CHIP Report 15: A generation at risk? Childhood poverty in Kyrgyzstan
Abstract
Based on a survey of over 1000 households in rural and urban Kyrgyzstan and in-depth qualitative research in five communities, this report provides a detailed picture of childhood poverty. Like other research in Kyrgyzstan, it finds that young families and single parent families are particularly vulnerable to poverty. It analyses the implications for children of family strategies for coping with poverty, including child labour, migration, limited uptake of health services, and cutting back on food. The report concludes that there is a strong risk of intergenerational poverty cycles developing - families with limited access to land or living in areas with little economic potential and unable to migrate and children who work to the detriment of their health or education are particularly at risk. Many families were unaware of their entitlements to social benefits or health insurance. Microcredit programmes - a major anti-poverty policy in Kyrgyzstan - were not reaching the poorest families. The report concludes with a range of practical recommendations as to how childhood poverty can be reduced.
Citation
Ablezova, M., Botoeva, G., Jukusheva, T., Marcus, R., Satybaldieva, E. (2004) CHIP Report 15: A generation at risk? Childhood poverty in Kyrgyzstan. Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre (CHIP), London, UK, ISBN: 1-904922-13-9, viii + 101 pp.
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