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	Poverty hits children hardest by Global Coalition to End Child Poverty   Ending poverty has become a defining goal for this generation, one that we all aspire to achieve and want to contribute to. But sadly, the reality is children remain disproportionally affected. Millions of children around the world remain poor, and deprived of what they need to develop and thrive.   We need to change this. We are calling on people and leaders around the world to take action to end child poverty as part of the SDGs.   Child mortality is declining across the globe. However, children from the poorest quintile are twice as likely to die before their fifth birthday as children from richest households.   Globally 1.9 billion people in 136 countries benefit from social protection programs, but only one thrid of the world's poor are covered.   Adolescence is a time of special opportunity and vulnerability, especially for adolescent girls. Poverty and gender discrimination can draw girls to marry early, with long term consequences for many.   Stunting is a key indicator for poverty. 159 million children under five suffer from stunted growth, roughly one half live in Asia and one third in Africa.   Children living in multidimensional poverty are burdened by multiple and overlapping forms of deprivation in crucial aspects of their lives.   The main reason why children start work instead of attending school is because their families are poor and cannot pay the basic costs of food and housing without additional income.   More children than ever are enrolling in primary school, but some 59 million boys and girls are still missing out on their right to primary school education.   Clean water, basic toilets and good hygiene practices are essential for the survival and development of children. Without these basic needs, the lives of millions of children are at risk.   An estimated 76.5 million children are living in relative poverty in the world's most affluent countries, showing that child poverty is a universal challenge to sustianble development.   Investing in young children is one of the smartest investments a country can make to break the cycle of povert and promote inclusive and strong economies.   Poverty and disability reinforce each other, contributing to increased vulnerability and exclusion.   Whilst poverty harms all human beings, it is more threatening to children. Childhood is a time of unique opportunity and vulnerability, and experiencing poverty in its various dimensions can be particularly damaging to a child's development.   Children growing up in poverty are much more likely to die before their 5th birthday, and less likely to be well nourished, or receive a good education, basic healthcare or clean water and decent sanitation.   Poverty denies children of their right to grow up free from deprivation and want, and develop healthily to their full potential.   We know children are key to ending global poverty, and yet they remain disproportionally affected. Nearly one in every two people living in extreme poverty around the world is 18 years old or less.   Child poverty isn't just a problem in poor countries. In every country with available data children are most likely to be poor. Even in the world's richest countries, children remain disproportionally concentrated among the poor.   Child poverty is an issue that faces all societies, and must bind us, globally.   The good news is that we have already cut extreme poverty by more than half since 1990, and made crucial progress in reducing child malnutrition, expanding education, and providing many children with basic health care, safe drinking water and basic sanitation.   But this is not enough. Many children continue to be born and grow up in poverty in its different dimensions, whilst alarming disparities persist, with the poorest children furthest behind.   We need to change this. Lifting children out of poverty will make a huge difference to their lives, and those of the families, communities, and countries in which they live.   * On October 17 the coalition issued a briefing paper which outlines key building blocks addressing child poverty and offers evidence and experience that countries can use to support national policy discussions: http://bit.ly/2deEqm2   http://www.endchildhoodpoverty.org/ Visit the related web page
	The Many Faces of Exclusion by Save the Children International   More than half of all children globally - over 1.2 billion - are threatened by conflict, widespread poverty or discrimination against girls, a new report by Save the Children has found.   The 2018 report 'The Many Faces of Exclusion' examines how these three key factors are robbing children of their childhoods around the world.   In its second year, the report also includes a ranking of 175 countries where childhood is most and least threatened as a result of poor health, malnutrition, exclusion from education, child labour, child marriage, early pregnancy and extreme violence.   Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Save the Children International CEO, said that while progress is being made in many parts of the world it is not happening quickly enough. Alarmingly, the gap between rich and poor in many countries is also growing.   More than half the world's children start their lives held back because they are a girl, because they are poor or because they are growing up in a warzone. Early marriage, child labour and malnutrition are just some of the life-changing events that can rob children of their childhood.   Without urgent action, we'll never meet the promises made three years ago by every country at the UN in 2015 to ensure that by 2030 every child survives, learns and is protected.   Governments can and must do more to give every child the best possible start in life. The fact that countries with similar levels of income deliver such different outcomes for children shows that policy, funding and political commitment make a critical difference.   While the situation has improved in the past year in 95 of the countries ranked, alarmingly, conditions worsened in about 40 countries, according to the End of Childhood Index.   The report also found that:   More than one billion children live in countries plagued by poverty; 240 million in countries affected by conflict and fragility; and more than 575 million girls live in countries where gender bias is a serious issue.   Almost 153 million children are living in 20 countries affected by all three threats, including South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Afghanistan.   Malnutrition, disease and inadequate healthcare kill over 20 times as many children in war zones as conflict-related violence.   The incidence of child labour in countries affected by armed conflict is 77% higher than the global average. Conflict also makes girls more vulnerable to child marriage.   Only four of 34 fragile or conflict-affected states with available data have achieved, or nearly achieved, universal primary education.   The poorest girls have about three times as many births as the wealthiest.   Despite their economic, military, and technological might, the United States (36th), Russia (37th) and China (40th) trail all Western European countries in the index.   In East Asia and the Pacific, 76% of countries made progress, but the Philippines saw a decline due to higher levels of malnutrition causing stunted growth.   Eight of the bottom 10 countries are in West and Central Africa, with Niger ranked last for the second year running.   For Ali, 14, growing up in Yemen, dealing with the impacts of conflict and poverty is a normal part of everyday life. Displaced and living in a basic makeshift shelter, he is now his family's breadwinner after his father was injured in an airstrike.   'I was crying with my brother. It was very terrifying. We didn't know what it was.. Before the war I used to play and have fun with my friends. They were good days and I didn't complain. Nowadays it's war, the war affected everything'.   Despite his hard work to support his family, he says they still sometimes go to bed hungry.   Save the Children is calling on governments to ensure that no child dies from preventable or treatable causes or is subjected to extreme violence; is robbed of a future as a result of malnutrition, early or forced marriage, early pregnancy, or forced labour; and that they have access to a quality education.   Save the Children estimates that more than 1.2 billion children are threatened by poverty, conflict or discrimination against girls. This number was calculated by looking at the number of children who live in countries characterized by one of those three grave threats to childhood (conflict, poverty, discrimination against girls). Children in these countries (1.2 billion, or 1 in 2 children worldwide, or 53% of children worldwide) are at risk of being robbed of their childhoods.   * Many Faces of Exclusion report: http://bit.ly/2J57ktP   Millions of children robbed of childhood in East and Southern Africa   In 2015, world leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030. Some of these global goals are: ending poverty, eradicating hunger, promoting health, securing education, gender equality, access to water and sanitation, living in peace and promoting mechanisms and partnerships among others.   It is therefore compelling that we reflect on the SDGs as we mark the Day of the African Child, under the theme 'The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for children in Africa: Accelerating protection, empowerment, and equal opportunity'.   Every child deserves a childhood, a time in life to learn, to play, to grow strong and to feel safe and protected.   In our report Stolen Childhoods launched by Save the Children, 700 million children globally have had the promise of a full childhood brought to an early end.   In East and Southern Africa, poor health, malnutrition, conflict, exclusion from school, extreme violence, child marriage, teen pregnancy or having to be exposed to harmful work are leading factors stealing childhood in East and Southern Africa. Failure to address these childhood enders seriously threatens the realization of SDGs for children.   Although significant progress has been made in recent years with regards to addressing malnutrition - the proportion of stunted children in East and Southern Africa declined from 53% in 1990 to 35% in 2016; significant challenges remain. Absolute numbers of stunted children have increased from 24 million to 26 million children. These figures will likely rise as drought grips the region.   Child marriage infringes on girls rights. The report reveals that while the rate of child marriage is decreasing, 1 in 3 girls (36%) in East and Southern Africa marries before their 18th birthday.   This robs children of their childhood exposing them to life-long challenges in their education, psychosocial health and general well-being. If nothing is changed, by 2050, almost 50% of girls married before the age of 18 will be in Africa.   Amal was thirteen and living at home in a rural area of Somalia when she learned that she was being given away to an older man for marriage. Despite her protests, the man came for her and took her to his family's home. After three days at the man's home Amal escaped on foot and by bus to a nearby city and sought refuge with her aunt.   Fortunately, her aunt refused to return her and says that she will never force her young niece back into that situation. Amal says that it is wrong for a girl to be forced to marry a man who is older than her and whom she does not know.   According to the UNHCR, East and Southern Africa region is home to at least 2.68 million refugees and 2.08 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). The largest displaced populations are found in: Somalia (1.1 million IDPs), Ethiopia (743,000 refugees), Uganda (1.13 million refugees) and South Sudan (1.9 million IDPs including those in UNMISS Protection of Civilians Site).   In Somalia and South Sudan, over 20% of the population has been displaced some 2.3 and 2.8 million people, respectively.   A significant proportion of out of school children live in drought and/or conflict-affected countries and this number is increasing. Reports indicate that scores of schools have been closed due to the adverse effects of the drought.   Children have to walk distances of up to 20kms, in search of water, which leads to low attendance. In South Sudan, children have been displaced by a combination of both war and drought.   The Stolen Childhoods report shows there is a strong correlation between displacement and children out of school in East and Southern Africa, meaning countries with higher levels of displacement tend to have more children out of school.   'Children growing up in war, being targeted by violent groups, suffering and dying from disease, and experiencing harsh discrimination, are being robbed of everything that makes them children. It is unacceptable that in 2017, millions of children in this region and around the world still do not have their right to be safe, learn, grow and play. We must, and we can, do better than this', says David Wright, Save the Children Regional Director, East and Southern Africa.   Of the 172 countries the report surveyed, two (Somalia and South Sudan) out of the 10 countries ranked last, are in East and Southern Africa. In this region, the report also found that:   1 child in 15 doesn't live to see his/her 5th birthday. 35% of children under age 5 are stunted, some 26 million children. This is higher than anywhere else in the world save South Asia (36%).   1 in 5 (21%) adolescent girls are currently married or in union. 1 in 3 girls (36%) marries before age 18 and 1 in 10 (10%) marries before her 15th birthday.   More than 1 in 4 school-aged children (primary + secondary) are out of school (an estimated 27% of children aged 6 to 17). 26% of children aged 5 to 14 are engaged in child labour.   11% of adolescent girls (nearly 1 in 9) give birth each year (i.e., the adolescent fertility rate is 114 per 1,000).   Nearly 8,600 children and youth under age 20 were murdered in 2015 (i.e., the child homicide rate in 2015 was 3.4 per 100,000).   In view of the foregoing, it is imperative that African governments accelerate efforts to meet the SDGs to ensure that no child dies from preventable or treatable causes or is subjected to extreme violence; is robbed of a future as a result of malnutrition, early or forced marriage, early pregnancy, or forced labor; and that they have access to a quality education and realise all children's rights as provided by the African Charter. Specifically, we call on the governments to:   Invest in all children by ensuring that all children have access to quality basic services, including protection and social protection services. The resources must reach excluded children and accompanied with deliberate measures to remove cost barriers to services.   Accelerate the protection of children by eliminating all forms of violence, harmful practices, including child marriage, abuse, exploitation, torture, and trafficking of children.   Guarantee the provision of an essential package of health and nutrition services that saves lives, protects and promotes the health of women, children and adolescents in drought and conflict affected countries.   Establish or strengthen national statistical plans and systems in order to enhance the collection and dissemination of disaggregated data on the SDGs for all social and economic groups, including children.   Accountability, transparency and monitoring are critical tools for galvanizing efforts towards the achievement of the SDGs and ensuring that real and measurable progress is made within the timeframe.   * 2017 Stolen Childhoods report: http://bit.ly/2qBMVDh Visit the related web page
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