A PERSISTENT high rate of child poverty and a widening gap between child poverty rates between rural and urban areas and different parts of the country are concerning. A General Economics Division study, The urban-rural dichotomy: a comparative analysis of child poverty in Bangladesh, says that the national average child poverty rate is 16.49 per cent, with an abnormally higher rate in rural areas. The rate is 8.22 per cent in urban areas and a whopping 20.15 per cent in rural areas. The study also says that there is a significant difference between child poverty rates in different parts. Rangpur has the highest rate of 29.99 per cent while Dhaka has the lowest rate of 9.45 per cent. The study also says that children under five experience the highest poverty rate, 18.2 per cent, and the rate decreases to 16.7 per cent for children aged 6鈥�14 years and further to 13.2 per cent for children aged 15鈥�17 years. The actual situation is likely to be worse as the study is based on conservative poverty figures of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2022 of the Bureau of Statistics.
The Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2022 puts the headcount poverty rate at 18.7 per cent. Independent research and surveys, however, show that the rate to be higher than what is in the BBS survey. Similarly, child poverty, which refers to children that experience the deprivation of material, spiritual and emotional resources needed to survive, develop and thrive, is likely to be much higher. Child poverty is not coterminous with headcount or household poverty although children born to poor households usually suffer from child poverty. A large number of orphans and street children also suffer from poverty and food insecurity. The impact of poverty is more devastating on the children than adults. The impact can be gathered from the Global Hunger Index 2024, which shows that 11.9 per cent of children in Bangladesh are malnourished and 2.9 per cent of poor children die before their fifth birthday while chronic malnutrition has resulted in 23.6 per cent of children under five being stunted and 11 per cent experiencing wasting. The prevalence of child stunting 鈥� there are 3.9 million stunted children in Bangladesh, as a UNICEF Bangladesh report says 鈥� reflects the impact of child poverty.
The authorities should, therefore, implement targeted policies and make interventions to address child poverty. The authorities should also consider the resumption of the budget for children as suggested by the General Economics Division and enhance social safety net programmes to include children living in poverty.
