Introduction
Poverty is currently one of the most severe world problems, especially in developing countries. The most affected by poverty are children. For instance, it is estimated that about 19.5% of children in developing countries live extreme poverty household compared to 9.2% of the adult (Bain et al ., 2013). The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is a UN body that was created in 1946 with the main aim of protecting children and ensuring that they meet their basic needs while at the same time ensuring that they actualize their full potential. UNICEF strongly believes that it can achieve these objectives by eradicating or reducing poverty ( UNICEF, 2016) . There is a need to determine the level of poverty in developing countries and come up with effective strategies to address the problem.
Therefore, the research question for this paper is: What is the role of UNICEF in reducing poverty in developing countries? To address the main questions, the paper will answer questions regarding the rate of poverty in developing countries and the strategies used by UNICEF to reduce poverty in developing countries. The social analysis that was used in this paper was needs assessment framework. Objective analysis of available sources of information and data was used to avoid biases that can emerge. A substantial number of children in developing countries still live in absolute poverty despite major efforts by UNICEF.
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UNICEF and Poverty in Developing Countries
UNICEF is one of the main bodies of UN that plays important role in various parts of the world. It was originally founded in 1946 with the primary aim of providing food, clothing, and health for children after the Second World War. UNICEF has evolved and expanded since it was founded and it now plays important role in both developed and developing countries. Currently, the main mandate of UNICEF is the protection of the rights of children, assisting children in meeting their basic needs, and giving children their opportunity to actualize their full potential ( UNICEF, 2016) .
Poverty is one of the major problems affecting children living in developing countries. It is estimated that 37% of children in developing countries live in absolute poverty. The rate of poverty is highest in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia at 68% and 56% respectively. Children in rural areas in developing countries experience more poverty than their counterparts in urban areas. According to the recent survey that was conducted with the World Bank and UNICEF, 19.5% of children in developing countries live in a poor household ( World Bank Group and UNICEF, 2016) . Therefore, even though the report by the World Bank and UNICEF indicates that the level of poverty is reducing in developing countries, the rate is still much higher compared to developed nations. A study that was conducted by Ng et al . (2013) confirms that the rate of poverty is highest in Sub-Sahara and South Asia.
Role of UNICEF in Developing Countries
UNICEF is strongly persuaded that poverty denies children their rights and it makes them vulnerable to violence, exploitation, and abuse. At the same time, children can hardly actualize their potential when they live in poverty-stricken households. Therefore, one of its primary roles is to contribute to poverty reduction in various parts of the world, especially in developing countries where the rate of poverty is extremely high. UNICEF recognizes that poverty denies people their rights and dignity. As a result, it is working with other UN agencies, professionals, development banks, local communities, and civil society organizations to reduce poverty in developing countries. Specifically, the UN agency is building the basic capabilities and capacities of developing countries to help in preventing and reducing the impact of poverty on children and their families ( UNICEF, 2000) . Also, it provides direct support and advocacy to help in reducing poverty in developing countries. Its direct support comes in the form of procuring essential supplies, materials, and services while at the same time it offers technical advice to developing countries. UNICEF provides advocacy to developing countries in the form of communication, policy formulation and analysis, monitoring, and evaluating the success of various poverty reduction programs.
The major areas of the agency’s anti-poverty interventions in developing countries include the provision of basic education, primary healthcare, microcredit, and policy advocacy. It also provides water and sanitation and special protection to children in developing countries. Education is one of the strategies that can be used to reduce poverty in developing countries. Ng et al. (2013) agree with UNICEF's assertion that lack of quality education is fueling poverty in developing countries. Unlike UNICEF, Ng and his colleagues argue that other main sources of poverty in developing countries are corruption and political instability (Ng et al., 2013). UNICEF promotes universal access to information and quality basic education for children living in developing countries. UNICEF also plays an active role in ensuring that children and people living in developing countries can access quality primary health care because health is essential in enhancing income and productivity of individuals and communities at large. Specifically, it promotes and supports mass immunization, breastfeeding for mothers, and hand washing initiatives aimed at improving the health of people in developing countries. UNICEF is mainly utilizing health strategy that is aimed at building local capabilities and reducing the burden of diseases.
UNICEF is also concerned by a large number of malnourished children in developing countries. Underweight and malnutrition cause about 40% of all children's death. Bain et al . (2013) also argued that malnutrition is causing about 30% of all child deaths. Malnutrition in children is common in developing countries in Southern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. About 26% of children and malnourished and the majority come from developing countries. To help in addressing malnutrition in developing countries, UNICEF is using a Triple-A strategy that involves assessment, analysis, and action. It provides nutritional rehabilitation to children who are severely malnourished ( UNICEF, 2000) . Also, it provides food supplementation and fortification to lower micronutrient deficiencies among affected children in developing countries.
Besides, UNICEF provides special protection and water and sanitation to developing countries. It provides special protection to children with disability and those facing problems such as sexual exploitation, abandonment, violence, and hard labor ( UNICEF, 2000) . It is estimated that 57,000 children under the age of 15 die every year due to physical abuse while 18% of children in developing countries are subjected to hard labor. At the same time, UNICEF plays an active role in reducing water and sanitation problems in developing countries. It is drilling and installing boreholes, helps in improving traditional water sources, and protecting springs and wells in developing countries.
Therefore, many scholars agree that that poverty is one of the main problems facing developing world. They agree that low-quality education and health and inadequate resources are the main factors contributing to poverty in developing countries. Even though UNICEF reports mainly focused on poverty among children, other scholars looked at poverty the society as a whole. However, the authors generalized poverty in developing countries without analyzing specific countries, which may lead to some biases. Their main conclusion is that poverty is common in developing countries (Bain et al ., 2013).
Analysis
Information and data from various literature and report indicate that poverty is still a major problem in developing countries. A significant number of children, about 22% live in poverty in developing countries ( Batana, Bussolo & Cockburn, 2013) . All the findings of the studies that were conducted by the World Bank, UNICEF, and researcher revealed that developing countries still suffer from high rate of poverty. Nonetheless, UNICEF is playing important role in reducing poverty. The UN agency is using strategies such as promoting quality education, improving the quality of primary care, offering essential resources, delivering technical support to governments and local communities in developing countries to overcome poverty.
The main strength of the approach to my questions is that it relies a lot on official information and reports that were published by UNICEF. Therefore, the information and data used were highly accurate, especially about role and strategies used by the agency. However, the approach relied on secondary data, which may be a weakness, as some information can be outdated.
Based on the needs assessment social analysis method, the literature analyzed how people are affected by poverty by determines their ability to access basic needs. Some of the needs that were analyzed by the literature included education, health, water, sanitation, and nutritious food. People who were not able to adequately access the needs were deemed to be poor. However, there was a lot of generalization about poverty in developing countries. The others did not mention a single developing country that can meet the needs of citizens. Therefore, many sources were based on the ideological position that all developing countries are poor.
Conclusion
It is apparent that millions of children, especially those in developing countries are suffering due to a high rate of poverty. UNICEF is one of the UN agencies that are trying to ensure that all children live a dignified life regardless of their country of origin. As a result, it has come with various interventions to reduce poverty in developing countries. The agency is improving education and health standards, as well as the access to water and sanitation in developing countries. Despite the effort by UNICEF, more need to be done to address poverty and other challenges facing children in developing countries. Therefore, UNICEF should come up with robust economic initiatives aimed at improving the economic status of families in developing countries. For instance, it should provide financial credits or grand to poor families to start economic ventures.
References
Bain, L. E., Awah, P. K., Geraldine, N., Kindong, N. P., Siga, Y., Bernard, N., & Tanjeko, A. T. (2013). Malnutrition in Sub–Saharan Africa: burden, causes, and prospects. Pan African Medical Journal , 15 (1).
Batana, Y., Bussolo, M., & Cockburn, J. (2013). Global extreme poverty rates for children, adults and the elderly. Economics Letters , 120 (3), 405-407.
Ng, A. H. H., Farinda, A. G., Kan, F. K., Lim, A. L., & Ting, T. M. (2013). Poverty: Its Causes and Solutions. World Academy of Science, Engineering, and Technology, International Journal of Social, Behavioral, Educational, Economic, Business and Industrial Engineering , 7 (8), 2471-2479.
UNICEF. (2000). Poverty Reduction Begins with Children . Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/pub_poverty_reduction_en.pdf
World Bank Group and UNICEF. (2016). Ending Extreme Poverty: A Focus on Children. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Ending_Extreme_Poverty_A_Focus_on_Children_Oct_2016.pdf
