Brief Note on Strategies to Address Child Poverty

Gary Laurent^*
*Correspondence: Dr. Gary Laurent, Department of Sociology, Paris Diderot University, Paris, France, Email:

Description

Child poverty is a major public health issue in the world. Because early childhood development establishes the groundwork for subsequent health and development, children must be given the greatest possible start in life. Family income is a major predictor of good child development. Children from higher-income households have more stable living situations and more access to a variety of possibilities that are typically accessible to children from lowerincome families. Children from low-income households or neighborhoods have inferior health outcomes on average. Furthermore, poverty has an impact on the health of children not only while they are young, but also later in life as adults. It is important to achieve healthy public policy, the health sector should provide services to reduce the health implications of poverty and express the health-related relevance of child poverty in conjunction with other sectors. The first few years of life are marked by development on size and pace unmatched later in childhood, laying the groundwork for future growth and development. Significant avoidable differences in development have also arisen by the age of six. There are numerous variables that impact children's healthy development, parental income has been identified as a crucial influencer. Given the importance of the early years, young children must be given the best possible start in life to reach their full potential. Two strategies are required to address the impact of child poverty: poverty reduction via campaigning for healthy public policies and practices, and mitigation of the negative effects of low income on early childhood through a variety of programs and services. To reduce child poverty, families must have sufficient income, which can be provided through direct transfers, generous child benefits, increased social assistance rates, education, skill development training, adequate wages, good working conditions, benefits. All sectors of the health care system play a significant role in supporting public policies that recognize and address socioeconomic structural issues as primary drivers of family poverty. In doing so, one of the most important responsibilities will be to educate communities and governments at all levels on the real and prospective health consequences of policies and initiatives. To combat child poverty, health care professionals and organizations can engage in advocacy on an individual level as well as through collaboration with coalitions, networks, and their professional associations. In addition to advocacy, the health sector must strive to minimize the harmful health consequences of poverty on families with young children through its programs and services. For example, Toronto Public Health offers a variety of programs and services to low-income families in order to promote optimum child development and functioning. Screening and evaluation, education and skill training, counseling, service coordination, client advocacy, and referral are all important tasks. Many Toronto Public Health services also connect families to a variety of supports, such as financial assistance, employment opportunities, child care, housing, and health care. In addition to providing programs and services, the health sector must collaborate with other community partners to improve service coordination and integration. It should also promote equal access to services by identifying and removing barriers.

Conclusion

Children from low-income families or neighborhoods have poorer health outcomes than other children across a range of critical markers, including infant mortality, low birth weight, asthma, overweight and obesity, accidents, mental health problems, and a lack of readiness to learn. Some groups, such as aboriginal peoples, bear a disproportionate share of the burden of poverty and its repercussions, such as increased infant mortality, a higher risk of injury, and a higher prevalence of impairments, respiratory problems, and obesity. Two interrelated processes have been proposed to explain the links between early family wealth and later-life health. According to the first mechanism, adult health is predominantly impacted by the link between socioeconomic position in childhood and adulthood. Early-life socioeconomic situations impact a child's health and development. Early-life socioeconomic situations impact a child's health and development. Given the negative effects of poverty on child and lifetime health and well-being, the health sector must continue to express its implications for child health as well as societal health and productivity in the future. Furthermore, the health sector must play a more active role in promoting healthy public policies that address the socioeconomic factors that contribute to poverty.