Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Governance
Why in news?
Recently, UNICEF has released “The State of the World’s Children 2025: Ending Child Poverty – Our Shared Imperative” report on World Children’s Day (November 20, 2025).
Key findings of the report
- Global context – More than 1 in 5 children in low and middle-income countries (about 400 million globally) are severely deprived in at least two basic needs out of 6 - education, health, housing, nutrition, sanitation, clean water.
- Substantial levels of child poverty exist around the world, even in high income countries (around 50 million children live in poverty).
- Extreme (Monetary) poverty – 412 million children live on less than US$3 per day.
Monetary poverty - A state where an individual or household's income or spending falls below a set poverty line, leaving them without sufficient financial resources to meet a minimum standard of living.
- Geographical concentration – Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia account for almost 9 out of 10 children living in extreme poverty.
- Vulnerable groups – Young children, those with disabilities, and children in conflict or climate crisis zones are most at risk.
- Major barriers in ending child poverty - Climate & environmental crises, conflict, and underfunding.
- India specific insights –
- 1 in 5 of the world’s children or approximately 460 million children under 18 years of age, lives in India.
- Scale of deprivation – More than half of 460 million Indian children (about 206 million) lack access to at least one of 6 basic services.
- Out of the 206 million Indian children - 62 million, lack access to two or more basic services.
- National Multidimensional Poverty Index - 248 million people escaped multidimensional poverty between 2013-23 (Poverty dropped from 29.2% to 11.3%).
- Flagship schemes praised – Poshan Abhiyaan, Samagra Shiksha, PM-KISAN, Mid-Day Meal, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Swachh Bharat.
References
- The Hindu | State of the World’s Children 2025 report
- UNICEF | State of the World’s Children report
- New Indian Express | State of the World’s Children report
