Abstract
The Child Poverty Monitor is a partnership between the J R McKenzie Trust, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, and the New Zealand Child and Youth Epidemiology Service (NZCYES) at the University of Otago.
The ninth annual Child Poverty Monitor technical report begins with the voices of tamariki. Their voices remind all readers about the world to which we aspire, a society where every child is valued and enjoys their right to thrive and achieve their potential.1,2 Taitamariki are acutely aware of the barriers that stop them from enjoying their right to a good life. Poverty, racism and discrimination can mean that whānau and children struggle to meet everyday needs and miss out on opportunities that most in Aotearoa take for granted.3 In reflecting on what makes a good life, children and young people talk about the importance of strong family relationships, with supported parents, in a community that loves and accepts them.4
The technical report presents the most recent child poverty statistics with commentary on how well Government targets are being met for different groups of children. Analysis by Dr Bryan Perry is presented to demonstrate how household circumstances are associated with low income and material hardship. The wider social and economic context is considered in a section including data about financial assistance to eligible households, barriers to good work, housing, and food security. Child poverty related indicators in health include access to primary care, as well as deaths and hospitalisations of children and immunisation coverage. Use of physical punishment, care and protection notifications and fatal and non-fatal injury as a result of assault, neglect or maltreatment are indicators of child safety. Attendance at school and educational achievement are also presented in this report.
There is a lag between collection of data in national surveys and publication of the results. The child poverty statistics are based on data collection for the 2019/20 Household Economic Survey that concluded in March 2020 before the first nationwide lockdown. Health data are presented to the end of the 2020 calendar year, and do not reflect the surge in hospitalisations in 2021 with a high number of hospitalisations due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections.5 The national peak rate of RSV hospitalisations in 2021 was three times as high as the average peaks in the previous five years.5
Expanded data collection in the household economic survey allows disaggregation of child poverty statistics by ethnicity and by disability status of the child and members of the child’s household. These analyses reveal inequity in the outcomes of measures to reduce child poverty. European children have met the population level targets for proportions living in low-income households or in households experiencing material hardship. Implementation of policies that overcomes systemic disadvantage are needed to extend this achievement to all children and their households, including tamariki Māori, Pacific children and disabled children.
Health data show the remarkable and significant fall in hospitalisation rates for potentially avoidable hospitalisations associated with closed borders in Aotearoa and a six-week period of restricted movement during the initial response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Child health services have, however reported increased hospitalisation rates for eating disorders following the lockdown period.6 and there was evidence of increased psychological distress during the pandemic response.7
In 2020 and 2021 vaccination rates have declined for all children. Māori and Pacific children have faced additional barriers to vaccination, which leaves these communities vulnerable not just to COVID-19 but to the common vaccine-preventable diseases of childhood when borders open and restrictions are eased.
Infant mortality statistics show starkly the opportunity to achieve equity in outcomes by reducing sudden unexpected death in infancy rates for pepi Māori and Pacific infants. Support for whānau to access basic health services and transport to reach those services, appropriate and engaging health resources, adequate housing and safe places for infants to sleep, sufficient heating and financial resources, and effective smoking cessation interventions are essential to enable survival and wellbeing from the first days of life.8
The foundations for Aotearoa to be the best place in the world to be a child have been set in place with the commitment of Parliament to the Child Poverty Reduction Act 20189 and the setting of Government targets. No child should be left behind as Aotearoa moves to meet these targets Maori, Pacific and disabled children face a history of barriers caused by racism, colonialism and ableism that get in the way of them living their best lives. This is the time to be ambitious for all mokopuna, not just some, and meet child poverty targets for all children.