The results of a recent research submitted to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child provide a dismal picture of the effects on the health and welfare of low-income New Zealand pre-schoolers.
The Child Poverty Action Group, Save the Children New Zealand, Whnau whina Plunket, and the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services released a report for New Zealand’s sixth periodic assessment that shows a startling connection between poverty and preventable child disease in Aotearoa.
SUDI, dental health, skin infections, and respiratory infections have a significant impact on the health and mortality of Kiwi children under five, and they are overrepresented in the associated poor health outcomes as compared to older children up to the age of 14.
Study paints a picture of poverty seen by children. READ MORE
For Mori and Pasifika children under the age of five, systemic inequities, combined with the results of racism and colonialism, are also contributing to higher rates of poverty and worse health outcomes, according to Jacqui Southey, Advocacy and Research Director at Save the Children.
Mori and Pasifika babies have a nine-fold higher mortality rate from SUDI than non-Mori and non-Pasifika infants.
The report unfortunately offers a bleak image of children’s rights in Aotearoa, with poverty directly impacting the health outcomes of our youngest residents, who are regularly disregarded in terms of rights.
According to the study, poverty is one of the main factors contributing to the poor health and high death rates among New Zealand’s under-five population.
According to the report, younger children saw higher rates of preventable dental decay, skin conditions, and respiratory illnesses than older children. Inequality in low-income families contributes to poor health outcomes by preventing families with young children from receiving timely access to healthcare, adequate funding, and suitable housing.
Additionally, younger children have a far higher risk than older kids of dying from homicide.
In comparison to children aged 5 to 14, 14 children under the age of five died as a result of homicide between 2016 and 2018.
Additionally, during the past five years, there have been persistent reports of sexual assault and related incidents involving children under the age of five. Attacks and neglect have decreased by 35% over the same time period.
According to Southey, closing gaps might result in a 66% decrease in hospitalizations for respiratory illnesses and dental decay in our under-five population.
Children (and by age and stage) must be prioritised as a key stakeholder group in the new health authorities if we are to significantly improve the health and developmental outcomes for our children under the age of five. Additionally, we must raise incomes to liveable levels, provide access to healthy homes for families with young children, and address systemic bias and racism that still exist.
Whnau whina Plunket’s Amanda Malu, Chief Executive, stated that her organisation, which works directly with tens of thousands of families each year, has witnessed the effects of poverty on young Kiwis personally.
We need to provide methodical and practical solutions that guarantee all of our tamariki get the best possible start in life if we sincerely want to help them thrive.
The current measures of child poverty in New Zealand, according to Southey, rely on broad-based datasets, with reporting usually stretching from 0 to 17 years, and they are unable to disaggregate data to a level that could fully reflect the effects of poverty on children under the age of five.
Disaggregating child poverty data to emphasise rates for children under five is essential for promoting change in these areas.
A recent research paints a dismal picture of children from low-income parents in New Zealand.
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