Government funding for global study of childhood poverty

30 January 2009

Thousands of children in the developing world are taking part in 15-year study, led by Oxford University, which aims to find ways of addressing childhood poverty more effectively.
It was announced today that the Young Lives project is to receive a further £16m funding from the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) to continue the work until 2017. The study will shed light on how the current global economic downturn is starting to affect the lives of children in countries which until recently had started to experience some economic growth.
Launched in 2001, the ambitious project based in the Oxford Department of International Development is tracking the lives of 12,000 children in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam. Every three years, researchers conduct questionnaires and in-depth interviews with the children and their carers so they can build up a detailed picture of their daily lives. The questions range from how much time the children spend at school and whether they have paid work, to the children's hopes and aspirations. Alongside the surveys, the researchers monitor the impact of government policies and spending in each of the communities studied, particularly in areas like health and education.
The project leader of Young Lives at Oxford University, Dr Jo Boyden, said: 'No longitudinal study quite like Young Lives has ever been carried out, particularly one involving the long-term participation of children and their communities in developing countries. We are not just trying to measure poverty and create statistics. We are looking at changes over time, how and why these happen, and what they mean for poor children and their families.'
The research focuses on two cohorts of children in each country: 2,000 children aged between 6-17 months in 2002; and 1,000 children aged seven or eight years old in 2002.  The study countries were selected to reflect a wide range of cultural, political, geographical and social contexts. While Peru, Vietnam, and to a large extent India, have all experienced economic growth in recent years; in each case huge inequalities exist. Researchers will be collecting their next round of data for analysis in mid 2009.
 Dr Boyden said: 'Globally, standard poverty indicators such as child survival rates and education enrolment are improving, especially in urban areas. The task now is to find ways to tackle persistent poverty and reach the poorest individuals and groups who are being left behind as living standards rise. The kind of detailed information and in-depth understanding that Young Lives can offer governments and other agencies could help them channel resources and shape policies in ways that will make a real difference to the lives of many thousands of children.'
Young Lives focuses on children in the belief that understanding childhood poverty is key to winning the global fight against poverty. The international research team, coordinated by Dr Boyden, includes leading national research institutions in the four study countries, as well as the Open University and Save the Children UK.
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact the University of Oxford Press Office on 01865 280534 or email press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk. Photographs are available on request.