International Development Committee Inquiry: Extreme Poverty and the SDGs

United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) Submission

The United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK)

UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, is mandated by the UN General Assembly to uphold the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)[1] and promote the rights and wellbeing of every child. Together with partners, UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories focusing special effort on reaching the most marginalised and excluded children.

UNICEF is also the global custodian for children in the Sustainable Development Agenda. UNICEF is responsible for 7 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicators and either supports or is a co-custodian for a further 12.[2] UNICEF works with governments, partners and other UN agencies to help countries ensure the SDGs deliver results for and with every child – now and for generations to come. The rights of children are central to all of the SDGs.

The United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) is one of 33 UNICEF National Committees around the world. We were established in 1956 as an independent charitable organisation and have since worked tirelessly to raise vital funds for UNICEF - from the private sector and the general public - and to promote and defend children’s rights worldwide, including here in the UK.

UNICEF UK is submitting evidence to the International Development Committee with the aim of ensuring children and their rights remain central to the UK Government’s efforts to end extreme poverty and achieve the SDGs.

1. Introduction

1.1         UNICEF’s social protection[3] division leads on research and analysis on child poverty globally. The division‘s research shows that children are more likely to live in poverty than adults and also that they are more vulnerable to its effects.

1.2         Their research highlights that while the world has made remarkable strides in reducing poverty, more than 700 million people still live in extreme poverty. Children are disproportionately affected. Despite comprising one third of the global population, they represent half of those struggling to survive on less than $1.90 a day. That equates to an estimated 356 million children living in extreme poverty.

1.3         They further state that child poverty is neither inevitable nor immune to efforts to address it. As many countries have already shown, child poverty can be reduced and even eradicated through continued attention and action.

1.4         Since 2014, UNICEF has played an instrumental role in directing global attention to child poverty. The Global Coalition to End Child Poverty[4], chaired by UNICEF, has become a powerful initiative for raising awareness about child poverty and accelerating global efforts to tackle it. As part of the coalition, UNICEF produced a comprehensive guide to help countries reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for child poverty[5].

1.5         However, the COVID-19 pandemic presents the biggest crisis for children in UNICEF's 75-year history. As set out in UNICEF’s ‘Preventing a Lost Decade’ report, the pandemic is reversing hard-won progress in the fight against child poverty. In less than two years since the pandemic began, 100 million more children have fallen into poverty, a 10 per cent increase since 2019. In a best-case scenario based on past trends, it will take seven to eight years to recover and return to pre-COVID child poverty levels. The report warns that the world therefore faces a lost decade for children, leaving SDGs, including SDG 1 on ending poverty, unreachable[6].

1.6         The report also finds that in developing countries, the percentage of children living in multidimensional poverty (where they have deprivations in at least one of the following: education, health, housing, nutrition, sanitation and water), is projected to have increased from 46–48 per cent pre-COVID-19 (around 1 billion children) to around 52 per cent in 2021. This is equivalent to a projected increase of 100 million additional children living in poverty compared to 2019. In the least developed countries, such as Malawi, Rwanda and Sierra Leone, the increase in poverty is projected to be even more dramatic, rising from 48 per cent in 2019 to around 56 per cent in 2021 (an increase of over 40 million children).

1.7         Against this context, the UK Government’s role in ending poverty and ensuring every child can survive, thrive and fulfil their potential through its development portfolio and aid spending has never been more vital to ensure the SDGs can deliver a better world, as global leaders intended when they were adopted in 2015.

2. How well is UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) targeted towards tackling extreme poverty and how effectively do the FCDO policies and programmes contribute to the achievement of Target 1.1 of SDG 1?

2.1         The UK’s 2015 Aid Strategy[7], developed by the former Department for International Development, had a strategic objective dedicated to ‘tackling extreme poverty and helping the world’s vulnerable.’ However, this strategy is now outdated. We await the publication of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)’s new international development strategy.

2.2         In December 2020, the UK Government set out seven “global challenges” it will focus ODA spend on[8]. These include only one mention of tackling poverty under ‘Science, Research and Technology’ and are not currently accompanied by a published accountability framework against which progress is being tracked or measured.

2.3         In March 2021, the Government published the Integrated Review[9] which included numerous references to poverty including as part of the mandate of the newly formed Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. It also recognised that the UK has a leader legacy on poverty reduction efforts.

2.4         Most recently, in July 2021, the FCDO Outcome Delivery Plan: 2021 to 2022[10] made links in the Outcome Evaluation Plan sections to the SDGs, including SDG 1 and specifically target 1.3 and 1.5, but not SDG 1.1.  Additionally, there is no mention of poverty in the Performance Metrics detailed within the Priority Outcomes Delivery Plans.

2.5         Further, the COVID-19 response has challenged the UK Government’s ability to use its ODA for tackling extreme poverty. The UK Government has taken the decision to use ODA to finance its contribution to the international COVID-19 response, in the context of a reduced aid budget. While funding programmes to end the pandemic will of course help to reverse the trends we are witnessing in relation to increasing levels of poverty, this funding does not target extreme poverty directly (although there will be tangential impacts).

2.6         We understand that the UK Government also intends to charge its donated COVID-19 vaccine doses to the aid budget, potentially at a greater cost than what was paid for them due to OECD DAC pricing[11]. This is deeply concerning and a concrete example of how the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to a more fractious understanding of what can and should be counted as ODA. This conversation is not unique to the UK context.

2.7         We encourage the UK Government to ensure all ODA is targeted towards ending extreme poverty, achieving the SDGs, and ensuring the world’s most marginalised children can survive, thrive, access their rights, and fulfil their potential.

3. How might the FCDO’s strategy, policies and programmes need to change as the number of people in extreme poverty grows due to the global pandemic or the effects of climate change? 

3.1         The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child poverty rates is grave, as outlined above. As such UNICEF UK has developed a number of recommendations in our recent ‘Path to Progress: The COVID-19 Response as a Catalyst for Strengthening Health and Immunisation Systems’[12] report which, if adopted, would help the UK Government ensure that the funds and resources invested in the COVID-19 response catalyse health systems strengthening efforts, and could have long term impacts on poverty reduction. The recommendations, which have strategic, policy and programmatic implications, are as follows:

3.1.1        The UK Government should ensure that funding for the COVID-19 response is urgently increased and future pandemic preparedness contributes to the strengthening of health systems. This must be additional to existing Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending commitments.

3.1.2        The UK Government should ensure that all spending towards the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemic preparedness considers and, where possible, leverages wider potential opportunities to improve child health.

3.1.3        The UK Government should provide ambitious investments for the procurement and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines through the ACT-A COVAX pillar and other mechanisms to ensure sufficient financial resources to enable the timely delivery of COVID-19 vaccines.

3.1.4        The UK Government should disburse in full their commitment to provide £330 million each year to Gavi 5.0 between 2021-2025 (£1.65 billion in total) and the commitment of £400 million to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative between 2019-2023. Additionally, the UK should uphold its existing commitments to financing immunisation programmes through the WHO Expanded Immunisation Program and UNICEF.

3.1.5        The UK Government should protect funding to programmatic health work, including support for primary health care and reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) for the ending preventable deaths agenda.

3.1.6        The UK Government should operationalise the Health Systems Strengthening position paper and ensure that its ambition and approach are embedded throughout the FCDO’s health programmes and in the upcoming Global Health and International Development Strategies.

3.1.7        The UK Government should lead dialogue on how to leverage the opportunity at high-level political moments including through the G7, G20 and the UN General Assembly.

3.1.8        The UK Government should utilise governance and board positions on major development banks and multilateral organisations to ensure aligned and coordinated approaches to health systems strengthening among major global health actors.

3.1.8.1      This should seek to align dedicated funding for health systems strengthening amongst global health multilaterals and development banks.

3.1.8.2      It should also seek to catalyse investment in immunisation infrastructure and health systems to support the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and other essential health services for children.

3.1.9        The UK Government should reiterate the importance of domestic governments protecting national immunisation budgets to prevent backsliding and accelerate progress towards the achievement of the Immunisation Agenda 2030 and SDG 3.2.

3.2         Climate change also increases children’s risk of experiencing extreme poverty. As set out in UNICEF UK’s report ‘Futures at Risk: Protecting the Rights of Children on the Move in a Changing Climate’[13] urgent action is needed to ensure that displaced and migrating children are supported by strong and resilient health and education systems.

3.3         We recommend that the UK Government support the rights and needs of displaced and migrating children in the context of climate change by facilitating cross-sectoral collaboration through the establishment of a technical facility on climate change-related displacement and migration and child rights.

3.4         This facility should comprise practitioners, experts, academics, youth, civil society, and government representatives from across the health, education, migration, and climate sectors, providing a platform to share knowledge and best practice on systems strengthening in the context of climate change-related displacement and migration.

4. How effectively do the FCDO’s strategy, policies and programmes address the needs of women and girls in extreme poverty? 

4.1         As set out in UNICEF UK’s Policy Briefing ‘Futures at Risk: The Impact of COVID-19 on MNCH in Fragile and Conflict Affected Settings’[14] the UK Government has been at the forefront of the MNCH and nutrition agenda for more than two decades, and formally committed to allocating at least 50% of UK Aid to fragile states and regions in its 2015 UK Aid strategy. This investment and leadership has historically been transformational in addressing the needs of women and girls in extreme poverty. Examples of UK commitments include:

4.1.1       From 2006 to 2020, the UK was the top contributor to the UN’s Central Emergency Relief Fund;

4.1.2       Between 2015 and 2020, over 85% of the people reached by UK Aid lived in fragile states, with over 53% living in extremely fragile states;

4.1.3       Between 2015 and 2020, most of the women of childbearing age, adolescent girls and children under 5 (48.4 million) reached by UK Aid nutrition programmes lived in fragile states, including 15.2 million living in extremely fragile states.

4.2         There are multiple examples of the lifechanging impacts that UK support has achieved, including:

4.2.1       In Afghanistan, UK Aid helped treat 94% of children under five suffering from severe malnutrition, reducing the newborn mortality rate from 53 to 23 per 1,000 live births (from 2003 to 2018);

4.2.2       In Yemen, between 2015 and 2020, UK Aid reached 3.6 million children under five, women and adolescent girls with health and nutrition services;

4.2.3       Through the South Sudan Health Pooled Fund, of which the UK is the lead donor, UK Aid has delivered preventative services to 4.7 million children, helping safely deliver 150,000 babies, as well as ensuring 270,000 mothers-to-be could attend at least one antenatal class;

4.2.4       The UK is also the largest donor to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and in 2020, pledged £330 million a year over the next five years to help fund the vaccination of 75 million children in the world’s poorest countries.

4.3         However, the COVID-19 induced global economic downturn led the UK Government to announce a temporary reduction in the UK Aid budget, including funding for water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and family planning services. Lessons must be learned from the Ebola epidemic in West Africa that saw the number of indirect maternal, neonatal and stillbirth deaths in the first year of the outbreak surpass the number of Ebola deaths due to the disruption to essential services. Indeed, the Global Financing Facility has estimated that for every COVID-19 death, more than two women and children have lost their lives as a result of disruptions to health systems since the start of the pandemic.

4.4         The UK Government’s newly released Ending Preventable Deaths Approach Paper and Health Systems Strengthening Position Paper provide solid ground for the FCDO to advance its political and programmatic leadership to address the needs of women and girls living in extreme poverty. The Ending Preventable Deaths Approach Paper in particular provides a hopeful picture of the FCDO’s intentions for its MNCH programming and interventions. However, both pieces require sufficient resources to achieve the ambitions and objectives set out within them and given the ODA reductions and the competing priorities set out above this could be a challenge.

4.5         The awaited International Development Strategy provides a further opportunity for the FCDO to set out its commitments and ambitions in relation addressing the needs of women and girls in extreme poverty and providing a needed accountability framework for this work.

5. What effect have the cuts in UK ODA had on the FCDO’s ability to address extreme poverty?

5.1         The cuts to ODA make it more challenging for the UK to address extreme poverty and other interrelated areas such as malnutrition and education for the poorest children.

5.2         For example, in 2021 UNICEF’s South Sudan office saw their UK funding for nutrition programming decrease from $20 million to approximately $5 million which has had a significant impact in what they can deliver. The FCDO funding shortfall will result in approximately 73,000 children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) not being reached. This accounts for 30% of the total target of children with SAM in South Sudan for 2021.

5.3         Similarly, the gap in educational outcomes for children living in extreme poverty is stark. Despite strong language prioritising girls’ education, UK aid to support education has been steadily declining since 2014, leaving a learning poverty gap for millions of children. This was accelerated by the overall reduction in the UK Aid budget in 2020 and 2021. The 2021 reduction resulted in $460 million less funding for education, which could have supported 4.7 million children to learn. The UK Government could support education for over 24 million children per year by 2025 if ODA returns to 0.7% of GNI and spending on education returned to its 2014-19 peak of 10.1% of the total aid budget.[15]

5.4         We do not have analysis which specifically assesses the overall impact of the UK Government’s decision to reduce UK ODA from 0.7% to 0.5% of GNI in 2021. However, UNICEF plays an instrumental role in delivering global programming to tackle child poverty around the world and directing attention to ending child poverty globally. Core funding to UNICEF, alongside other multilaterals, was reduced by approximately 60% (£40m to £16m) in 2021 and total country-level funding was also reduced. UNICEF’s core funding helps support various programmes worldwide including the COVID-19 response and playing a key normative role around child protection, gender, nutrition, health and humanitarian response. As they are flexible in nature, core resources enable multilateral organisations such as UNICEF to respond quickly and efficiently to emerging crises; support inter-agency collaboration; and mobilise financing for the SDGs. Reducing core funds affects both UNICEF’s ability to respond today and threatens the reversal of gains that have already been made for the world’s children.    

5.5         UNICEF UK urges the UK Government to prioritise a return to allocating 0.7% of GNI to ODA and ensure all ODA is targeted towards ending extreme poverty, achieving the SDGs, and ensuring the world’s most marginalised children can survive, thrive, access their rights, and fulfil their potential.

6. How can the FCDO can play a more effective part in the eradication of poverty as a convener, thought leader and investor?

6.1         The UK Government can use its role as a voting board member across multiple multilateral organisations and institutions including UNICEF, the World Health Organisation, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and which are focused on poverty eradication as part or sole focus of their role.

6.2         The UK Government must reinstate aid spending of 0.7% of GNI, as enshrined in UK law, at the earliest possible opportunity to consolidate its development and diplomacy position, reassert its leadership on the global stage and uphold children’s rights around the world.

6.3         The UK Government can use the Ending Preventable Deaths Approach Paper’s ambition to leverage the support and collaboration of our global allies in this space, seizing all available opportunities to raise its voice and advocate for progress on the priority areas set out.

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