CHILD POVERTY IN UK AND KENYA

Child Poverty In UK And Kenya

Child Poverty In UK And Kenya

Introduction

A child may grow into adulthood and never re-coup the developmental losses of childhood. Policies which rely on short term social costs for long term economic gain are simply not calculating the actual inter-generational costs of economic policies. We here examine economic policies affecting livelihood security and the relationship to the costs of basic goods and services, also profoundly affected by adjustment policies.

Comparison

In UK, The Government's view is that the chief cause of child poverty is worklessness. There is strong evidence to support this, but other causes are also apparent. Since, to quote the CPAG again, even the most affluent people may be workless, it is necessary to look more broadly at other causes which often interact with worklessness, such as marital and relationship breakdown, unstable parenting, inadequate levels of educational attainment and healthcare provision, and involvement in crime. (Onyango, Bader 2001: 12)

Whereas in Kenya, In the context of resource scarcity, children's relative powerlessness may have particularly stark consequences. Narayan and Nyamwaya's observation from Kenya that 'protecting their children, keeping them alive and finding money to pay their school fees is the preoccupying concern of poor parents' (1996:30) is reflected worldwide. However, economic stress frequently means that parents are obliged to put the interests of household survival before that of individual children and identify ways of maximising wellbeing today without cutting off options for future advancement. (Kumar 2006:21)

In UK, Furthermore, work itself is not an automatic route out of poverty. Whereas poverty among lone parents is concentrated upon those out of work, poverty among couples is concentrated upon those in work. It must also be remembered that more employment opportunities will not help lift out of poverty people who are genuinely unemployable, such as those with severe disabilities; people who could be employed, but choose not to be, such as young people who opt instead for further and higher education; and people who do not enter the labour market because of their commitments as, (Narayan 2002:10)for example, parents of very young children or as carers for elderly parents.

However in Kenya, Under such circumstances children who are perceived to contribute little to their household now, or to have limited potential to contribute in the future, are likely to bear the costs. Thus disabled children may receive less food and attention than their able-bodied ...