The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have jointly released a report on social protection for children titled “More than a billion reasons: The urgent need to build universal social protection for children.” The report highlights the need to strengthen and expand social protection systems to reach every child at risk.

Current Situation

The report reveals that globally, only one in four children aged between 0-15 years have access to social protection. This means that 2.4 billion children around the world lack adequate social protection, which is a matter of grave concern. Moreover, children are twice as likely to live in poverty as adults, which is a threat to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

Challenges Faced by Children

The challenges faced by children are growing and compounded due to several factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing cost-of-living, fragility, and the climate emergency. As a result, the number of children without critical social protection globally is increasing, which is a cause for alarm.

Understanding Social Protection

Social protection is defined as a set of policies and programs designed to reduce and prevent poverty and vulnerability throughout the life cycle. This includes benefits for children and families, such as maternity, unemployment, employment injury, and other social safety nets.

Child-Centric Social Protection

It is essential to adopt child-centric social protection policies that can boost their productivity and earning potential, address issues such as child labour, drivers of gender inequality and exclusion, and increase access to food, nutrition, education, and healthcare.

MCQs on The Need for Social Protection for Children

  1. Which of the following statements is true about social protection for children?
    A. Just 1 in 4 children globally are covered by social protection.
    B. All children in the world have access to adequate social protection.
    C. Children are less likely to live in poverty than adults.
    D. Social protection has no impact on the achievement of SDGs.
    Correct Answer: A. Just 1 in 4 children globally are covered by social protection.
    Explanation: According to the ILO-UNICEF joint report, just 1 in 4 children aged 0-15 years globally are covered by social protection. This highlights the urgent need to build universal social protection for children.
  2. What is social protection?
    A. A set of policies and programs designed to reduce and prevent poverty and vulnerability throughout the life cycle
    B. A set of policies and programs designed to increase economic growth
    C. A set of policies and programs designed to reduce taxes for low-income families
    D. A set of policies and programs designed to increase access to luxury goods for all individuals
    Correct Answer: A. A set of policies and programs designed to reduce and prevent poverty and vulnerability throughout the life cycle.
    Explanation: Social protection is defined as a set of policies and programs designed to reduce and prevent poverty and vulnerability throughout the life cycle. It includes benefits for children and families, such as social safety nets like maternity, unemployment, and employment injury.
  3. What is the importance of child-centric social protection?
    A. It can boost productivity and earning potential
    B. It can address issues such as child labour and gender inequality
    C. It can increase access to food, nutrition, education, and healthcare
    D. All of the above
    Correct Answer: D. All of the above
    Explanation: Child-centric social protection policies can address issues such as child labour and gender inequality, while also increasing access to essential services such as food, nutrition, education, and healthcare. This can also help to boost productivity and earning potential, reducing poverty and vulnerability among children.

Loading