Food crisis forces children into work

Poor families across the world are struggling to feed themselves

16 October 2008: Under-fed children in some of the world’s poorest countries are being forced into work by the global food crisis, reveals a new report by Plan UK.

‘Understanding the impact of Food Prices on Children’, launched on World Food Day (16 Oct), reveals how the worst off families in Africa and Asia are struggling to feed themselves. And what food is now available is of lower nutritional value, causing health risks including anaemia.

Soaring prices

In Sierra Leone, the price of rice has gone up by 100% in just 6 months. The cost is so high that many families now have to miss one meal a day.

In some cases, children are leaving school to find work or are forced to combine schooling with long hours of work in order to help their families. This has a detrimental effect on learning and their chances of getting a decent job later in life.

Devastating effect

Christine Allison, Plan UK’s head of policy, said: “Soaring international food prices have pushed up local costs which is having a devastating effect on some of the world’s poorest people.

“Among the worst affected are children because they have to pick-up the shortfall in a family’s income, either by going out to work or taking on extra duties.”

“In addition to short-term feeding programmes we need to campaign long-term to improve families income and food in-take while keeping children in school,” added Dr Allison.

Call for action

The report calls on governments across the world to ensure that there is a combination of policies in place, including child-focused policies aimed at alleviating household poverty.

Download the report:

Understanding the impact of Food Prices on Children (688kb | 27 pages)

Read Plan UK Chief Executive Marie Staunton’s reflections on the global food crisis