Ending child poverty: What the latest evidence tells us
By Oliver Fiala
In September, UNICEF and the World Bank shared new figures that are hard to ignore: 412 million children live in families struggling to survive on less than $3 a day. Earlier this year, we estimated that nearly 900 million children experience multidimensional poverty, facing deprivations in critical areas like education, health, nutrition, and basic living conditions. These are stark numbers, and because they reflect only the most severe levels of deprivation, they underestimate the true scale of the challenge. Together, they underscore a simple truth: ending child poverty has never been more urgent.
In its flagship report released earlier this year, the Global Coalition to End Child Poverty explored what works to reduce child poverty. Drawing on success stories around the world, the report identified four key lessons:
Economic growth matters, but it needs to benefit everyone and reach children and their families in poverty.
Inclusive social protection works.
Prioritising and sustaining investments in social sectors (including health, education, water and sanitation) are essential.
Efforts to need to be integrated and aligned across sectors.
Several new studies this year highlighted important new insights on how poverty declined in different contexts. In light of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, this blog post takes a closer look at each of these four pillars and brings together lessons and insights from across these studies.
Based on Global Coalition to End Child Poverty (2025). What Works to Reduce Child Poverty? Insights from Across the Globe
1. Sustainable and inclusive economic growth and quality employment
Many country examples we looked at highlight how a healthy economy can drive down poverty, but only if the benefits are broadly shared. In Bangladesh and Cambodia, for example, economic growth, driven by decent jobs, fair wages, and opportunities for women, has helped lift many families out of poverty. While growth can help reduce poverty, it needs to be inclusive and pro-poor to make a real difference. In many cases, if countries had reduced income inequality alongside their growth, economic gains could have translated into far greater poverty reduction.
A fascinating study by Vincent Armentano, Paul Niehaus, and Tom Vogl from the University of California, San Diego, looked at five countries responsible for 70% of global poverty reduction since 1990. They found no single route out of poverty. Many households that escaped it stayed in the same sector (often agriculture) rather than moving to new industries. In China, 37% of people leaving poverty shifted from agriculture to other sectors; in South Africa, only 7% did. This suggests that productivity gains within sectors, not just movement between them, are vital.
Other pathways played a role too, although their effects were smaller in magnitude: women joining the labour market contributed meaningfully to poverty decline in all countries. Migration of households also played a role, especially from rural to urban areas, which are often more economically productive and offer higher wages.
2. Inclusive social protection
Social protection remains one of the most powerful tools we have to fight child poverty. Cash transfers, child benefits, and other safety nets help families cover basic needs, support children’s development, and protect them from shocks.
For example, the Global Coalition to End Child Poverty report showed that in Peru the JUNTOS cash transfer programme has improved children’s nutrition, education, and cognitive outcomes. And this applies equally to high-income countries: for example, in Poland, significant public spending on family benefits has driven one of the sharpest declines in child poverty among high-income countries.
The Armentano, Niehaus, and Vogl paper points out that while social transfers have historically played a somewhat smaller role in poverty reduction (often because payments are too small), they are crucial for sustaining poverty reduction - keeping families from falling back into poverty when crises hit, acting as an essential safety net.
3. Investing in social sectors
Poverty isn’t just about income; it’s about whether children can go to school, see a doctor, eat well, and grow up in safe homes. This requires governments to prioritise investments in these sectors. For instance, Cambodia’s efforts to expand access to rural water and sanitation, alongside its social protection programmes, have sharply reduced multidimensional child poverty. In Senegal, the rollout of universal health coverage has meant free consultations, immunisations, and better access to healthcare for children.
Research by Amory Gethin further highlights how transformative education can be. His analysis finds that since 1980, education has accounted for about half of global economic growth, 70% of income gains for the world’s poorest, and 40% of the reduction in extreme poverty. Since governments are the main providers of education and essential services, it shows just how central public investment is to long-term progress.
4. Coordination and inclusion: integrating and aligning efforts across sectors
Poverty reduction doesn’t happen in silos. Governments need to coordinate across sectors and ensure that everyone is included. Tanzania’s National Multisectoral Nutrition Action Plan (NMNAP) from 2016 to 2021 is a great example. By bringing together agriculture, health, and social protection policies, Tanzania made real strides in improving child nutrition (see more in the report).
At the same time, tackling poverty means tackling discrimination and promoting inclusion. Barriers still prevent girls, young women, children with disabilities, and other marginalised groups from accessing services and opportunities.
Building resilience to avoid a slippery slope
Finally, a key takeaway from recent studies is that poverty should not be viewed as a 'trap', but rather as a 'slippery slope'. Many families move out of poverty, but many also fall-back in. In South Africa, for example, 26% of households that started poor escaped poverty, but 15% of those who weren’t initially poor slipped into it. Strikingly, the households moving up and those sliding down often share similar characteristics.
“Fighting poverty isn’t just about helping families climb out of it but also helping them stay out.”
That tells us something important: fighting poverty isn’t just about helping families climb out of it but also helping them stay out. That means building resilience against economic disruptions, conflict and climate shocks, the cost-of-living crisis. We can achieve this through social protection systems, investments in health, education, and nutrition, as well as by creating dynamic economies with fair, inclusive labour markets that give every family the chance to thrive.
About the author: Oliver Fiala is a Senior Research Adviser, Save the Children UK and Co-chair of the Global Coalition to End Child Poverty.