Child poverty and disparities in Ukraine
Children are more likely to live in poverty than adults. Poverty is not only about money, but about a lack of access to opportunities that shape us. Children from low-income families can suffer lifelong consequences as a result of poverty, affecting their physical, social and cognitive development. Children in poor families are less likely to get…, Ten recommendations for poverty reduction and the promotion of equal opportunities for children in Ukraine, Poverty has lifelong consequences for children. A child living in poverty is more likely to go on to be poor as an adult. The cost of inaction is very high. Ukraine’s National Poverty Reduction Strategy expired in 2020. This report draws on a poverty analysis that was conducted, and proposes recommendations for the Government, the international…, 1. Now as never before it is important to ensure that Ukraine prioritizes reducing child poverty and fostering equal opportunities, and firmly puts these on the agenda., It is critical for the Government to officially recognize that child poverty is a major concern. Lessons must be learned from the National Poverty Reduction Strategy that expired in 2020, and aspirations to reduce child poverty must be translated into a new road map that will mobilize action. A child poverty reduction strategy needs to be…, 2. Good diagnostics are a prerequisite for effective poverty reduction. It is therefore necessary to improve measurement., Ukraine measures poverty on a regular basis. It is critical to continue measuring monetary poverty as well as multidimensional poverty, as no single indicator alone can capture all dimensions of poverty, which are often mutually reinforcing. The following specific improvements are needed: (i) Cover children who are omitted by national household…, 3. It is even more important to link data to policy and to budgets., Child poverty reduction is invariably only discussed in specialized expert and academic circles: when it is discussed in popular discourse it receives little attention from policy makers and does not result in policy action. One of the possible reasons for this is that the topic is perceived to be too technical and thus too complicated. This means…, 4. Leadership at the highest level and coordination among key actors are critical for poverty reduction to be effective., Poverty reduction is inherently interdisciplinary, and thus will require commitment from the relevant line ministries and key government stakeholders under leadership at the highest level. Clear division of responsibilities is critical, as no single institution can reduce poverty alone. Intersectoral coordination is needed. The choice of…, 5. The focus should be on policies that support adequate (and more stable) income and child-friendly labour policies., Generally low labour remuneration standards in Ukraine mean that the presence of a working individual in a family does not necessarily protect the household against poverty, particularly in the case of families with children. In order to break cycles of child poverty, labour opportunities and the level of remuneration of parents must be enhanced.…, 6. Social assistance to families must be effective, efficient and child-sensitive., Between 2013 and 2018, actual expenditure on social protection for families with children in Ukraine decreased by a factor of 2.5, thus changing the impact of the programmes on poverty. Prioritizing support for families with children and youth by restoring stable and sufficient funding is key to effectively overcoming child poverty. Families are…, 7. Access to quality public services must be improved, Child poverty is multidimensional. Therefore services such as health care, education, security, sanitation, and social services are important for reducing poverty. In Ukraine, the focus must be on ensuring quality, access and equity. There are many interlinkages between sectors and a child-centred approach, and these should be considered to…, 8. Ensure equality of opportunity and support for the most marginalized, Inequality among children is a problem because children are a distinctive population group. They have no choice about which families they are born into and about their families’ well-being and social status. Limited life chances due to lack of money is not the only manifestation of child inequality. Inequality at birth is exacerbated from the very…, 9. Attention must be given to prevention and those families just above the poverty line., The number who are poor at any given time depends on the number of families that managed to escape poverty and those who fell into poverty. Different policy instruments may be required to address both these dynamics. Child poverty is multidimensional, and the monetary equivalent does not fully reflect the deprivations that children may face, even…, 10. A stable macro-economic context and strong governance at the national and local levels are necessary conditions for poverty reduction efforts to bear fruit, There is much evidence that economic growth is one of the key mechanisms to overcome poverty. The report also confirms the close inverse relationship between trends in GDP and the absolute poverty rate in Ukraine, with no time lag. Macroeconomic stability is an important precondition for both economic growth and poverty reduction. In Ukraine there…
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