PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
JOINT UNICEF-WORLD BANK REPORT ON CHILD POVERTY (9 October 2016)

That this House notes with concern the findings of the joint Unicef-World Bank report entitled, Ending Extreme Poverty: A Focus on Children, published in October 2016, which shows that almost 385 million children worldwide, including almost half of those living in sub-Saharan Africa, are living in extreme poverty on less than £1.50 per day, and that, in 2013, 19.5 per cent of children in 89 countries were living in households that survived on this level of income, compared to just 9.2 per cent of adults; further notes that growing up in such extreme poverty has been shown to lead to stunted development, decreased productivity in adulthood and the continuation of poverty through generations; notes the report's finding that children are twice as likely as adults to live in extreme poverty and make up more than half of all the world's poor people; is concerned by the report's conclusion that it will be difficult to meet the Sustainable Development Goal target of eradicating extreme poverty by 2030 due to the global economic slowdown without serious political effort and will; joins Unicef and the World Bank in their calls for governments to do more to tackle the existence and effects of child poverty around the world; and calls on the Government to do all it can to support these aims.

Sponsored by:
Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party)