Study on Child Poverty in Georgia kicked off
Children are often left out of policy priorities and poverty reduction plans despite the fact that there are crucial differences in the way children experience poverty, UNICEF says TBILISI. 21 SEPTEMBER. 2006. UNICEF Georgia is carrying out a Child Poverty Study aimed at conceptualizing, analyzing and providing policy recommendations on child poverty in Georgia. The study in carried out by a research team led by Curatio International Consulting. The team has already finalized the conceptual part of the Child Poverty Study that will serve as a basis for the first public consultation. “There are few reasons why we are conducting the child poverty study in Georgia. First, children experience poverty not in the same way as adults, poverty experienced in childhood has particularly severe effects”, says Giovanna Barberis, UNICEF Representative in Georgia,” second, child poverty is not always a priority policy issue. Most countries are developing targets for poverty reduction like Millennium Development Goals, Poverty Reduction strategies etc, however child issues are often not raised there. The main challenge is to improve children’s visibility in countries policy priorities”. The research team has drafted the first part of the study - a conceptual part setting basic definitions and core indicators for child poverty in Georgia. The draft of the conceptual part will be presented at the first national consultation on child poverty in Georgia on September 21, 2006. The main objectives of the consultation are to broaden up the discussions and reach consensus on the concepts and issues related to child poverty; to identify the most problematic issues related to child poverty in Georgia that the study should focus on; and to support stronger partnerships & advocacy around child poverty issues through an effective policy dialogue network advocating for the fulfillment of child’s rights. The National Consultation also aims to launch an extensive dialogue on child poverty in Georgia and to forge an alliance to advocate specific policy changes for children.
Child poverty is also a human rights issue, which implies concern with children as individuals and as family members and also concern with disparities among children. As the Convention on the Rights of the Child says “States Parties recognize the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child’s mental, spiritual, moral and social development.” “The Child poverty study in Georgia will be completed by the end of the year 2006 and will officially be launched in December. I would like to reiterate once again that we see this as a process to have a dialogue and a discussion on the most acute problems related to children and to develop concrete strategies to tackle these problems. Alleviation of child poverty in Georgia will be an important step forward towards the European and world’s developed society” – says Giovanna Barberis. For further information, please contact: Maya Kurtsikidze, Communications Officer, UNICEF Georgia
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