Poverty

The multidimensional nature of poverty has widespread implications that are of particular concern to children with disabilities. Understanding the multidimensional nature of poverty is particularly important during childhood. All children living in monetary poverty face deprivations in many areas of life simultaneously and often lack necessities such as nutritious food, sanitation services, clean water, education and health care. Material deprivation can put children with different types of impairment at risk and can severely affect the realization of their rights to health, education, protection and participation in society. For example, children with disabilities in monetarily poor households can experience worse health outcomes than those in richer households due to the greater financial burden of accessing care. Similarly, children with disabilities who are unable to navigate school can be deprived of an education. The impacts of these deprivations can last throughout childhood and well into adulthood in a downward cycle that makes it difficult to ever break out of poverty.