Children in the Wider World - Effective Action?

To: The Children, Equity Community within The Drum Beat network

Addressing the core causes!

Hi - trust that all is well. I was just reviewing the recently released UNICEF State of the Worlds Children (SOWC) 2012. Though there has been some progress in relation to the children related MDGs significant obstacles/challlenges (pick your euphemism!) remain.

The very names of some of the data tables integral to the SOWC - see http://www.unicef.org/sowc2012/figures.php tell the background story on the child related issues that are causing most concern. (CAPS are mine).

  • WEALTH increases the odds of survival for children under the age of 5…
  • Children of the urban POOR are more likely to be undernourished
  • Stunting prevalence among children under 3 years old: Comparing the Nairobi SLUMS with overall urban Kenya
  • Urban income DISPARATIES also mean UNEQUAL access to water

Of course intuitively we know this. Poverty and inequality drive the most pressing and difficult to address issues affecting children! We all know that. The tables with the data that inform the SOWC 2012 provide very helpful confirming evidence.

But the key question is what to do? For a large variety of reasons, programming the underlying social and economic causes of child related issues appears to be really difficult. Much easier and supposedly more effective to focus on some specific, tangible deliverables than to address poverty and inequality as it affects children.

However, it is clear from the UNICEF 2012 State of the World's Children data if we do not improve and accelerate the contextual programming, there can be any number of specific "miracle" interventions, but they will stumble, often badly, in the face of the social and economic realities that condition the lives of far too many children.

In order to progress and share learning on this theme we would welcome you sharing the ways in which you have addressed these core, causal factors in your children related programming; the lessons learned; and, the ideas for future, improved action.

How do you strategically approach the big forces like inequality and poverty?

And how would you like to approach them - if there was financial and strategic support for your ideas!?

Best wishes and thanks - Warren

Warren Feek Executive Director The Communication Initiative http://www.comminit.com

Twitter: @warrencomminit Facebook: The Communication Initiative Network LinkedIn: Warren Feek

Office - 1–250-658-6372 Mobile 1-250-588-8795 Fax 1-250-658-1728

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Thanks for sharing this. The

Thanks for sharing this. The issue of water is one thing but the issue on sanitation is even worse. It is not easy to define how to address equity and water and more so on sanitation. Right to water and sanitation is real. But if there is no political commitments and willingness among leaders and if there is minimum budget allocation in this sector and in the case where there is no subsidy on sanitation for the rural poors all are not that easy to solve. There is for sure need to develop alternate programming toold that address these.

Regards

Pranab Shah

You are right political

You are right political commitment is basic for poor areas where access to clean water and sanitation, but this must also be associated with gender equity >we need to ensure women have access in equal terms to water supply and how women are discriminated going to the sources to use/collect water? How this affect women and men< it does in equak terms for both???

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