Children are more than twice as likely to live in extreme poverty than adults, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said today, reported by Anadolu Agency.
“On this International #EndPoverty Day, let us recommit to a fair globalization that Works for all children, their families and communities,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a Twitter post, marking the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
Children are more than twice as likely to live in extreme poverty than adults.
On this International #EndPoverty Day, let us recommit to a fair globalization that works for all children, their families and communities. pic.twitter.com/rKeUq8ia08
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) October 17, 2019
“17 October presents an opportunity to acknowledge the effort and struggle of people living in poverty, a chance for them to make their concerns heard, and a moment to recognize that poor people are the first ones to fight against poverty,” the UN said.
The poverty rate for children is twice as high as for adults which emphasised that one in three children are poor, while for adults it is one in six, according to a UN report.
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According to the UN’s 2019 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) released in July, more than 1.3 billion people around the world live in extreme poverty – nearly half of them (a total of 663 million) are children, and 32 per cent (428 million) are younger than 10.
The UN estimated that more than 886 million people, who are living in poverty, live in middle-income countries.
“Disaggregating the global MPI reveals striking inequalities within regions and countries; and yields a new understanding of where poor people live,” it stressed.
It added that Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are home to the largest proportion of poor people.