Investing in Young Children: Advancing Social Progress through the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Since its adoption, the Convention on the Rights of the Child has achieved near universal ratification, with 196 States Parties as of 1 July 2025. Yet, while the Convention enshrines the right of every child to survival, development, and protection, significant gaps remain in realizing these rights.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child’s General Comment No. 7 (2005) affirmed that young children are entitled to full rights, calling for comprehensive policies, laws, and programmes to ensure their development. Despite this recognition, millions of children continue to grow up without access to the basic conditions that would allow them to thrive.

Poverty remains the most persistent barrier to children’s well-being. An estimated 1 billion children live in multidimensional poverty, lacking adequate access to food, clean water, shelter, education, and health care. Nearly 20 per cent of children under 5 years survive on less than $2.15 per day, aggravating social disparities and stunting early development. Children in urban slums face the brunt of these inequalities: children in the poorest quintile are twice as likely to die before turning 5 compared to their peers from the wealthiest quintile.

The consequences of childhood poverty extend across lifetimes and generations. Young children from the poorest households, for example, are more likely to suffer from malnutrition and poor living conditions and face reduced opportunities for skill development and decent work later in life. These dynamics not only deter individual potential but also undermine social progress by deepening cycles of inequality and exclusion.

The era of ‘polycrisis,’ marked by food insecurity, conflict, displacement, migration, climate change, and economic shocks, has further exacerbated vulnerabilities. Globally, an estimated 250 million children under 5 years are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential, disproportionately affecting marginalized groups. In humanitarian and fragile settings, lack of protection, nutrition, and learning opportunities puts children at even greater risk, while also threatening social cohesion and peacebuilding.

At the same time, progress has been made in recognizing the transformative power of social protection. Measures such as child benefits, paid parental leave, subsidized childcare, and access to health and nutrition services are proven to strengthen families’ capacity to provide nurturing care. These interventions help shield children from poverty and fragility while promoting gender equality by reducing the unpaid care burden on women.

New approaches are also being explored. The digital environment has emerged as a tool for social inclusion, particularly for marginalized children such as those with disabilities or on the move. Applications like UNICEF’s Bebbo parenting app provide accessible, evidence-based guidance for parents and caregivers, helping to close gaps in parenting support and strengthen resilience.

Parents and caregivers, with their essential role, must be recognized in the conversation to children’s rights. Economic insecurity, displacement, and crisis have heightened stress among caregivers, with direct impacts on their capacity to provide responsive care. Supporting caregivers, through parenting programmes, mental health services, and family-friendly policies, is crucial for breaking cycles of poverty and restoring the path to social progress.

While the Convention on the Rights of the Child remains a landmark of global consensus, realizing its promises requires renewed commitments to fight child poverty. Only by addressing poverty as both a structural injustice and a developmental barrier can societies ensure that all children, especially the most marginalized, are given the opportunity to survive, thrive, and contribute to inclusive social progress.

To learn more about the Convention on the Rights of the Child, please click here.