New Zealand is at the bottom of the OECD average for child wellbeing. Addressing the issue isn’t just a matter of putting shoes on feet or food on tables, but what does it mean to grow up in poverty?
- 1.4x higher risk of dying during childhood
- Less likely to eat breakfast, or fruit and vegetables
- Less likely to leave school with NCEA Level 2, the basic level of qualification for employment
- More likely to be in transient families, or live in homes with gambling and smoking
- More likely to become teen parents
READ our election issue primer on inequality.
We asked Toby Morris to illustrate the realities and impact of child poverty.
Photo: Illustration: Toby Morris
Statistics compiled for The Wireless by UNICEF New Zealand.
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