Poverty impacts disproportionately on children. Of those living in extreme poverty globally (less than $1.90 per day), one third are children aged under 12 years. In Indonesia, where considerable progress has been made in addressing poverty, 44.3 million children – more than half the population aged under 18 years – still live on less than $2 per day. Childhood poverty is of particular policy concern, not only because of the large number of children affected, but also because of the long term consequences of childhood deprivation on affected individuals and for society as a whole. Thus, responding to childhood poverty remains one of the greatest challenges facing the world.

 

This research, funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery grant, aims to better understanding child poverty in Indonesia from the standpoint of children, using a range of participatory methods. In doing so, we aim to develop a child-centred means of assessing child poverty, thus informing policies and services to better support children. The research is being undertaken in Indonesia, but has global implications.

 

I am leading this research and privileged to be working with a fantastic team: Dr Angie Bexley, Clara Siagian and Naimah Talib, along with some amazing local researchers.