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Children & Inequality
Income inequality impacts children the most.
Hundreds of thousands of children live in the households that are being "left behind" as income inequality grows. Children are the innocent victims of economic inequality, they are not responsible for the circumstances of their birth or upbringing. One quarter of our population is aged under 18 years - what we do to our children we are doing to our future as a country.
Increasing inequality means that:
Thousands of children suffer from infectious diseases such as rheumatic fever that are preventable.
Over 200,000 children live in benefit-dependent households.
New Zealand has one of the lowest rankings among the 30 wealthy OECD countries for child wellbeing and for health & safety
Children who have low family income in their first 5 years of life experience poor health and have poorer long term outcomes (leaving school early, unemployed in later life).
These outcomes are not inevitable but are the result of choices we make as a country. Countries that have chosen to limit inequality also achieve much better results for their children, an investment in strong social and economic development in the future.
Learn more:
Left Behind: How Social and Income Inequalities Damage New Zealand Children Child Poverty Action Group
Public Health Advisory Committee, The Best Start in Life: Achieving effective child health and wellbeing
The Children's Social Health Monitor New Zealand
UNICEF Left Behind Report Card