ISSA joins Global Coalition Against Child Poverty
ISSA is proud to have become a member of the Global Coalition Against Child Poverty joining together with an array of likeminded organzations to keep this issue within the global agenda and the national development policies and priorities of many countries. Recent data estimates that those 18 years old and younger make up nearly half of the people living in extreme monetary poverty (measured as living on less than $1.25 a day), and children experience a range of deprivations in other dimensions of poverty: nearly 170 million young children worldwide are nutritionally stunted and some 65 million primary school-aged children are not attending school. Many more are deprived of the care and stimulation, basic services and economic resources they need to fully develop and thrive. Furthermore, the challenges of child poverty are truly universal, with estimates suggesting that over 30 million children in richer countries are growing up in poverty. The Global Coalition Against Child Poverty has been created by a network of likeminded organisations and individuals concerned at the devastating effects of poverty in childhood on children and societies, and the need to mainstream child poverty and the solutions to it in national, sub-national and global policies, action plans and monitoring (including the Sustainable Development Goals). “In almost every country in the world children are more likely to be living in poverty than adults, and compounding this, their particular life stage makes them more vulnerable to its devastating effects with potential lifelong consequences for their physical, cognitive and social development.” The long term objectives of Coalition are to: 1. Promote the implementation of concerted national and international actions to eradicate extreme monetary and multidimensional child poverty, including as part of the implementation of the SDGs and beyond. 2. Influence global debates on poverty eradication and monitoring to promote the essential priority to children and practical, tested solutions to child poverty. 3. Support national partners to mainstream child poverty in national and sub-national policies, actions and monitoring. 4. Increase children’s voice and participation in global, national and local debates on poverty. 5. Collect and disseminate knowledge and best practice on plans and actions to address, monitor and reduce child poverty.