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Child Poverty
Globally, around 600 million children live in extreme poverty. When families don’t have enough money they cannot invest in their children – such as buy food or clothes. Neither can they afford to take their children to see a doctor when they get sick or to keep them in school.
Furthermore, when already poor families are hit by unexpected shocks – such as drought, earthquakes, increased food prices, death of livestock, or conflict – their livelihoods suffer but it is children that suffer most as families are often forced to pull them out of school to work.
Even though it is the children who are suffering most from poverty’s effects, child poverty is often missing from overall national strategies for poverty reduction. Save the Children wants the world to put children and young people at the heart of its action to reduce poverty; to strengthen the low and insecure incomes that prevent children from surviving, learning and being protected; and thereby stop the transmission of poverty to future generations.
In 2018 the Child Poverty global theme launched three organisation wide common approaches driving forward our best work and best thinking to ensure we achieve more for children in more places across the world. Our common understanding is helping to ensure best programming for new born age upwards. We work to provide cash plus for better nutrition of children in the first 1000 days of life; we work to strengthened understanding of family economic situations to determine if households have the food and cash they need to survive and prosper; and we work to ensure young people acquire the core life skills to identify and capitalise on decent life and work opportunities in the future.
Save the Children works with partners and governments and directly with families and children to reduce the numbers of girls and boys in extreme poverty and seeks to increase young people’s hopes and skills for better lives.
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Save the Children's Global COVID-19 Response: Situation Report no. 2, 18 May 2020
The COVID-19 Pandemic poses immediate and long-lasting risks to the rights of children including the disruption of access to education, the potential for reduced access to primary and secondary health services, and increased protection risks. Save the Chi
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Tip Sheets for Disability Inclusion During COVID-19
These tip sheets provide recommendations for disability inclusion during COVID-19 across a range of thematic areas and topics.
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Save the Children's Global COVID-19 Response: Situation Report no. 3, 1 June 2020
The COVID-19 Pandemic poses immediate and long-lasting risks to the rights of children including the disruption of access to education, the potential for reduced access to primary and secondary health services, and increased protection risks. Save the Chi
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Save the Children's Global COVID-19 Response: Situation Report no. 1, May 2020
The COVID-19 Pandemic poses immediate and long-lasting risks to the rights of children including the disruption of access to education, the potential for reduced access to primary and secondary health services, and increased protection risks. Save the Chi
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A Parenting Programme for the Palanhar Yojana- Beyond Cash: Making social protection deliver more for children in Rajasthan, India- Facilitator guide
The Palanhar Yojana (caregiver scheme) is a government of Rajasthan (India) cash transfer programme aiming to reducing the vulnerability of children with limited parental care. Save the Children has developed a parenting programme for the families rece
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Child Development Grant Programme: Strengthening social protection systems in Nigeria
This three page brief summarises how Save the Children has been working with the government of Nigeria and partners to expand and strengthen its social protection system using an evidence-based approach. The brief first details some of the major challenge
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A Parenting Programme for the Child Grant: Facilitator Guide
The Child Grant is a government of Nepal cash transfer programme for children under 5 years aiming to reduce underweight. Save the Children has developed a parenting programme for the families receiving this grant focusing on improving nutritional outco
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The Effectiveness of Cash Transfer Programming for Children
Cash Transfer Programming (CTP) is a means of giving people money to meet critical needs, invest in their livelihood and in their children’s future. Substantial evidence has been generated on the effectiveness of cash transfers- including their impacts on
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The Child Endowment Fund: A local government cash transfer for vulnerable children in Nepal
This brief gives a general description of how local government in Nepal is establishing a cash transfer programme for vulnerable children with the help of Save the Children.
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Briefing note: Securing Access to Government Social Protection Programmes in Dungarpur, India
This brief gives a general description of the approaches developed by Save the Children to promote access to government social protection in India.
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Children in Monetary Poor Households and COVID-19: Technical note
Children suffer from poverty differently from adults. Their needs, expectations, and aspirations are different. As children are not supposed to earn a living, it is important to assess directly their material shortcomings and deprivations – in other words
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Using Household Economy Analysis to Strengthen the Shock-responsiveness of the Social Cash Transfer Programme in Malawi
This one-pager summarises a project being implemented in Malawi with funding from Irish Aid, to help strengthen the shock-responsiveness of a social protection programme called the Social Cash Transfer Programme, using a tool called Household Economy Anal