Why are we calling for governments to maintain and scale up investments in child-sensitive #socialprotection? Short thread 1/

@globalcoalition #childpoverty #ChildRights

COVID19 threatens to push 117 million children into poverty. Without strong action, the #COVID19’s most lasting legacy will be an unprecedented increase in child poverty with lasting consequences. Why is it so important that children benefit from social protection? 2/

Even before the pandemic, children were disproportionately affected by poverty and deprivation. For children, the experience of poverty is both deeper, and multidimensional, with lifelong consequences for their health, nutrition, education, safety and future earnings. 3/

Investing in children’s wellbeing right from their earliest years, and until they become adults, can lead to major and sustained benefits both for themselves, for their own children, and the wider economy. 4/

These benefits range from better health, nutrition, education, and improved future earnings and productivity, to strengthened household resilience and livelihoods. All of these enable a safer and more nurturing environment for future generations of children. 5/

The international community has long agreed that every child has a right to social protection – and we have been failing to deliver this human right for too long. The 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child proclaims every child’s right to social security. 6/

Investments in social protection for children remained below 1 percent of GDP in many parts of the world, including in those regions where child poverty remains extremely high and where children represent a substantial share of the total population. 7/

We’re calling governments to urgently expand social protection measures for children, their parents and caregivers - and to build stronger national systems that can be scaled up to mitigate future crises http://www.endchildhoodpoverty.org/publications-feed/2020/8/31/joint-statement 8/8

#childpoverty #ChildRights #Children