Of the approximately 16.4 million children living in the country, 70.3% live in consumer poverty and 41.3% have deprivation in various dimensions “essential of their well-being”
About 13 million Mozambican children, from more than 16 million, live in poverty, indicates a report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released Monday, which also points to “deep inequalities.”
“Despite progress in some areas, children’s poverty in Mozambique continues to affect an unacceptably high number of girls and boys. About 77% of children live in poverty, whether monetary, multidimensional or both,” said Yannick Brand, the United Nations Agency Deputy Representative in Mozambique, in the Maputo report in Mozambique.
The official pointed to the existence of “deep inequalities” in Mozambique, between territorial and structural, which leads to some children to continue to live in “significantly more unfavorable conditions”, with rural poverty approximately “three times larger than urban poverty.”
“Children’s poverty is more than lack of resources. It compromises access to education, health, proper nutrition, protection and the right to full childhood and inevitably compromises the sustainable development of the country,” said Yannick Brand.
According to the United Nations Representative, from around 16.4 million children in Mozambique, 70.3% live in consumer poverty and 41.3% have deprivation in various dimensions “essential of their well-being”, “one in three children lives in simultaneous poverty”.
In the report it is pointed out that the crisis caused by hidden debts, covid-19 pandemic, climate shocks and those related to conflicts such as some of the factors that contributed to the increase in Mozambican child monetary poverty.
Given the disparities, Yannick Brand defends the promotion of integrated answers that accompany the child from early childhood and to adolescence, the strengthening of social protection and resilience mechanisms to shocks and the consolidation of evidence production and use as the basis for planning, monitoring and evaluation of child -centered public policies.
“This report is, above all, a call to collective responsibility. That can inspire the elaboration of more inclusive policies, reinforce our commitment to children and serve as a catalyst for concrete actions,” concluded the official, reaffirming UNICEF’s commitment to the Mozambican government and “each child”, aiming to “reduce child poverty in all its forms.”
