mothers are more likely to be able to take care of their children.

Goal 5

Therefore, Goal 5 of the Millennium Goals was to improve maternal health. This has been operationally defined as reducing the maternal mortality ratio by 75 percent between 1990 and 2015. Better access to health care and contraception were two foci of these efforts. As of 2013, maternal mortality had fallen to 210 deaths per 100,000 live births globally from a high of 380 per 100,000 births in 1990, and contraceptives were being used by 64 percent of women of childbearing age who were in relationships.

Goal 6

Finally, Goal 6 of the Millennium Goals was to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases worldwide. Regarding HIV/AIDS, this has been defined as halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and beginning to reverse it by 2015. However, although prevention efforts are successful in some places, deaths and new infections continue to occur. The same goal has been set for fighting malaria and other major diseases. For example, although the fights against malaria and tuberculosis (not including those associated with HIV) appear to be succeeding, and by 2015, UN efforts had saved at least 37 million lives as a result of the effort to eradicate tuberculosis and another 6.2 million due to anti-malaria efforts. (United Nations, 2015).

The MDGs were supplanted in September 2015 by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which countries targeted for achievement by 2030. Several of the goals are relevant to the topic of child poverty, including 3.2, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age; 3.3, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases, and other communicable diseases; 3.4, reduce by one-third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being; 3.8, achieve universal health coverage; 3.9, reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination; 3.b, support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and non-communicable diseases that primarity affect developing countries and provide access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines; 2.2, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under five years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women, and older persons; and 6, ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. In its 2023 report, the WHO reported the world was not on target to reach these goals by 2030. Though the global COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted progress, the rate of reduction of multiple indicators had already slowed and even stalled between 2015 and 2019. Some increasing trends in indicators, such as immunization coverage, had been reversed by the pandemic.

Conclusion

It is undeniable that the global situation of poverty and children is an important and urgent social issue for our times. However, this problem cannot be solved in isolation. For most cases, the poverty of a child reflects the poverty of an adult who cannot afford to provide adequate or basic care. Further research is needed to better understand the causes of poverty and to develop ways to help the poor—child and adult alike—in all nations to achieve an acceptable standard of living and become valuable and contributing members of the global society.

Terms & Concepts

Caregiver: (a) A medical or services professional who assists in identifying, preventing, or treating a disability or illness. (b) An individual (e.g., adult child or other family member, friend, or neighbor) who attends to the needs of a child or dependent adult and provides support and assistance. Support may be emotional, financial, or hands-on and may be done in person or long distance.

Child Abuse: Abuse of a child by a parent, guardian, or other caregiver. Child abuse can be physical, psychological, or sexual in nature and also includes situations of neglect.

Culture: A complex system of meaning and behavior that is socially transmitted and that defines a common way of life for a group or society. Culture includes the totality of behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and other products of human work and thought of the society or group.

Economic Development: The sustainable increase in living standards for a nation, region, or society. More than mere economic growth (i.e., a rise in output), economic development is sustainable and positively impacts the well-being of all members of the group through such things as increased per capita income, education, health, and environmental protection. Economic development is progressive in nature and positively impacts the socioeconomic structure of a society.

Globalization: Globalization is the spread of businesses or technologies to across the world. This creates an interconnected, global marketplace operating outside the constraints of time zone or national boundary. Although globalization means an expanded marketplace, products are typically adapted to fit the specific needs of each locality or culture to which they are marketed.

Human Rights Movement: An international movement that promotes the cause of human rights throughout the globe. According to Article 1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

Operational Definition: A definition that is stated in terms that can be observed and measured.

Postindustrial: The nature of a society whose economy is no longer dependent on the manufacture of goods (i.e., industrial), but is primarily based upon the processing and control of information and the provision of services.

Poverty Line: The minimum annual income necessary for an adequate standard of living. The poverty line is determined by the government and differs from country to country. According to the US Census Bureau, the poverty line for individuals in the U.S. is $12,071 and for a household of four people (with two children under the age of eighteen) is $24,008 (US Census Bureau, 2013). This figure in the United Sates is based on income before taxes and does not including capital gains or noncash benefits such as public housing, Medicaid, or food stamps. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold, then that family and every individual in it is considered in poverty. Globally, as of 2015, the poverty line is typically considered to be approximately $1.25 per person per day. However, this figure varies depending on the country and its level of economic development. Also referred to as the poverty threshold.

Social Justice: A striving to achieve justice in every aspect of society not merely through the application of the law. Social justice is based on the principle of universal human rights and working to ensure that all individuals receive fair treatment and equally share the benefits of society.

Society: A distinct group of people who live within the same territory, share a common culture and way of life, and are relatively independent from people outside the group. Society includes systems of social interactions that govern both culture and social organization.

Socioeconomic Status (SES): The position of an individual or group on the two vectors of social and economic status and their combination. Factors contributing to socioeconomic status include (but are not limited to) income, type and prestige of occupation, place of residence, and educational attainment.

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