BATTLING WORLDwIDE CHILD POVERTY

Imagine living in a place where you did not have clean water to drink or access to a working toilet. Imagine going to bed hungry each night or not having a comfortable home to sleep in that would protect you from cold, heat, wind, and rain. Imagine not being able to go to school or to even have access to radio, television, telephones, or newspapers. Imagine getting sick and not being able to get the medicine you need or be able to see a doctor or go to a hospital. More than a billion children around the world dont have to imagine these conditions because they live under one or more of them every day.1 UNICEF considers children to be living in poverty if they experience deprivation of the material, spiritual, and emotional resources they need to survive, develop and thrive.

DID YOU KNOw?

More than 30% of children in developing countries about 600 million live on less
than US $1 a day.1 Some 13% of children ages 7 to 18 in developing countries have never attended school.1 One in three children in the developing world more than 500 million children have no access at all to sanitation facilities.1

Whats the word?

Unscramble the following words, each of which is a form of deprivation caused by poverty. (Answer key on reverse side.)

TesReHL sanniToiTa ReaTw minRoanifTo TioRinTun HeaHLT nocTaieDu

BONUS CHALLENGE: unscramble the circled letters to complete the phrase below. UNICEF understands that because impoverished children grow up to be impoverished __ __ __ __ __ __, the only way to end the generational __ Y C __ __ is to focus on reducing childhood poverty.

C C

UNDERSTANDING CHILD POVERTY

Wants and Needs
DID YOU KNOW ?
More than 13% of the U.S. population lives in poverty.3
Individuals and families must distinguish between what kinds of things are Wants and Needs. Create two lists with at least four examples each of wants and needs. Be prepared to explain and justify your list. For research support, use a newspaper or the Internet to nd the best price in your area for each of the four wants and needs you chose and total the costs.
cosT of wanTs neeDs cosT of neeDs

wanTs

TOTAL COST PER MONTH

TOTAL COST PER MONTH

Poverty in the United States

In the United States, the poverty line for a family of four is considered $22,050 a year or about $1,800 dollars a month.2 Looking at the total monthly cost of the four Needs and considering other needs of survival, explain the challenges for a family of four surviving on $1,800 a month.

LEARN MORE
about poverty and other global issues at www.teachunicef.org.

What is being done?

The United Nations agreed in 2000 to set goals for overcoming poverty and improving health, education, the environment and responding to other important global concerns. These are called the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Two of the eight MDGs are: MDG 1: By 2015, reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day. MDG 2: By 2015, reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger. To learn more about the MGD goals, visit: http://www.unicef.org/mdg/.
Answers Word Scramble Answers: Shelter, Sanitation, Water, Information, Nutrition, Health, Education Complete the Phrase Answer: UNICEF understands that because impoverished children grow up to be impoverished ADULTS, the only way to end the generational CYCLE is to focus on reducing childhood poverty. Sources 1. UNICEF, www.unicef.org/mdg/poverty.html 2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2009, www.hhs.gov 3. U.S. Census Bureau, Fact Sheet, 2008, www.census.gov