For every child, a fair chance

The promise of equity

Source: ReliefWeb

Author: UNICEF

Year: 2015

Abstract:

Giving a fair chance in life to every child, everywhere – especially the most disadvantaged – offers the greatest hope of breaking intergenerational cycles of inequity and poverty in every society. That is the central proposition underlying UNICEF’s ‘equity agenda’.

The principle of equity guides UNICEF’s work with a sharp focus on the world’s most vulnerable children: those from the poorest households, girls, children with disabilities, migrant and refugee children, those living in remote areas, and children from ethnic or religious groups facing discrimination...

This report outlines many of the milestones achieved for the world’s poor and marginalized children to date, as well as many of the remaining gaps. It examines seven sectors that are critical to progress for children: health; HIV and AIDS; water, sanitation and hygiene; nutrition; education; child protection; and social inclusion. In each sector, there are stark contrasts between global advances on one hand and the urgent, unmet needs of the world’s most vulnerable children on the other.

Beyond facts and figures, the report also features selected stories about children and families who have not shared equally in those advances – and about what UNICEF and its partners are doing to right the balance. The stories highlight equity-focused approaches to both humanitarian crises and longer-term development, because action on both fronts will be needed to achieve the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals.

International Cooperation

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Research