ANALYSIS OF CHILD POVERTY IN BOSSO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The report of the 2006 National Population Census reveals that about 48% of the Nigerian population falls within the age group of 0 – 17 years. Coupled with the economic downturn experienced in Nigeria, the future of the Nigerian Child remains uncertain. This affect children greatly because they are dependent economic actors, who cannot meet their basic needs by themselves. The impact of poverty on the wellbeing of children cannot be overemphasized, it is therefore of concern to this study to measure Child Poverty in Bosso Local Government Area of Niger State from a multidimensional standpoint as against the traditional use of income alone previously used as the benchmark for poverty measurements. The Alkire and Foster (2007) counting approach was applied to generate a Multidimensional Child Poverty Index for the study area at a poverty cut-off of 0.5. The study reveals that there is severe deprivation in more than one dimension in the study and the dimensions of Living Standard, precisely Water Access and Sanitation with an index of 0.22 and 0.42 respectively contributed the most to Child Poverty in the study area. This is accompanied by the dimensions of Education and Housing (0.54 and 0.5. Furthermore, results revealed that areas that are urban experience Medial Poverty (0.5-0.7), while the rural area as an index within the range of 0-0.49 expressing Acute Poverty. It is therefore germane to this study that this strokes of poverty meted on children is greatly curbed through child-centred sustainable approaches cum strategies, which should be more of a commitment than a routine inclusion on print. Combined action between government and non-governmental organization is also recommended in making basic amenities readily available and accessible because a child embodies a country’s future irrespective of current location, which is why their wellbeing is of maximum concern.