Child poverty: helping children build a better future
We’re fighting child poverty – because we believe every child should be able to make their mark on the world. In 2017, we helped bring 1.6 million children out of extreme poverty.
The effects of child poverty can be devastating – and it lasts a lifetime.
Around the world, the poorest children are most at risk of disease, malnutrition and stunting.They’re more likely to miss out on school, or get a poor quality education. And there’s a greater chance they’ll suffer early marriage, physical violence or child labour.
But child poverty isn’t inevitable, as the story of Veronica and her family, below, shows.
And now governments are recognising this too. In 2015, more than 160 national leaders signed up to 17 Sustainable Development Goals, a set of targets that could end hunger, extreme poverty and preventable child deaths by 2030.
We're campaigning tirelessly to make sure governments deliver.
We're also working to tackle child poverty in the UK. Britain's one of the world’s richest countries, yet rates of poverty are rising – which means more children growing up without the essentials they need to fulfil their potential.
How we're helping Zipporah's family thrive
This is Veronica, 46, and her eight-year-old daughter Zipporah. Veronica takes care of her seven children and one grandchild, in Turkana, Kenya
A drought meant Veronica’s livestock died. Her children often went hungry; “I couldn’t sleep at night,” she says. Zipporah’s little brother, Loirot, became malnourished.
Thankfully, one of our Save the Children Community Health Volunteers spotted the signs – and treated him with therapeutic food, making sure he recovered.
We also enrolled Veronica on our innovative Smart Card cash transfer scheme, meaning she was able buy essentials for her family. Veronica also used the cash transfer scheme to save up to buy these two new goats.
How bad is child poverty around the world?
- 569 million children and young people live on less than a £1 a day.
- 5.9 million children die each year – most in the world’s poorest communities, and from diseases that could have been prevented.
- 78% of the poorest people live in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Here's how to get involved;
- Our emergency work
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