Child-sensitive public policy
We work to reduce poverty and provide every child with equal opportunity.
The current state
Every child has the right to an equitable chance in life. According to the World Bank, the Philippines is one of the most unequal countries in Southeast Asia, second only to Thailand. The overall poverty rate in the Philippines decreased, but child poverty estimates rose to 10.5 million in 2021 from 9.3 million in 2018. The impact of COVID-19 reversed the gains of poverty eradication and resulted in deepening of inequities. Children living in poverty experience multiple deprivations and are disproportionately affected compared to adults.
Inequality is also geographical, with children living in isolated, disadvantaged, or conflict –prone and disaster-prone areas not having access to adequate social services.
The poverty rate among children in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is 68 per cent.
Poverty is also higher in rural areas at 26 per cent and disproportionally affects children living with disabilities at 50 per cent.
While the Philippines is on track to becoming an upper middle-income country, economic growth and development should not leave any person or child behind. Only then can the country sustain and achieve inclusive development be ready to face its upward trajectory and hold its own against the challenges in the coming decades.
All data sources can be found at Situation of Children Philippines, unless otherwise noted.
Our goal, our commitment
Child poverty and inequality have deep-rooted, lifelong, and generational impacts—affecting their health, learning, and nutrition. As a result, children do not reach their fullest potential, thus preventing the country from maximizing its socio-economic development gains. Ensuring every child is given a fair and equal chance to survive and thrive is a necessity we cannot ignore.
UNICEF aims to reframe what it means to be a happy and healthy child. Poverty can take many forms. It is not just about money. For UNICEF and its partners, taking children out of poverty is about ensuring they grow up having adequate and timely access to social services. This includes services in quality education health and nutrition, appropriate water and sanitation and progressive universal coverage to social protection.
Our work, our initiatives
UNICEF teams up with national and local governments to shape child-sensitive public policies, expand social protection programmes, improve allocations of social sector budgets for children, and advocate for family-friendly policies and responsible business investments. Our goal? To lift millions of children out of multidimensional poverty, give families adequate social protection coverage, all of which contribute to breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty.
Here are our key efforts:
- developing a multi-dimensional child poverty index and budget frameworks to help make financial investments for children sufficient, efficient, equitable, effective, transparent and accountable
- supporting policy development for children and strengthening integrated, child-sensitive and shock-responsive social protection programmes
- strengthening the capacity of national and sub-national governments in public finance management and local governance for children to further the delivery of inclusive, gender-transformative and climate-smart social services
- building a coalition of business /industry champions and supporting national regulatory bodies to develop more family-friendly policies and corporate sustainability & investments mechanisms to protect, respect and provide remedy from impact of businesses to children.