A Foundation to End Child Poverty - How Universal Child Benefits Can Build a Fairer, More Inclusive and Resilient Future

The unprecedented global economic shock brought about by COVID-19 could set back more than a decade of progress in reducing child poverty and deprivation. Analysis indicates that the number of children living in monetary poverty could rise by more than 100 million in 2020.2 Unless we take action to address this, COVID-19’s most lasting legacy will be an unprecedented increase in childhood deprivation, with lasting consequences.

As countries and households around the world continue to feel the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, calls to expand and strengthen government social protection measures are now almost universally accepted as a way to protect citizens and support local economies. Yet despite this growing consensus, a key question is what kind of social protection systems should be prioritised. Universal child benefits (UCBs) are regular, unconditional income transfers in the form of cash or tax transfers, which are paid to caregivers of children from the time of pregnancy or birth until the child’s 18th birthday. However, they may initially be limited to a narrower age range, for example, covering early childhood.

In this report, we call upon governments, donors and other development partners to urgently support an expansion in social protection coverage of children and their caregivers (predominantly women), working progressively towards UCBs. This would ensure basic income security for children in line with Sustainable Development Goal Target 1.3, which aims to establish social protection floors in all countries by 2030. While many countries face unprecedented fiscal pressures, the report provides examples and guidance making the case that, most countries can take steps towards establishing UCBs, and that the costs of not doing so could be far higher.