Community members displaced by fighting are seen at a primary school, which is serving as a displacement site in Rutshuru, DRC. © Hugh Kinsella Cunningham / Save the Children
A new report by the World Bank and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says 312 million children in sub-Saharan Africa are living in extreme poverty.
The report showed that in 2024, an estimated 412 million children aged 17 or younger were residing in households living on less than $3 a day — the extreme poverty line used for low-income countries.
The report said although child poverty globally has been on a steady decline since 2014, the pace of poverty reduction among children has been slower compared to the general population.
“Children continue to be disproportionately affected, comprising more than 50 percent of those in extreme poverty, although their share of the global population is just 30 percent,” the report reads,
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“Today, child poverty is increasingly concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa and fragile and conflict-affected places.”
The report said while sub-Saharan Africa is home to about 23 percent of the world’s population of children, “it is home to about three quarters (over 312 million) of all children living in extreme poverty”.
“At around 52 percent in 2024, the extreme child poverty rate in the region remains the same as in 2014,” the World Bank said.
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“South Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific are estimated to have experienced important reductions in the child poverty rate over the period 2014–2024. In South Asia, extreme poverty was cut by more than half in the last decade, with India seeing the largest reduction in the number of extreme poor children in the region.
“In contrast, extreme child poverty in the Middle East and North Africa region is projected to have increased over the same period. The extreme child poverty rate is projected to have almost doubled between 2014 and 2024, increasing from 7.2 percent to 13.3 percent.”
The organisations said addressing structural inequalities, strengthening social protection, and prioritising vulnerable regions like sub-Saharan Africa are essential to tackling child poverty and ensuring every child has the opportunity to thrive.
Luis Felipe Lopez-Calva, global director, poverty global department at the World Bank, said extreme poverty among children has become “increasingly entrenched” in places where it is hardest to eradicate.
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“Stronger foundational investments in infrastructure, human capital, and institutions are critical to ensuring these children have a clear pathway out of poverty,” he said.
On his part, George Laryea-Adjei, UNICEF director of programmes, said ending child poverty is a policy choice.
“We must act with urgency to ensure all children access essential services, including education, nutrition, healthcare, and social protection, to build a future free from poverty,” he added.
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