Food, education, proper shelter and a decent standard of living are not privileges for the wealthy; these are rights that belong to every child in the world.

Child poverty and child rights
There are 2.2 billion children in the world—one billion are severely deprived of nutrition, clean water, proper sanitation facilities, access to health care, adequate shelter, and education or access to information. This means that the right to survive, develop and thrive is denied to nearly 50% of the world's children.

In the 21st century, there is no need for children to live in poverty. We have the food, medicine and technology to ensure that the rights of every child are met. Click here for more information about child poverty in the world today.

Poverty affects everything
Poverty has many faces and is connected to many other issues. Poverty is a child missing months of school because of an illness from drinking unclean water. It is a girl being forced into a life of sex trafficking who then contracts HIV. It is a child living on the street being abducted into an army because of lack of protection.

Poverty threatens all aspects of a child's well-being:

• It is a root cause of hunger, disease and child mortality.
• It leaves children more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
• It leads to gender discrimination and the denial of girls' rights to equal opportunity.
• It multiplies the impact of HIV and AIDS, armed conflict and natural disasters many times over.

Canada must do more
Canada has long been considered a leader on child rights. Through the United Nations, Canada played a significant role in drafting the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

In an effort to meet the rights of children around the world, this country must ensure that aid is consistent with its commitment to the CRC. Canada must

• keep the needs of children and youth, and particularly girls, at the centre of poverty-reduction programs;
• build the capacity of children, youth and adults to participate in the process to ensure that aid programs meet their needs.

Our country can play an important role in ensuring that every child in the world survives, develops and reaches his or her full potential.

What you can do
Learn about the life of one child living in poverty. Read Kalliayan's story.

Take action against the injustice of children living in poverty. Do the get hungry photo challenge.