Afghan children work at a brick factory in Jowzjan province, Afghanistan, Sept. 21, 2016. Some 1.3 million school-aged Afghan children are deprived from education while thousands of children have been forced to resort to child labor as a result of conflicts and poverty, according to officials. (Xinhua/Mohammad Jan Aria)
Children are more than twice as likely to live in extreme poverty than adults, and poverty condemns many children to lifelong disadvantage and perpetuates an intergenerational transfer of deprivation, the UN chief said.
UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday urged the international community to empower children to end poverty.
In his message for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which falls on Thursday, the UN chief said children are more than twice as likely to live in extreme poverty than adults, and poverty condemns many children to lifelong disadvantage and perpetuates an intergenerational transfer of deprivation.
An Afghan child shows her hands at a brick factory in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Sept. 26, 2016. Some 1.3 million school-aged Afghan children are deprived from education while thousands of children have been forced to resort to child labor as a result of conflicts and poverty, according to officials. (Xinhua/Rahmat Alizadah)
He highlighted that girls are at particular risk, but they are also a force for change. "For every additional year a girl remains in school, her average income over a lifetime increases, her chances of being married early decrease, and there are clear health and education benefits for her children, making it a key factor in breaking the cycle of poverty," he said.
One of the keys to ending child poverty is addressing poverty in the household, from which it often stems, said Guterres, adding that access to quality social services must be a priority, yet today, almost two-thirds of children lack social protection coverage.
A child carries a tray in a slum on the outskirts of Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Oct. 17, 2019. Oct. 17, 2019 marks the 27th International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. (Photo by Ahmad Kamal/Xinhua)
He added family-oriented policies are also indispensable, including flexible working arrangements, parental leave and childcare support.
The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is observed on Oct. 17 each year since 1993. This year's theme is "acting together to empower children, their families and communities to end poverty." ■
